Cartooning Books

This is a great book to read if you are doing a report on Walt Disney. It offers a lot of information on Walt in an easy reading level. Easy reeding, fun book!!!

Many years ago, I wanted to find a good book on Walt Disney. This is it!. The writing is interesting and exciting and the stories are fascinating. The Greenes are great storytellers and it is no wonder that they have continued to do work for Disney- they get this guy and they tell the story well- and fairly, which I really appreciate. I strongly recommend this bookto anyone and everyone who wants to know how one dreamer made his way- it's an amazing story! and well told...

I am evaluating the book, the Man Behind the Magic, a biography of Walt Disney, by Katharine and Richard Greene. The section about Walt's family is very interesting because you learn so much about his dreams and his life. and now I know so much of the "inside information" about his schools, teachers, and friends. The next section is about Walt and how his small animating and movie-making business flourished. The last section is centered on the Disney theme parks, Walt's new family, and "looking into the future." My favorite section was the last because it told of so many things about E.P.C.O.T. (Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow) and his other thoughts. In this section, you can really compare and contrast his ideas and if they became a reality or not.

The way this book was organized was exceptionally helpful and never confusing or hard to read. It was organized chronologically in chapters. "Extras" that made the book pleasurable reading were the book flap, which showed a quick summary of the book, and the index. Another "extra" is the table of contents, which was very helpful. I would also like to emphasize the pictures. I thought that they were quite remarkable. I believe all of the points in this book were strong and fascinating.

Overall, I think this book is fabulous and wonderful. It covers most, almost all of Walt's life and the organization. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes any of the Disney theme parks, or anyone who enjoys his cartoons, movies, and shows.

A great book to read if you're looking to read about Walt. It'll keep your interest. No Disney Nut is complete without it

A lover of all things Disney, I was looking for a good balanced story of his life. This was not it. The authors did not take the lesson of story boarding to heart. The book it self is written in a style that ammuses, but how can you tell the story of Walt Disney in 170+ pages? Thankfully, the book shys away from bashing Disney or trying to grab headlines with half truths, but one can't help but wonder if the authors could of possibly gone more in depth, more into the man and his world.
I was dissapointed. There are no big insights here. If you are new to the life of Walt, this would be a great starter book, but I would not reccomend it for the die hard fan.

I like this book alot. I suck at rolling joints and with this book I learned some cool techniques. It is pretty handy when you want to impress your friends with cool joints. I like the graphics too. I think that any beginer would appreciate and understand this book. I totally recomend it to anyone who likes rollin.

The Joint Rolling Handbook is great for some super rolling tricks. I had to read the beginners section, but I did as it instructed and was on my way to rolling better joints. Some more experienced friends of mine managed to roll a few of the joints in this book and boy was that a good smoke! My favorites are the Secret Agent and the Saturday Night Special; all-though I must admit that a Cannabis Cigar would definitely hit the spot. If you?re new to rolling you're in for a lot of practice, but you'll get there a lot faster with this book. The more seasoned joint rollers will find things go faster, but either way this book will give you some awesome joints to blaze with your pals!

I'm looking foreward to the release of the Joint Rolling Handbook 2, an September 9th 2004. Keep an eye out for it!

This book teaches you all there is to know about spliff rolling, from how to make the most simplest L plates to the most complicated Windmills (see sample pics) that will impress your friends everytime aswell as giving you an amazing smoke. It also gives you info on, How to make the mix perfect, How to roll them properly, and much more. I really think that this is a must for all ganja smokers from beginners to pros, this book could probably teach Jah a thing or two. This is an amazing book!

hello there my little web wizzards... this book is quite the beez knees... the flaming backflip is the best.... especially if your in the back of a pub or somthing.... guaranteed to impress your mates

Marked Expert Edition, the outrageous techniques demonstrated in The Joint Rolling Handbook are complex and require a bigger attention span than the average stoner has. Even not stoned, the instructions were difficult to understand. If you're looking for practical methods and easy rolling instructions this isn't the book for you. If you already know how to roll joints and have a crafty hand, maybe it is. Most of the convincingly illustrated creations like the windmill and the nose cone require multiple papers, many of which will be cut up for the gummed strip used to "bandage" together joints and long tubular roaches until they resemble a smokable jumble of tinker toys quite likely to end up burning a hole in your rug. Intermingled with the individual joint instructions are a few sections offering information on marijuana itself, laws, health risks, etc.

