How to Draw Anime Magical Girls

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 · 124 ratings  · 9 reviews

Start your review of Manga Mania Magical Girls and Friends: How to Draw the Super-Popular Action Fantasy Characters of Manga

Apr 06, 2014 Abby rated it did not like it

If you want to learn to draw manga, save your cash and read ANYTHING NOT WRITTEN BY THIS GUY. When I first started learning, I was enthralled by the awesome artwork and I thought the instructions were great.

Then I grew up.

The guy only drew like 5 of the actual illustrations. However, there are a couple things that were superbly done, props to those artists.

But still... Christopher Hart is a joke when it comes to manga.

Jan 27, 2011 Taralen rated it it was ok

Oh goodness. Christopher Hart honestly doesn't know much when it comes to anime, sad to say, but this isn't his most terrible book. In fact, it's probably one of his decent ones.
It still tries TOO HARD like his other anime/manga books.

THE GOOD (I'm gonna try to get to the point):
=Some of the artists did a nice job (more specifically: Nao Yazawa, PH, and Chihiro Milley).
=A couple of good tips were explained, such as the transitioning and how perspectives can determine the mood of a scene.
=Very

Oh goodness. Christopher Hart honestly doesn't know much when it comes to anime, sad to say, but this isn't his most terrible book. In fact, it's probably one of his decent ones.
It still tries TOO HARD like his other anime/manga books.

THE GOOD (I'm gonna try to get to the point):
=Some of the artists did a nice job (more specifically: Nao Yazawa, PH, and Chihiro Milley).
=A couple of good tips were explained, such as the transitioning and how perspectives can determine the mood of a scene.
=Very beautiful costumes on some of the characters.

THE BAD:
=HORRIBLE coloring on some images. HORRIBLE. It's so bad that some of the girls don't have their eyes properly shaded in. THAT and the fact the light source is so off. Who the hell hired these people? They need to go back to school.
=Some things are just extremely corny. You can just tell it's corny, I don't even need to explain that. (Bubbly Belina, Mischievous Marla? REALLY? How about they include some actual JAPANESE names like Japan really does it than do something like that.)
=It's so horrible how some of the art is right there at the professional level while others look clearly amateurish. It's down right insulting. If you're going to teach people, you teach them with CLASS. You don't have FAIL artists teaching people. The "Villains" section is one of the most poorly drawn.

THE IN-BETWEEN:
I don't know if it's really a GOOD thing to promote stereotypes and cliches. Then again I guess it can help people on what to avoid, so this isn't really bad or good.

...more

Jan 02, 2009 Sydney rated it really liked it

It was an excellent book on helping me choose costumes and items for my magical girls that I drew. It didn't really help me think up attack names. I still need to think of those. The one problem with Christopher Hart's books is, there are so many artists in them. That is good because it helps you find your own style, but it bugs me because say you want to draw like somebody in the book but the only person's drawings they show how to draw with is maybe someone you don't like (not usually true, bu It was an excellent book on helping me choose costumes and items for my magical girls that I drew. It didn't really help me think up attack names. I still need to think of those. The one problem with Christopher Hart's books is, there are so many artists in them. That is good because it helps you find your own style, but it bugs me because say you want to draw like somebody in the book but the only person's drawings they show how to draw with is maybe someone you don't like (not usually true, but you get the idea). ...more

Jul 15, 2013 Ella rated it it was amazing

This book is great to have if you want to learn about drawing magical manga characters. There are a few very beautiful drawings of magical manga girls in this book. It is a mix of colored and black and white sketches to look at. Great to use for direction in drawing. I love it!

Feb 02, 2016 Sammy C rated it it was ok

helpful tutorials and all, but the art was just not what I was looking for. sorry.

Oct 18, 2010 Uku rated it liked it

Though when it comes to drawing tutorial books.... I never read the text. I learn better from the images. ;)

THIS BOOK I LOOOOOOVE IT!!! ^_^ So if u love manga READ IT!!! I RECOMMEND U TO READ IT!! I LOVE ANIME

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

I started drawing character designs for a small animation studio in San Diego, California, when I was still in High School in Los Angeles. I used to drive 136 miles, each way, on the weekends, when I was 16, just for the opportunity to get paid to draw. Cartooning was a magical experience to me.

I graduated from

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

I started drawing character designs for a small animation studio in San Diego, California, when I was still in High School in Los Angeles. I used to drive 136 miles, each way, on the weekends, when I was 16, just for the opportunity to get paid to draw. Cartooning was a magical experience to me.

I graduated from High School, and attended the character animation program at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. At Cal-Arts, we had to do a lot of intense animation, which I found tedious. I was more interested in character design, and story, rather than drawing twelve poses to create one second of movement. It wasn't for me.

So I left and enrolled in, and graduating from, New York University. The social scene at Valencia consisted of a sandwich shop, where you could buy a magazine, if you got there early enough. New York city had slightly more to offer.

After I graduated, I worked as a staff writer on several NBC prime-time, comedy-variety television shows. I also wrote for 20th Century Fox, MGM-Pathe', The Showtime Cable TV Network and Paramount Pictures. But then the Writer's Guild went on strike. Writers in Hollywood weren't allowed to work for TV or the screen. So I went back to my cartooning roots. And I began writing for the Blondie comic strip, and began contributing regularly to Mad Magazine, and did some cartooning for magazines.

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. They had never done that before. The result was 'How to Draw Cartoons for Comic Strips,' and it sold briskly. They asked me to do another, and then another. Well, I've sold over 3 million books domestically since then, have 19 translations, and I'm still at it.

My book, 'Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics,' quickly became the number one selling art book in the country (source: Bookscan). It is also the winner of the prestigious New Jersey Library Association's Garden State Teen Book Award for 2004 in the category of nonfiction for grades 6-12.

The Young Adult Library Services Association selected two of my books for their prestigious "2003 Quick Picks for Young Adults." Those titles are: "Anime Mania: How to Draw Characters for Japanese Animation" and "Mecha Mania: How to Draw the Battling Robots, Cool Spaceships, and Military Vehicles of Japanese Comics." my title, 'Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics,' was selected for 2002.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) chose my book, 'Drawing Faeries: A Believer's Guide,' for their 2004 'Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults' reading list. The 'Children of the New Earth' online magazine awarded the book its 'CNE seal of Excellence.'

My book, "Manhwa Mania," which introduces Korean style comics to manga audiences, was chosen as a "Quick Pick for Relunctant Young Readers" by the American Library Association in 2006, ages 12-18.

In 2004, I was asked by the Loew-Cornell Art Supply Company to develop a series of eight top-quality art kits, which would feature my manga, cartooning and comic drawings. The kits are now completed. They will be available, on Amazon, in fall, 2006.

My work has also been been featured in such publications as American Artist, Newtype (the premier manga publication), Mad Magazine, Highlights for Children, Crayola Kids, Ranger Rick, Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy and Boy's Life. My tutorials have been featured on Animation World Network, one of the leading websites of the animation industry. 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. Keep Drawing!

Chris

...more

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How to Draw Anime Magical Girls

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