Kids Draw: Anime

by Christopher Hart

Interst in anime and manga - the arts of Japanese animation and comics - is exploding in the US children's market. Pokemon, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon are just a few of the anime phenomena delighting kids ages 4-12. "Kids Draw Anime", the 8th book in the popular "Kids Draw" series, is the first book specifically designed to teach kids 6-12 how to draw the popular anime style themselves. Focusing on "shojo", and "shonen"-style anime, the book teaches the familiar "big eye" look, in which characters are drawn cute and young as opposed to the angular, dramatic characters of adult-oriented styles. Young artists should find a complete introduction to anime style taught with engaging text, and full-colour art. Dozens of fun, hands on lessons demonstrate how to draw heads, eyes, expressions, hairstyles, the basic body, hands and shoes, good guys and bad guys, goofy characters, fantasy characters, robots, and much more. As in all "Kids Draw" books, each dazzling spread is easy to follow, fun to look at, and guaranteed to charm a new generation of artists!

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

I started drawing character designs and storyboards for a small animation studio in while in High School. Cartooning and animation was a magical experience to me. I try to bring that experience, as well as art tips, to my readers. Their enthusiasm also motivates me.

Early in my career, my cartoon work got noticed by Watson-Guptill, a premier publisher of art books. They asked me to do a book for them on drawing cartoons. It sold 200,000 copies, which is a healthy number. So we kept going. I discovered that I enjoyed the art of creating books, which has its own special requirements. I also worked as an author for Random House, Quarto and Soho Publishing. In total, I have had 8 million books sold, and have been translated into 20 languages.

My book, "The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates" has sold over half a million copies to date and is still very actively in print. An earlier book of mine, "Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics:" reached the number one art book in the country, according to Bookscan.

I've also been a cover story on the industry trade magazine, "Publisher's Weekly." And if you've read this far into my Bio, then I'm more impressed with you than you are with me!

Thank you so very much for letting me offer some inspiration to you in your art adventures.

Christopher Hart

Reviews

[viez ⸝⸝ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope the other book that Christopher Hart wrote about anime is better than this one...

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long time ago, I think I drew some fan art of Eona using one of the model outlines in here <3 I also drew the cat in here ^_^

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very good start for anime lovers such as myself. In the beginning it instructs how to draw the heads of your characters from different angles, and the eyes that match these angles.
Next they show you how to draw different kinds of eyes such as; single shine, two shines, many shines, and cartoony.
They show different ways you can draw noses too.
Proportions are mentioned next. There is the center line, the eye line, and the lines for ears, nose, and eye brows. Each of these ensure that each side of your face matches.
Heads from front and side are shown next, and also how to add emotion.
Different types of bodies are mentioned briefly, such as: chibi bodies, skinny bodies, and advanced bodies.
Hands, feet, and action lines are also shown, plus a bunch of extras :).

[Lusy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love drawing and this book shows me that I can draw anything I want just by simple steps. Loved it!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only bad thing is that it was a very short book

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible. It does not teach you how to draw anime.