I've just started experimenting with drawing and I find myself turning to this book every time I get my pencils out. This book has twelve personalities and characteristics for female manga characters. I find it a very useful resource and didn't expect to see step-by-step instructions as that was not mentioned anywhere and I have other books for learning the basics of drawing. If I have trouble duplicating something I just grab some tracing paper and play around with it until I figure it out.

There are a couple of shots with breasts but they aren't offensive or anything, just outline sketches so you know where everything is and can dress them appropriately. I figure if you don't want to see them you should probably stick with drawing male characters since they're inevitable with females. All-in-all, as a newbie, I found it to be a terrific help with creating my characters.

This is a great buy for anyone who wants to know how to create their own personal style for drawing girls in manga. I love this book. My friend saw it and borrowed it from me. She has been drawing GREAT ever since! THank you how to draw manga crew!! p.s. don't be scared by the cover, it's not like that at ALL in the book! Toodles!

This book is excellent to draw beautiful woman characters, the book shows you 20 different characters and their customes, body compositions and other kind of stuffs, a very interresting book.

A lot of the "How To Draw Manga" series really aren't that great. But this one, they actually did a very good job with. I like the first half of the book and how it explaining the twelve personalities. The best part about is you can almost design and give an identity to a unique character of your own. Ranging from punctual and outgoing to quite and conservative.

As for the second half, it almost has "fillers" after the twelve personalities. What I mean by fillers is that just stuff to fill the pages will. But something's are relatively useful, like school uniforms, character movement, relaxed poses, and hand gestures. What I did not find to be useful was entering and closing a door, drawing hair and eyes, and driving.

I wish I could give this a five star, but I can't because they could have gone into better details of maybe the eyes and hair, or left out the closing of a door and driving. But still, this book is pretty good and I recommend this book for the intermediate to advanced artist

This book truly lives up to it's name, mastering bishoujo characters. For those of you having a little trouble with designing a unique character, then this book is definately for you! This book contains different personalities that you can give to your characters, the kinds of clothes that character would wear, and hair styles. It is full of poses that would be beneficial to you as well as some scenes of walking, jumping, and the way the body twists when it's doing a certain action. Another good quality this book has is girls waking in groups and sitting in groups. I think that is very helping if you are planning on drawing a manga with a school scene with a group of friends. This book really doesn't have any nudity, it does have the outline of the nude body, but nothing obscene. I would really recommend this book. A must buy!

This is the first concise review of one of the great stylists of the Golden Age of Hollywood cartoons. You may not have known Maurice personally, but you enjoyed his work. Every time a Roadrunner cartoon or Bugs Bunny, you saw Maurice's wonderful design sense. This book not only speaks about his work, but also his influence on the subsequent generations of artists. And it gives you a good sense of the man's passion and drive.

Anyone with an interest in animation history and technique is well served by this book. A wonderful tribute to a great artist and an insight into the historical technique and approach of film animation. A fun and worthwhile read.

Maurice Noble was a world class artist and designer and a wonderful friend. Its great to see such a comprehensive book on the life of someone who influenced so many contemporary artists.

Stepping Into the Picture is a terrific read for anyone with even a passing interest in the golden age of animation. For someone like myself who enjoyed the Warner Brothers cartoons growing up, this book gave a very entertaining insider's look at how the films were made and the personalities and events that shaped them. Maurice is a fascinating character and Robert Mckinnon's book is well researched and full of interesting anecdotes from interviews with the artist. The next time I watch a Maurice Noble Warner or Disney feature I will have a much better appreciation of the artistry behind it because of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Stepping Into the Picture.

