Review by Rio
Manga Techniques Vol. 7 Creating Characters for Games is the last book of the Manga Techniques series of books. This book is illustrated by PilotFilm; a small group consisting of Kodoi Lasa and Ogata Suzuoto; in a unique style quite unlike the previous volumes of Manga Techniques. As with all the other editions this book is 88 pages long and has four manga manuscript papers at the back for you to cut out or leave in at your discretion.
The purpose of this book is character creation. It may not necessarily be for a game as the title suggests but it’s a nicely made book for what it’s set out to do. It starts off with the basics of how to draw eyes, head, and all the parts of the body. The next chapter shows character parts from different hair styles, body sizes, clothes, and emotions and the chapter after shows four different types of characters you can create using the parts shown in chapter 2. The completed character section shows them in different poses, expressions, body types and clothes. The last two pages of this section has two quite useful charts. One chart is where you can draw different expressions all nicely laid out in a grid and another chart is split into three columns where you can draw your character in frontal, side and back views. The book wraps up with sample illustrations of the characters.
Literally-wise, this book was written well and is quite informative. There’s quite a number of text in the beginning but eases off as the book continues. Considering this book is about character creation there is nudity in this book. There is no presentation of nipples or genitalia but just a little heads up for those considering this book for younger audiences. Speaking of which, this book is a quick read and could be read through within an hour or so. In that sense, it is suitable for younger readers.
My one gripe about this book is that it only features girls. I know most artists like to draw females but the lack of the opposite gender in this book is disappointing. With that said, just as long as you know the basics of anatomy, you can easily create male characters on your own but don’t expect any help or ideas in regards to that in this volume.
This is a good book for those who need help in character creation and inspiration. Although it only features female examples, I think the instructional content of the book more than makes up for it. Not to mention it has those useful charts I talked about earlier. If you make photo copies of those charts, you can easily use them to make future character creations. In the end, this book is either for a beginner or maybe for an intermediate artist who needs a little help in making and coming up with original characters.
Manga Techniques Vol. 7 Creating Characters for Games
by Deleter
#4889961364
88 pages
b&w
MSRP $12.99
Introduction
Chapter 1 Basic Knowledge to Remember
Deforming Characters
Basics of Deforming Eyes
Bottom View, Top View, Profile
Body Balance and Center of Gravity
Understanding the Body’s Joints and Girth
Understanding Hand Joints
Understanding Foot Joints
Chapter 2 Character Parts Catalog
Original Character Catalog Ver. A
Original Character Catalog Ver. B
Chapter 3 Build and Animate Characters
Sample Character type01
Sample Character type02
Sample Character type03
Sample Character type04
Drawing Format
Chapter 4 Sample Illustrations
Sample Illustration #01
Sample Illustration #02
Sample Illustration #03
Sample Illustration #04
