Digital Manga Workshop: An Artist's Guide to Creating Manga Illustrations on Your Computer

List Price: $24.95 Discount Price: $8.92

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic [Posted on 2005-10-09]
I love this book, I picked it up after I saw the interview on G4tv and fell in love with it. My art has expanded so much since I read this book. I've been thinking about using my computer for my art for a long time and when I saw this I said to myself " wow this was just what I'm lloking for." If you even think you would enjoy this style of art I highly recommend this book.

Misleading title; really digital anime style [Posted on 2007-01-18]
I wish I could give this book a good review. Unfortunately, I can't. The title is very misleading. If you expect this book to teach you how to draw manga images digitally (as I did), you will be very disappointed. 99.9% of all manga images are black and white, and use frames, speech bubbles with text, sound effects, black and white line effects, and tones (black and white patterns that read as gray when printed). This book does NOT cover any of this.

It also contains some ludicrously incorrect information. For instance, it says that unlike American comics (where you have a penciler, inker, and letterer), Japanese artists do everything themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth, as any interview with a mangaka (Japanese manga artist) or perusal of the copyright page will tell you. In fact, most manga are created by a primary artist and several assistants.

Here's an even worse example. In the introduction to digital inking, they say, "In manga-style artwork, inked lines are usually contour lines...the linework of a character's hand would depict the outline of the fingers, but wouldn't show shading, wrinkles, or folds in the skin. It is up to the colors to show depth and texture." Um, except, manga is published exclusively IN BLACK AND WHITE. There are no colors! Have they ever read a manga? My mind boggles. Pick up any manga and open it and you will see for yourself. They go on to say, that "inking techniques such as hatching, stippling, and spotting black...are atypical in manga style art, but can be employed for stylistic purposes to achieve a distintice look."

This would be news to CLAMP, the studio that created many manga bestsellers, who are famous for their beautiful black and white line work. Or to, well, any of the mangakas, really.

This book teaches very basic color, digital techniques in anime `cel' style. It focuses on Photoshop and Painter, and ignores Illustrator and the manga-specific software (such as ComicWorks and Manga Studio) completely. They don't even cover the fact that most Japanese mangakas as well as most American digital art, is done on the Mac platform.

I gave it two stars because it does teach some simple techniques to create layered, color digital art, but these techniques are better covered in the many free online tutorials available on the web or in other, more comprehensive art technique books.

A great intro to digital coloring [Posted on 2007-02-10]
As many have already stated, this book has little to specifically to do with manga. I personally think the title and drawing style were probably chosen to be more catchy and specific than just "digital coloring." There's no shortage of digital artwork out there that has nothing to do with manga or anime style, and this book is relevant to anyone wanting to learn to color their artwork digitally, regardless of how it's drawn.

Whereas many web coloring tutorials are either very locked in about techinque or horrendously general, Digital Manga Workshop covers several specific options. It shows not just how to color in the typical cel style of a lot of digital artwork, but also airbrush, painting and watercolor styles as well.

The book gives instruction in both Photoshop and Painter depending on which is best suited for the style being covered and even offer some low-to-no cost alternatives to those programs.

The book also covers the important step before and after the coloring process, such as scanning and digitally inking drawings so you have god base to start with, and export so all your hard work doesn't end up as a blotchy web graphic.

Digital Manga Workshop definitely isn't the be all/end all book of digital coloring, but considering the wealth of information covered for such a low price, it's surely a worthwhile book to have around

New to Computer Coloring? Pick this book up!!! [Posted on 2007-09-29]
When I first got Photoshop, intent on learning how to color my drawings in that comic book style, I didn't know where to start. So, I started surfing Amazon for computer coloring books, and bought a few. Some of them were good, some just plain awful, but of all of the ones I bought, this is certainly the best.

"Digital Manga Workshop" is an excellent introduction for amateurs looking to get their work colored via computer. It provides handy, step-by-step guides on the process, and is extremely useful. Even the novice Photoshop user (much of the book focuses on the use of Photoshop, much to my delight) will have no trouble following their instructions. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

A Great Primer on Digital Drawing Techniques [Posted on 2008-06-21]
Don't let the title fool you.

While the subject matter covered within the book is aimed at "Manga" based characters, there is a lot of great information contained within that can be easily applied to ALL cartoonists seeking enlightenment on using digital techniques to create their work.

The book covers many subjects, including the required tools (hardware and software), the pros and cons of digital drawing vs. analog, and, of course, useful techniques for scanning, inking and coloring your work. There are many color examples to look at and study, and the text is easy to read and digest - making it a great book for younger artists.

Experienced traditional artists who are considering digital workflows should also consider this book. The nuts and bolts of getting started are sure to get any artist quickly up to speed.

Many of the techniques are presented using both Photoshop and Corel Painter, so if you have one or the other, you should be able to progress through the techniques with no problem.

I highly recommend this book for artists young and old who wish to learn more about creating their work digitally - whether its in the Manga style or not.

Click here for more details and discount information...