I had eagerly awaited Stepping into the Picture: Cartoon Designer Maurice Noble, because it brought back fond memories of my friendship with this versatile, remarkable man. I was not disappointed. I remember Maurice as a pleasant, down to earth man, humble and immaculate who surprised us as a gourmet cook and an accomplished piano and organ player. During the early 50's when Maurice was a sojourner in St. Louis, the rage for renovating kitchens was the snazzy Youngstown look--a stark, utilitarian style of metal cabinets and appliances. While my kitchen was being redecorated in this latest fashion, no coordinating backdrop had yet been selected. Maurice instinctively sensed artistic urgency and had the prescription. He took charge by saying, "Let me take care of this matter!" Maurice planned and oversaw the installation details that centered on the unusual and imaginative color scheme of purple and green wallpaper depicting flowers and grapes. These striking features wonderfully offset and enriched the plain white Deco equipment. An illusion of crawling vines encircling the room and meeting above the sink at a focal point was just what was needed. Everyone who saw this distinctive room expressed amazement. I guess you could say that we really stepped into the picture!

Many of the listings on Amazon are for the paperback version. The binding was changed from paperback to hardcover after many sellers listed their paperback. Check individual listings to see which are the actual 1984 hardcover printing!

-A good touching story, kind of sad when Bambi's mother died :( Lots a various emotions.

Bambi is a nice drama of real life. It states how life goes. It shows that sometimes you have to go on without your parents that they wont always be there. It also states that your friends & loved one's can be there to lean on & help you get on your feet again. If you're looking for a good book to explain life to kids then this is it. It is a good book to start conversations about life to little kids as well.

This fine addition to the Disney Sketchbook series has many of the wonderful sketches done by Disney's animation department for Bambi, including many pieces from the storyboards, and several sketches of scenes that never made it into the final film. Artists that would like to study the Disney style of drawing and animation should find this volume a terrific addition to their collection despite its rather high price. As a student of art, and a fan of the Disney style, I highly recommend any of these books for your library.

I have browsed a copy of this book in an animation gallery and was impressed by the work within - certainly a marvellous way to explore the drawings that make up these films.

Let's hope Disney continue this series and quickly release Glen Keane's awesome character sketches and pencil development from 'Beauty and the Beast'! That is what I'm *really* waiting for!

Delivered fast with no problems. As described.

Great book for improving your skills as an artist. Great information on inking, sketches, perspective, comic book tips, tricks, etc. All around good buy.

Wow! This book is beautiful AND it really helps you to draw Marvel or any other character! A great guide for those starting in the world of drawing, and a good help for those who are farther along the path. The presentation is really breathtaking, the pages are big, colorful and detailed, and it includes transparent pages so you can see the rough work over the finished piece. By far the best "How to Draw Marvel Characters" book I've ever laid my hands on!

If I had to compare this book to another one I'd say it's like a new version of "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way". This is very good introduction of comic book artist's tools and techniques. The book really encourages to start drawing. There are good examples of human figure drawing, comic characters types, basic forms, coloring, inking and more. The explanations are clear and short - It's all about drawing. Tracing papers with initial sketches included inside show how the character is built from basics which is very helpful. Although the book covers all basics the Author advises a reader to learn basic human anatomy from additional sources which is a good idea.
I like this book very much.

I bought it because I am absolutely terrible at drawing men, and just wanted a book of references, but I didn't expect as complete a guide as I got! It's fantastic for anyone who wants to learn to draw, or even for anyone who loves to draw and has been doing it for a while. The overlays, especially the huge two-page spread overlay, is so incredibly useful.

I fully recommend it! If you're looking for a comic drawing book, get this one!

