Draw Manga Faces for Expressive Characters: Learn to Draw More Than 900 Faces

I think this is an infinitely better 'how to draw manga' book than the typical one, and I particularly like that it's by an actual Japanese artist. There are so many 'how to draw manga' books where the Western artist obviously has this very, very shallow idea of what 'manga' looks like, and they'll have disproportionate, frankly ugly cartoon characters with oversized eyes, because they don't understand the actual aesthetic or have any respect for the rules. (The real telltale sign, imho, is when all the lines in a manga character are of equal thickness, as if even basic cartooning rules have been thrown out the window.) There ARE some too-rigid 'rules' presented in this book still -- it leans a bit heavily on the idea that female characters should always have bigger eyes than male characters, which just is not true in all manga styles -- but I think the overall effect of all the different ages and expressions gives you a solid grounding in the fundamentals of learning the style, as well as putting your own spin on it. :)

Very comprehensive!!! Covers so many expressions of all ages, male AND female, as well as different ages. Really amazing wow! Its exactly what I wanted. Its not overly stylized either like some Ive seen so I can learn realistic ish faces in the manga style which Ill embellish in my own way later after Ive practiced a bit and can draw with more ease. Much respect to the artist Aya Hosoi! I bought this with "How to Draw Manga Basics and Beyond" (Ryo/Hiroyuki/Yukio) and thats very comprehensive as well for the rest of the body. Its the PERFECT companion book to go with this one! Im so happy!!!! (insert manga facial expression here) hee heeeee

So I got this book along with the “Drawing Facial Expressions” book from the “How to Create Manga” series (I couldn’t decide between the two, so I ordered both to find out which one is better). Here’s my synopsis… “Draw Manga Faces for Expressive Characters” (THIS BOOK): - The beginning of this book briefly covers the basics for drawing faces (like proportions and whatnot) from different angles - including frontal view, side profile and three-quarter angles, as well as high and low angles. It also covers the different ways that people of varying age/gender combinations express basic emotions (for example, the way a 10-12 year old boy cries looks a little different from that of a teenage boy). - The book also goes over different character types and the kinds of faces they typically make… Character types include anti-heroes, villains, kind-hearted characters, troublemakers, etc. - The bulk of the book is then broken down into two sections: positive and negative facial expressions. Each page shows sketches of different facial expressions typically used by boys, girls, men and women for each emotion. **As someone else stated in another review, this book is just a reference for different facial expressions, and it will not help you discover your drawing “style”. This book is valuable to artists who already know how to draw manga and are looking for ways to make their characters more expressive.** - After that, the author goes into detail about the process she uses to create fully-colored manga illustrations (sketching, line drawing, color, shading, etc). - Yes, there are a couple of busty/risqué illustrations of females in the back, but honestly, anyone who actually watches anime or reads manga knows that this sort of stuff can be found there. So if you got this book for your kid who watches anime/reads manga, chances are they’ve already seen something like that at least once. Also, if you feel like women are being objectified with these images, keep in mind that this book was actually written/illustrated by a woman. If these pages really bother you, just rip them out. “Drawing Facial Expressions” (NOT THIS BOOK): - This book is a little bit less straightforward, and is broken into three main sections: “Basic expressions”, “Facial expressions that add color and detail” and “Animated expressions”. I won’t go into detail about the latter two, but “Basic expressions” covers “joy”, “sadness”, “dislike”, “anger”, “surprise” and “fear”, and shows the basic structure of the face for each emotion as well as the various expressions associated with them (such as smiling, enjoyment/delight and laughter for the “joy” emotion). “Facial expressions that add color and detail” covers things like romance, food and drink (like savoring a taste or eating something that tastes bad), and resting. “Animated expressions” shows more animated versions of both positive and negative emotions. - Each expression is illustrated from different angles, and includes variations for each expression (such as “feeling fainthearted” or “unease” - found under the “fear” emotion). Some of the expressions include symbols and how to use them (such as the vein-popping mark on the forehead to show agitation) and more cartoon-y examples (like chibi-style characters). - Throughout the book, the authors added “Discussion” sections, that go into more detail about specific things… Such as “Using the body to express emotion” and “The difference between smiling and laughing”, and even artistic techniques for digital illustrations like “Using the brush to draw background effects” and “Changing the shape of the brush”. - This book shows great examples of different character styles (likely because this book was written/illustrated by more than just one person), and can help a beginning manga artist discover a drawing style that works for them.

