Betty Garton Ulrich,Writers’ Journal , November/December 2001
"Illustrated, easy-to-follow, self-teaching course for beginning cartoonists to help make them take the all-important steps to becoming a commercial artist.”
Book Description
Everybody loves cartoons, but not everybody realizes that a good cartoonist needs special training. This attractive, heavily illustrated, easy-to-follow volume is a self-teaching course for beginning cartoonists. At the heart of the book is instruction on drawing faces and figures that come to life--facial expressions that cover the full range of emotions, gestures that dramatize body language, clothing that indicates social and professional status, face and body shapes that indicate age, and much more. Cats, dogs, and other animals are shown too, with tips on making them appear either comically human-like or naturalistic. Aspiring cartoonists are introduced to the equipment and materials they'll need for both color and black-and-white cartooning, and are provided with research and reference sources, including many on the World Wide Web. The author also presents background information on cartooning art, and discusses the trends in comic strip art, advertising art, and political cartooning. In addition to instruction, budding artists will find advice on getting their work into print and information on career opportunities. More than 300 lively, colorful, and instructive illustrations.
About the Author
Steve Edgell has more than 20 years' experience as an illustrator, designer, and editor. After lecturing at the London Cartoon Centre and at St. Martin's College of Art and Design, he now writes independently on comics and cartooning.
The Complete Cartooning Course FROM THE PUBLISHER
Everybody loves cartoons, but not everybody realizes that a good cartoonist needs special training. This attractive, heavily illustrated, easy-to-follow volume is a self-teaching course for beginning cartoonists. At the heart of the book is instruction on drawing faces and figures that come to life—facial expressions that cover the full range of emotions, gestures that dramatize body language, clothing that indicates social and professional status, face and body shapes that indicate age, and much more. Cats, dogs, and other animals are shown too, with tips on making them appear either comically human-like or naturalistic. Aspiring cartoonists are introduced to the equipment and materials they'll need for both color and black-and-white cartooning, and are provided with research and reference sources, including many on the World Wide Web. The author also presents background information on cartooning art, and discusses the trends in comic strip art, advertising art, and political cartooning. In addition to instruction, budding artists will find advice on getting their work into print and information on career opportunities. More than 300 lively, colorful, and instructive illustrations.
FROM THE CRITICS
Betty Garton Ulrich - Writers' Journal
An attractive, heavily illustrated, easy-to-follow, self-teaching course for beginning cartoonists to help make them take the all-important steps to becoming a commercial artist.
Children's Literature
This is both an interesting overview of cartooning and a serious how-to course for aspiring professional cartoonists. The book covers styles from greeting cards and comic strips to animated GIF's. There is a two-page spread on each topic, each presented in a heavily illustrated, four-color graphic layout. The illustrations include photographs of materials and drawings in a variety of styles. The emphasis is on how cartoonists use graphic skills for quick communication. Each lesson includes a sidebar of practice exercises. The presentation is both clear and attractive. The text is well organized with glossary, index and references. 2001, Quarto, $18.95. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Sally Heldrich
Art & Photography
Book Info