I have to say that I was disappointed in "You Can Draw Marvel Characters." While many of the illustrations are impressive, it provides little explanation and really seems to be merely an opportunity to show off and market the new Marvel comics to children. Its sections are rather shallow, spending little time on the rudiments and making only a vague showing of teaching children to draw. I would recommend Draw the Marvel Comics Super Heroes (Drawing Tools), which takes a much more patient, reassuring, hands-on approach to teaching children the rudimentsof drawing, and which will do doubt be more helpful.

This book is packed with great advice from all walks of the comic strip business. It gives you perspectives from professional cartoonists, editors and syndicates, as well as basic how-tos. Since this book was written in 1995, many of the mailing addresses and contacts are incorrect, so just be sure to look them up on-line and call.

Lots of good info & insight. Hard to find this quality of knowledge around. Buy it if you have any interest in the market

I'm a syndicated cartoonist who has worked on a panel and a strip. If you want a realistic view on the world of cartooning, this is the book. Sure it provides useful insights into the creative and business processes. But best of all, it provides a serious reality check. It serves its readers best by honestly conveying the difficulty of cartooning; the relentless task of meeting dealines and quality standards; and the often surprising lack of huge monetary rewards. About the only thing missing (though you can't fault the author since the book published in 1995) is the growing use of the computer to create, send and disseminate cartoons. If you are serious about cartooning, read this book. If you're still serious after that, go be a cartoonist.

If you're serious about cartooning, stop reading this and buy this book right now!!! A must have for every serious cartoonist's library!!! Entertaining, informative... WOW!

This is a pretty good book. It has the author's own view of the comic syndication process and backs it up with many interviews by current comic strip artists, editors and syndicates. There are a few places where a little editing to remove some of the interviews would be favorable. Some topics are very agreed on by all of the people interviewed. They say "exactly the same thing." After the first few people repeat the idea or concern, any interview after that is redundant. The multiple interviews on each subject do show that everyone seems to have the same or similar issues with the business. This really drives it home, but it also slows down the reading. I guess you could read the first few interviews on each subject and skip to the next section, but I didn't. I kept hoping that the next interview had a little extra in it the others didn't. I rarely found this to be the case. Almost every one was very similar. It was interesting that the views and complaints of each syndicate was similar to the other syndicates. The same could be said for the editors or the cartoonist. Usually, each group (ie. syndicates vs. cartoonist vs. editors) commented about the same thing, but from opposite views. This point was very well brought out by this book. Overall, it is a pretty good book. I would have given it a five out of five, but as described the interviews became too repetatitive. It is still worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

Beautiful reproductions of some great work by McCay. Lots of good stuff here, from Rarebit and the later editorial work, to other short-lived, but interesting strips - all in high-quality reproductions big enough to really appreciate. some of the editorial work is quite stunning and some of the "dream" strips are among his best.

A generous sampling of McCay's work outside Little Nemo - not to be missed for fans of his work or of early 20th century America

Fantagraphics Press:

A reprint edition of this title is long overdue! I'm sure the legion of today's Chris Ware fans would love McKay's "Daydreams and Nightmares." Don't delay!

Winsor McCay was a brilliant artist and illustrator, a pioneer in cartooning and animation. Fans of Chris Ware, Edward Gorey and A. G. Rizzoli would love to have a copy of "Daydreams and Nightmares" at the ready. Fantagraphics, are you listening?

What a major disappointment. I'm a huge fan of Winsor McCay, and much of the comments here seem to focus on the fact that Fantagraphics is reprinting this book. Well, great, but I wish that they would have taken some more time in writing it. This book is for people who can't get enough of McCay's marvelous work but the Little Nemo collections and John Canemaker's definitive biography would be a much better place to start.