Wow! Like one of the best expression books out there. Even if you are not looking to draw Anime, this expression book is super helpful. I am a professional artist and when drawing expressive people there is only so much of looking at my face in the mirror I can take, to try to capture the right expression. 😄 Each page is filled with expressions and it is broken out by category so it’s easier to find the facial expression you are looking for. The book was much thicker than I expected it to be. Most how to draw books are a little thinner, so great value for your money. The one con is that at the end of the book there are some full color painting style illustrations of girls in provocative poses. Doesn’t fit with the rest of the book at all, so clearly someone wasn’t thinking right when they added those in there. I simply pulled out my handy exacto knife, cut those pages out and tossed them. Now the book is perfect. ☺️

My kid freaked out when she got this as a birthday gift! She didn't stop smiling for an hour. She's been hung up on anime faces for a while and she absolutely loved getting ideas and tips from the book. While I wasn't thrilled when she said I looked like the "middle aged" woman in the book, I did love how excited she got about it. I can't comment on the actual drawing lessons in this book, but I can tell you it was extremely well received by someone who is obsessed with drawing anime. I paired it with these two items and it made her day. Canson 9-Inch by 12-Inch Universal Sketch Book, 100-Sheet Prismacolor Premier Manga Illustration Marker Set, 8 Colored Art Markers (1759417)

Okay, this is a review from a digital comic artist's perspective. First of all, I am a self-taught mangaka (manga artist) living here in Japan. I bought this because I need a good reference book for facial expressions. For those who didnt know, this book was originally Japanese, but I am not a Japanese reader/speaker so I was so grateful they had this book translated to English. It's now Easier to understand. The size of the book was larger than I expected, which is a big PLUS for me. Theres a lot of example pictures shown for each expressions. Even different expressions for different age group (baby to elderly) were shown here. I learn a lot from this book. I always have this beside me, when I work on my comics on everyday basis. PS: There are colored illustrations at the back with a little bit sexualize poses BUT STILL SHOWS DIFFERENT FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. If you are easily offended on those pictures, then good luck to you. This is a translated Japanese book and this is part of the manga culture, so bear with it. All in all, whether you are a beginner, or an advance manga artist like me, I highly recommend having this baby to be part of your learning tools in drawing. As for me, I can't draw my comics without this by my side.

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Bought this for my daughter because of her love for drawing and anime. Let me tell you, her skill and drawing has tripled since she started using this book! There’s a picture or two that I thought were inappropriate for her age group but I took those out before I gifted the book to her. Great tutorials and step by step for drawing manga characters!

Excelente compendio de técnicas de dibujo del rostro con un estilo moderno y actual. La mayoría de los libros que circulan usan un estilo muy anticuado. Para mí es más que suficiente con las explicaciones que se dan, lo que buscaba era una colección de ejemplos claros y este libro es lo que ofrece.

Lo compre para regalar a mi sobrina de 15 años, que le encanta dibujar y colorear, el libro explica muy bien. Solo tener precaucion porque en una seccion hay poses no aptas para niños. No son de caracter sexual pero si niñas con poca ropa. Para un adolecente esta bien.

Haven't Used it a great deal, however did have a look through. It is what it says. IT has pages on pages of characters faces and expressions with some advice and guides mainly, This book is useful for those who want to add that bit more than a plain face and would recommend. I also think it has some guide some basic drawing guides (in relation to head/faces)

This book is fantastic. I always struggle with expressions when drawing, and once I saw this book i knew I needed it. The artist is very talented, and Impact keeps proving that their how to draw books are top notch. Definitely an awesome book to add to your collection of you're a manga artist!

Super bouqin pour apprendre à dessiner les expressions de toute sorte de personnage en passant du bébé à la vieille personne. Pas déçu de mon achat !