Action! Cartooning | 
 enlarge | Author: Ben Caldwell
Publisher: Sterling
Category: Book
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $5.62
You Save: $4.33 (44%)
New (31) Used (16) from $4.29
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 259492
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 80
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.4
ISBN: 0806987391
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5
UPC: 049725087392
EAN: 9780806987392
ASIN: 0806987391
Publication Date: March 28, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
The best book on a hot new subject! This jam-packed how-to by a former Marvel Comics cartoonist offers everything a budding artist needs.
Written and illustrated by a former Marvel Comics’ artist with brilliant hand-done images throughout, this graphic handbook of cartooning is without equal. It's simply larger, better illustrated, and more in depth than any similar title on the market. In elaborate detail, it focuses on superheroes and their atmospheric world filled with speed and movement. Every aspect of creating cartoons is taught: the supplies, developing mood, and the techniques that endow characters with personality. See how to draw a variety of faces (female, heroic, cute, gaunt), and give the appearance of age. From the skeleton to the torso, to the arms, hands, and legs, follow every stroke that goes into producing bodies of all shapes and sizes. Finally, there's instruction on sending those figures into running, jumping, punching, kicking action in a fully realized scene. With advice so thorough, any amateur can become a pro.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Excellent November 18, 2008
I purchased this and the Fantasy! Cartooning book. I really wanted to polish my drawings and they looked like great resources for 'finding my style'.
I'd be considered a beginner/intermediate artist, and these benefited me greatly. Definitely work through this book before Fantasy! Cartooning. You can think of that book as an expansion pack rather than a sequel. Fantasy! Cartooning is merely tips on tweaking your style and filled with a bunch of example drawings. If you're on a budget, you can completely skip that book. (Though I still like it and keep it handy for reference.)
Now Action! Cartooning on the other hand is a goldmine of resources for beginners. He goes over everything from breaking down gestures and cartoon anatomy for beginners. Gives the basics on drawing Emotions and gives a nice resource of eye/nose/mouth styles to study. It's written to be easy to understand and filled with humor. He makes it fun!
This is a great crash course on Cartooning basics. It greatly helped improve my art and drawing from my imagination. Definitely pick this book up! Now I recommend doing some figure study before cartooning though. You really need a basic understand of human anatomy before starting cartooning. Trust me. Get some books for that as well. I picked up How to Draw the Human Figure and basically drew an assload of nude people for awhile before cartooning, and still do. It helps a TON.
I heart Ben Caldwell June 30, 2008
This book is great. With its simple approach it's good for beginners, as well as more seasoned artists--Ben Calwell's style is FANTASTIC. For me this book works as an excellent character design book. Love it, five stars.
No Cartoonist Should Be WIthout This Book June 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I very rarely write comments on books, but I had to make an exception for this book because it is far and away so much better than all the other books I own on cartooning. I keep it close by my desk for regular reference. When I teach my children to draw, this is the book we ALWAYS come back to. I'll probably buy a second copy soon because I am wearing my first copy out and I simply can't imagine not having this book around. Unlike other cartooning books that I find to be annoyingly wordy or too simple, this book is PACKED with vital, detailed, HOW-TO instructions on drawing dynamic figures in exciting poses. It gives you a full, easy method on how to draw ANY pose in 3-D, from ANY visual angle. It provides plenty of step-by-step instructions so you can practice this same method over and over until you master it. It provides detailed instructions and examples of important techniques like overlapping and fore-shortening, so your characters have depth, and can appear as if they are jumping off the page right at you. It gives amazing details on basic anatomy - both male and female. It shows how to draw difficult body parts like hands and feet. It also provides valuable information on character design, like explaining facial features that make a character appear young or old; how to make a character look heroic, charming, tough, or mixing these features to suggest hints of various personality traits. For example, you can mix features to create an intelligent looking, tough guy. It explains how to draw various expressions - not from templates - but how you can design your own. Most art books I buy I feel could have been cut down to half their size. But not this book - this book fits everything into only 80 pages, but every page gives you something of real value. It does not discuss color, and I would have like to have seen a section on dealing with hair, but other than that, the book is - far and away - the best value in cartooning that I own. If you want to learn to cartoon action figures - not copy them - but really create your own dynamic and exciting poses from scratch - right out of you own imagination, then buy this book. You won't regret it.
 Never goes beyond the pencil sketch. December 16, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a pretty good book for the hobbyist who wants to improve his or her drawing skills, but there's no information beyond that. What do professional cartoonists do once they've finished sketching? We're never told. There's nothing about transitioning from pencil to pen, or what kind of pens to use, no mention of light boards or lettering or laying out panels, not one word about color. Do professional cartoonists use computers for any of this? We're not told. Frankly, I was disappointed. (Not to mention a tad turned off by the "Don't worry, guys!" on the back cover. What is this, the fifties?) I was looking specifically for that information, and would have given this book two stars, but you get what you pay for.
Excellent December 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have several books on drawing the human figure and this is in the top two. Lots of great ideas and examples, and they're all very carefully drawn to avoid throwing the student off. Some books have vague or confusing examples; the examples here are always clear and straightforward and easy to mimic. Great examples of head poses; over the shoulder, tilted, etc., in relationship to the body.
I bought this used for a pittance and boy, did I ever get a bargain.
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