The book is large and all the prints are in black and white (as they were originally, unfortunately no color Sunday additions). While McCay is known for his use of color, it's a welcome addition that Richard Marshall has put together a book focusing on McCay's black and white work. Unfortunately, the images are rendered little more that wallpaper since they are presented without any context. The forward, preface, and two pieces by McCay himself do next to nothing to help us understand the images on any level. The forward gives four paragraphs about his life, an interesting preface by the editor cries out against the "neglect" of McCay's contributions, yet all this book does is present them in a cold, museum-like atmosphere. If this were my first introduction to McCay I don't think it would have resonated with me much. McCay's two included essays on animating are interesting and slightly illuminating to his process but don't really seem to be pieces of the big picture onto themselves.

This book is an empty shell: When (year, point in his career) and why did McCay create these? Would we see some of these motifs recycled later? Many of his editorial accompaniments are vivid, but were those really his views or just images meant to go a long with the editorialist's ideas? What was the topic that went with them? What about the racism in some of the images? This left me with more questions than appreciations for his work.

The drawings are grouped into Early Magazine Work, which has some work, with titles added but no context or even date of publication. Some of the images are of fairly poor quality, possibly from either the printing, or being blown-up too much, or both. Next are Newspaper Fantasy Illustrations (only five but beautiful--no specific dates or context given), then Midsummer Daydreams and Other Comic Strips (Pilgrim's Progress, Poor Jake, many without headers and none with dates), the Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, Sunday Excursions (all Little Sammy Sneeze), and finally Sermons on Paper (which accompanied editorials, again, no specific dates or context given).

The editorial "cartoons," reprinted in this book, which are really dignified, highly elaborate philosophical/social illustrations are truly in a class by themselves. They evoke a by-gone day when human dignity was at the forefront of our social consciousness. Things have changed in this regard and not for the better. The themes of youth and old age, duty, the vice of envy, the worlds each of us live in, are all profoundly and beautifully treated in these matchless illustrations. This is one of the best books of illustration that I own.

It's a little ironic that Fantagraphics has published, and now republished the book, given that the company publishes THE COMICS JOURNAL, which often seems to me to have "a libido for the ugly," both physical and spiritual, and thus seems the polar opposite of McCay's uplifting aesthetic and moral outlook. Fantagraphics is to be applauded greatly for this one.

I read this book over three months ago and am still thinking about it and still longing for more. This biography of Ub Iwerks, the orginal creator of Mickey Mouse, is a must read for any Disney fan or fan of animation and its history. This book details Iwerks relationship with Walt Disney, their falling out and subsequent re-union. Iwerks' contributions to animation and other genres of film are large and should not be forgotten. Iwerks had a hand in all phases of Disney (and other studios') production from animation to live action to work within the themeparks. I look forward to purchasing the VHS that accompanies this book so I can catch a glimpse of some of his early work on film and have already purchased Disney Treasures "Mickey Mouse in Black & White" so I can see all of the old black and white shorts that are described in this book. A good book sparks your interest in other things and this book has done an excellent job of making me want more, more, more.

Who's heard of Ub Iwerks? Not me before I read this book. After reading it I found out what most people who know anything about animation history already knew. Ub came up with the character design and early personality for Mickey Mouse. But there is more to this book than that. Its a great story about 2 artists with different strengths who met at a Kansas City Ad Agency before anyone even knew what animation really was. Together they started an failed at many things (at one point the broke and out of work Walt Disney LIVED at Ub's house). After being burned more than once (even by each other!) anyone would have understood if either of these two would have given up and moved into another industry. Thank goodness for us they didn't.

If I had the cash I would option this book for a movie.

This is a very good book for anyone that is interested in the history of animation in general or in the Disney Company history specifically. Books written about Walt Disney or the Disney Company don't give enough credit to this very talented man and this book fills in many of the gaps I see in current texts on the history of animation and the Disney Company.

This book is written in a very casual style that helps to make it a very easy read. However, I found the numerous superlative descriptions of Ub's talents to be somewhat tiresome after a while. There is no doubt in my mind about Ub Iwerks' talent and I don't want to take away from that, but it seemed the authors may have gone a little overboard with the adjectives. But then you can probably forgive a little over enthusiasm from Ub Iwerks' granddaughter.

