Manga: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Digital Painting Techniques (ImagineFX)

It’s a used book but looks like new. Came in perfect conditions even when was packed just in a plastic bag.

I actually wanted to give this 4 1/2 stars, but I guess it's not possible on this website. I ordered 3 books on the same day in hopes that it would help me get better at many different aspects of my art. Out of all of those books this was definitely my favorite. This is definitely a book for novice to expert manga artists. And in my opinion touched every aspect on every major area of manga. From reasons why manga eyes are drawn the way they are to composing your own manga/comic page.I enjoyed the gallery area at the begining, but would have preferred some of those artworks have a tutorial/tips to go with it. All the tutorials/tips were great, but seemed pretty bland when it came to backgrounds. Don't get me wrong, their art looked great and they're all way better than me. But there were only a couple of images that didn't have some kind of texture background. And even less went into detail about the background. By detail, I mean why place the character in that area/place/location, what kind of message are you trying to send, does the picture as a whole make sense? While a lot of the pictures were pretty, they were just that pretty. They didn't really tell a story.I was a little dispointed when I looked inside only to realise the cover image is not one of the images chosen to give tips, but quickly forgot about it when I continued flipping through the book. I chose not to include beginners in my comment, because most begginers lack basic or at least decent anatomy skills(not to say all the drawings in the book were anatomically correct) as well as an understanding of light, shadows, and color (although there is a "Manga for beginners" section at the front of the book) All of which can make or break an image. I feel this book could have been a little bit better with an area for color theory or atleast more of an insight as to why the featured artists chose the colors they chose. Although on pg. 73 one artist talks a little bit about complementary colors.All in all it was a great book, that I don't regret buying. I would definitely recommend this to others. I may even consider buying one of the next books.

At first sight, i was amazed by the quality of the product.The artwork and pictures are amazing even if you dont personally like manga-anime style.For me it was a bit useless actually, but might come in handy later on.1, It clearly assumes, you know a bit of digital painting, and know how to draw atleast a decent line art.2, It does NOT detail how and what you should exacly do, but instead it describes how other (professional) artists do the process.3, It assumes you are using Photoshop or Painter.4, It does not detail manga and anime, but it does perfecly describe what is the differance, and what should you keep in mind to get the desired Manga ish feeling.Considering, it was not for me, i still found a LOT of usefull things, and gained a lot of insight abaut the process i should know later on.So dont know how to digitally paint, or to draw, and want to learn form this...dont buy it. If you do know how to digitally paint, and draw, why would you buy it?So the whole product got me confused a bit, why does it even exist? In the end i assume it offers some decent tips to people who alredy nkow atleast something, and guides them to the path they should take.

I'm already read all the book, I like it a lot.Beautiful ilustrated and so much useful information, the subject goes from basic to intermediate.I think the best way to describe the content is saying they try to show the work flow of the different excellent artist and to give tips and trick some times.Very good book, still can't find one with beginning digital painting technics like how to blend digitally, how to draw or make a sketch, how to good use the layer mode, things like that, but you can find things like how to lay the flat colors, how to paint the line work, and another good bunch of things.Definitely a good investment.

this was a great find... it really is a complete book with lots of examples on how to digitally paint or color in manga illustrations. also a lot of great artist contributed to the making of this book. each with their own style and techniques. it's really fun to see how many different ways to do the same thing. it encourages you to try stuff out and see what works best for you. which is better then trying it just one way and it not working and you never try doing it again. which is the case for a lot of people when trying art after they become adults.really basic and best for guys starting out but a must have. I feel if your gonna do digital painting you should do cartoon and anime style before you can move on to do more realistic illustrations later. also great book if your still trying to figure out what your style is.

Just got this book and it's exactly what I have been looking for for a long time now. Most anime/manga books are for people who have little drawing/art skill. Some other reviewer said to have basic knowledge on the programs and drawing skill, and I believe that is true. This is not a book for someone who just started drawing or for someone who has never created a digital painting before. I would say it is an intermediate level book.My complaints: The book is quite tiny and a lot of the images in the book don't cover top to bottom. Some are very tine and you have to look real close to see the detail. Also, the pages have this strange dotted background style that makes the tiny and thin text hard to read. It's not a BIG problem, but irritating.Over all, I love this book and I hope they continue to make more like it.

The media could not be loaded.  The contents of this book actually come from one of the special 'How to Draw and Paint' issues of Imaginefx magazine titled simply as Manga. It was popular and sold out but now you have the book. There aren't much differences except for the layout since this is a square format book, and there's no disc included.This is not a starter guide to drawing manga so it's not really for beginners. You'll need basic knowledge on manga drawing, figure drawing essentially, if you want to get most out of the book.The book covers, as the title suggest, digital painting techniques that are used for creating manga. You need to be able to draw first so that you have something to scan in before you can apply the techniques taught, stuff like adding colours and textures.The first two tutorials feature quick tips to help make your drawings more manga-like. They are presented in a series of points, that you can sort of use as a checklist of ideas to think about when you're drawing.The other tutorials are workshops that present a step-by-step look at how the artists create their illustrations. The software used are Photoshop and Painter. Again, you should have some basic knowledge of those two software. That way, you can follow along what they are saying. The commentary is clear and also covers the artistic parts like using colours schemes, creating shadows, or creating some special effects like depth of field blur, glowing effects etc.It's an informative book where artists freely share their digital tricks and tips. The insight will probably come from discovering what you can do digitally.Recommended to artists who are just past the beginner stage trying to pick up new digital drawing skills.Here's the list of contents:1. Manga Gallery2. Manga For Beginners- Get Under the Skin of Manga (Saejin Oh)- Essential Manga Tips (Joanna Zhou)- The Cherry Blossom Girl (Joanna Zhou)- Brush Up On Your Portrait Skills (Lois Van Baarle)3. Character Creation- Paint a Dynamic Manga Character (Chester Ocampo)- The Greatest Waveracer (Michael Chomicki)- The Spear and the Spell (Chester Ocampo)4. Manga Style- The Painted Princess (Hoang Nguyen)- She Dreams of Lilac (Joanna Zhou)- Mistress of the Elements (Aileen Strauch)- Flight of the Warriors (Sinad Jaruartjanapat)- The Music of Life and Death (Madeleine Rosca)5. Fantasy and Sci-fi- The Way of the Warrior (Cris De Lara)- The Saga of the Scout (Michael Chang Ting Yu)- Create and Render a Robot Concept (Keith Thompson)- Mecha's Heart (Saejin Oh)- The Girl and the Katana Guardian (Patipat Asavasena)6. Comic Panels- Draw and Ink a Manga Comic Page (Joanna Zhou)- Create a Comic Ready For Print (Jamie Mckelvie)(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I did really like this book, didn't really know what I was expecting but took a chance. Has some good pictures for ideas and inspiration and some good notes inside on styles and methods but I think if you really looked you'd probably find better books with more in than this one. Just one person's opinion though. The cover is a little bit deceiving as it kind of gives the impression that there will be lots of detailed pictures as beautifully done as this one but most are much more basic, depends on your style I suppose. Good little buy though.

Its very good read for beginners- moderately advanced persons. It does show step by steps and hints and tricks but you have to be willing to put the time in and work at it. Some of the tutorials are advance enough, I'm still getting used to my tablet and and software.Its very inspiring and idea generating. I found it quite helpful! Though you may need to use youtube tutorials also.

Brilliant reference book if you're looking for something that doesn't just show off the usual Manga style artwork, but shows lots of different inspirational ideas and galleries to give your Manga drawing and painting a serious boost. Beautifully presented and lusciously illustrated.

A book I'll always keep close when I work.