I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in animation or the Disney Company's history.

If you are into Disney history - this is a must have.
It's not a 'big' book, and doesn't have many pictures - but it's the text that counts - and you can see the 'missing' pictures in many other - pictorial Disney - books.

If only the video was bundled with it...

This was a wonderful book for me to read. In fact, I read it cover to cover the first evening that I had it. It is very informative, and answers alot of questions that I had about Ub Iwerks. I had heard and read alot of stories about him, many filled with alot of contradictions. This book put those contradictions to rest. Ub's relationship with the Disneys was not a strained one, after he returned to the Disney Studio. In fact, he was a lifelong friend of both Walt and Roy. I knew of his work with optical printers and matte photography, but was not aware of all the technical work that he did for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. All in all, a great book. A must for any classic Disney animation fan.

Highly reccommended for the Batman fan of any age. Another "How to Draw" book from the series by Walter Foster. For 7 and up, it helps if you have some very basic drawing skills before you try this book, but you don't have to. These "how to draw" books that feature comic heroes are even more fun if you have some basic skills first, then use these books to practice with. The Batman has been drawn in many different styles over the years, and this is the style from the 1990's animated series from Warner Brothers. It is very comprehensive and has Batman, Robin, Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred, Police Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl, and villians including The Joker,Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, The Riddler and more. Gadgets like the utility belt and batarangs are included, of course the batmobile, and even backgrounds from Gotham City and the Batcave to draw. It starts in very simple steps that progress to a complete drawing. To see more drawing books for kids you might want to check my lists on the subject. See Ed Emberly's Green Book, or Mark Kistler's books to get some basic drawing skills. I also reccommend books by Jack Hamm if you want to step up from there.

This book starts out like a book for kids.but towards the middle it gets a lot better.I needed help on posses and 3 point angles.This book is a great book if ur a beginner or love batman like me....

Very insightful.... it covered a lot of things that more realistic art books failed to cover. Great for kiddies or beginners. But try as I might, I'm still a cruddy artist, and I'm sort of peeved that this failed to cover shading and the thickness of lines, which is actually what I *really* need help on.

I went to 6 stores in search of this book because I was dying to learn how to draw Batman. Yes, I know, I sound like a loser, but to be honest, it's a great book. However, if you lack artistic abilities (like me) you'll struggle quite a bit on catching onto the drawing styles. I know this book is directed towards kids but I don't care. I like it. I just wish it were a longer book.

This beautifully illustrated, easy to follow, step-by-step, how-to guide is the first book you should buy to learn the basic drawing techniques you need to accurately depict each cartoon character from the Batman universe (in the Bruce Timm/Animated Series style).
The information and instructions contained in this book are wonderfully organized and presented in step-by-step format (from rough sketch to finished drawing), include a list of tools and materials you need to get started and cover topics that include: guidelines on basic figure drawing, head and figure proportions, movements and expressions, comparisons of male and female figure features, and perspective and foreshortening for backgrounds and figures. The book also contains a detailed treatment on how to draw each character, including Batman, Robin, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, The Riddler, The Joker, and Ra's al Ghul. As a bonus, the book teaches us how to draw settings and accessories like Gotham City, the Batcave, the Batmobile, guns, bombs and Bat-a-rangs.
This book is a simple, yet excellent resource on how to create your own adventures for the Dark Knight, at the same time that you begin to understand the basic principles of cartooning and animation.
A must buy for kids and adults who want to draw the Batman universe like professional artists in a relatively short time. If you prefer a more general book on how to draw DC Comics super heroes, I recommend buying How to Draw Batman and the DC Comics Super Heroes by Ty Templeton instead, since it contains around 90% of the characters featured in this book, plus a lot of other characters from other DC Comics universes.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar