The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics |  | Author: Freddie E Williams II
Brand: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
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Seller: BRILANTI BOOKS
Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 9,149
Media: Paperback
Pages: 128
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.4 x 7.5 x 0.4
MPN: 9780823099238
ISBN: 0823099237
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.510285
EAN: 9780823099238
ASIN: 0823099237
Publication Date: September 28, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
At last the first guide to drawing comics digitally! Artists! Gain incredible superpowers... with the help of your computer!
The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics shows how to give up pencil, pen, and paper and start drawing dynamic, exciting comics art entirely with computer tools.
Author Freddie E Williams is one of DC Comics' hottest artists and a leader in digital penciling and inking and here, in clear, step-by-step directions, he guides readers through every part of the digital process, from turning on the computer to finishing a digital file of fully inked comic art, ready for print.
Creating a template, sketching on the computer, penciling, and finally inking digitally are all covered in depth, along with bold, time saving shortcuts created by Williams, tested by years of trial and error.
Step into the digital age, streamline the drawing process, and leap over the limitations of mere physical drawing materials with The DC Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics.
Format: Trade Paperback, 144 pages
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 24
So Much Better Than I Could Have Expected... October 24, 2009
Richard Browder (Nashville-ish, TN USA)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
I was excited when I first learned about this book coming out because it's difficult for me to set up a normal artist's station in my house. Not knowing who this Freddie Williams guy was, I ended up going to his website and checking him out. It was here that I first became dismayed.
His website has a section labeled "DigiArt Quick Tools," in which one can find several Photoshop tools Freddie has available. These include several variations of his MasterPage file, which tend to cost a little bit of money (the bundle pack that gives you all the Master Pages runs I think about $125). I also noticed a blurb in which Freddie mentions that an entire section of the upcoming book is devoted to the Master Page. I immediately started thinking that the book was going to end up being a $15 commercial for the various tools he has to offer.
Never have I been so glad to be so dead wrong.
The section on Master Pages walks you through the process of making your own Master Page, and while he mentions his website, he never tells the reader to go buy anything. Instead, he teaches you how to do it yourself. In fact, there's only one thing that Freddie tells the reader to download, and that's the perspective tool that he created... and its free (as is a generic version of the Master Page, if you don't want to make your own or pay money for a company-specific Page).
As far as the rest of the book goes, it was a massive wake-up call in regards to realizing how powerful and how fast creating sequential artwork on the computer is. In fact, it seems that Freddie's main goal is to get the reader to create better artwork, faster, and he constantly discusses ways to make your work faster and more streamlined.
Be warned, though... this is NOT a "how to draw" book. If you don't know how to draw, this book won't be that helpful to you. This book is more accurately described as a "how to use the computer to draw" book. Additionally, if you don't know how to do any basic drawing in Photoshop, you might want to learn, quick. I have a very basic understanding of how to draw and paint with Photoshop, and this book has my mind racing with all the possibilities I have available to me now. Be prepared to think and imagine when you read the book.
Not every aspect of Freddie's work method will work for everyone, and he acknowledges fact. He describes his methods to the reader, and for key areas offers alternative paths for the reader to take that may be more comfortable for the reader.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I did. Did I learn anything from this book? Almost every step of the way. Would I recommend this book to the serious hobbyist or the artist getting into the comics field? Without a doubt and with no reservations, yes!!!!
A Fantastic, and Important book for the future of Comics September 7, 2009
John Gallagher (DC Metro Area)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
I am reviewing this as a working comics creator who has read almost every comics how-to book under the sun...
Buzzboy Trouble in ParadiseBuzzboy Volume 2: Monsters, Dreams, & Milkshakes
I've grown up reading how-to books for comics since the age old "How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way"-- whichas a twelve year old, blew my mind. "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud brought the unique concepts behind comics to the forefront, and as I prepared to launch my professional career in comics, it helped give me a set of mental tools to focus on storytelling that I still use to this day. But Freddie E Williams II has written and illustrated The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics as a book that focuses on the draftsmanship and technical tools that will help define comics through the 21st century.
Written in a friendly, easy-to-understand style, Mr. Williams leaves the basic discussions on HOW TO DRAW, and assumes the reader already has enough books on that. This book really focuses on creating comics in either a completely digital way, or (addressing most traditional artists' fears) creating comics as a hybrid between the computer and the hand drawn comics in a variety of ways that can cater to one's strengths. I have always been a writer/penciller, and can only describe my own inking as though I inked with a chocolate bar instead of a brush. When I picked up the book, I immediately went to the Inking section, and immediately found the methods to be completely within my technical abilities in Photoshop (a must have, along with a wacom or cintiq tablet for the methods described). And while I have over 15 years experience with Photoshop, Williams really makes this a doable thing for anyone who takes the time to learn just a few of the tools in Photoshop.
Other topics that surprised me for their ease and flexibility include the sections on creating backgrounds, working from a library of art for warping to fit perspective and placement, and other items that caused a few "Why didn't I think of that?" moments.
Whether you draw funny animals, super heroes, or manga, I highly recommend this book to anyone that is ready to delve into the process of creating comics in what can ultimately be a more efficient, flexible, and ultimately more creative way.
Who this book is for, and whether you are ready for it.. November 24, 2009
xiombarg (Dead Sea)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
This is an excellent, excellent book, truly..
But with that said I felt it would be helpful for you guys to know whether you really are ready for this book. This is an advanced book for generally competent comic book artists who are aspiring to move into a digital work flow. This book will not teach you how to draw. If you have never used Photoshop or are just getting started with it and aren't familiar with a Wacom tablet, this book is probably a solid two years away from being really helpful to you. I've been a graphic designer for more than ten years and I actually found a couple of challenges with new tricks I gleaned from using this book.
Something else I'm going to mention that might seem obvious but you might not be thinking about when purchasing this book is that in order to follow through with setting up your digital work station, there is a good chance you'll need to spend some bucks, possibly a lot of bucks depending on what kind of system you have and whether you already own Photoshop and a Wacom tablet etc. Oh, and you'll need your RAM to be up to snuff.
For newer and intermediate guys I would give some added advice: If you are still really working on your drawing and anatomy skills, you will learn to draw better and faster by pouring through sketchbooks than by trying to learn how to draw strictly through the use of a Wacom tablet. A tablet will help you to be much more efficient in the production end of your drawing, but its not ideal as an art learning tool to really tighten skills. Some people might disagree, but most artists I've talked to, and from my own experience, the learning part really works best with a sketchbook.
All that aside, this is an almost perfect book for moving into digital drawing and comic book illustration. Freddie does a stellar job of really mapping out the process and helping you to set up your files and templates. It has excellent explanations and for the most part is very clear. In it's category, I couldn't recommend it more.
Dangerously Good! November 13, 2009
$ko7 (san diego)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Recently a friend had asked me my opinion on this book and to get back to him after I'd read it. I thought it would be much more productive to review/share my thoughts on this book here... also being as the holiday season is right around the corner, it would make a great gift.
Now, I can pretty much sum it up in one word, DANGEROUS!
Here's why, this book will pretty much walk you though creating comic pages digitally, from concept to final. It also provides some very helpful tips into creating elements you might find yourself using again and again...
Which is why I find this book to be so Dangerous. You see, it opens allot of doors to information that could easily be abused by some less then honest/dedicated arts. However, I can safely say this book has complied information on creating comics that I myself have spend almost 20 years learning from the real world and by reading countless other books on digital art.
Which is the other reason it's so Dangerous. Sometimes when people don't have to put forth any real effort to acquire knowledge, they act irresponsible with it... they don't respect it. Which is my biggest fear about this book. It really gives you every step, and compares the pros and cons to working traditionally as well as digital...
However, with that being said, every comic artist working digitally or in a hybrid of traditional and digital should read this book... I found myself saying many times while reading it, "Yup, figured that out the hard way" or "i've come to that very same conclusion myself" and even "oh yeah, that would be faster wouldn't it".
To be 100% honest, it's probably as important (if not more so) then Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" and it's a very productive read no matter how much you think you know about creating comics digitally, much less traditionally.
THIS IS NOT A "HOW TO DRAW BOOK"! It's a production book, it mainly focuses on how to create a digital work flow and create comic pages from start to finish. It works on the assumption you know how to draw already and picks up from there. It does make some points about the pros and cons to drawing on paper then scanning, vs drawing completely on the computer. It doesn't cover anatomy or things like that. Some of what's shown could be misconstrued or taken the wrong way when it comes to creating art digitally, which is another reason I feel it's dangerous. Some of what's presented might cause people to take short cuts (like tracing reference) rather then dedicating the time to actually learning to draw, which is a HUGE issue in art today. I'm sorry, tracing isn't drawing no matter which famous artist do it, it's wrong. No debate, no discussion.
That being said, if comics or manga is your passion, read this book, you won't be sorry and you will really learn something... if not many things ;)
Excellent, buy this book! November 5, 2009
Sam (Nassau, Bahamas)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The DC Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics is one of the best if not the best Guide out there to creating comics. What makes the book so good is Freddie's ability to convey information so clearly and in simple, straight-forward, easy to understand terms.
This book is mainly aimed at people with some knowledge of various design software such as Adobe Photoshop which was the main tool the author uses. That in itself is my only warning to anyone thinking about buying this book. Don't expect to be taught Photoshop inside and out. If you know photoshop pretty well then this will be a Gem for you. I've been working on my own comic book project mainly in Corel Painter however most design software is at its core kind of the same. Freddie explains things so well that I could actually apply his Photoshop techniques to Corel, so even if you don't use Photoshop the ideas presented here cross software boundaries. Seeing how well presented and coherent Freddie explains his workflow I am strongly considering drawing everything in Photoshop then using Corel Painter for color only.
Freddie will carry you from beginning to end, from the digital sketch to the digital inks. He will give you hints, tips and so much useful ideas for creating a speedy workflow. I got the book this evening and sat down just to flip through some pages. Before I knew it I had read through more than half of the book, it was that interesting! I feel like I've just been sitting down with a friend who for hours was patiently helping me to understand the proper way to go about creating the comic book of my dreams.
Finally I was so happy to see a proper section on creating backgrounds using perspective grids digitally. This is what I've been looking for everywhere for a couple years. This guy has covered all the obstacles that you will encounter, the only thing left is to pick up the Wacom pen and draw. Thank you so much Freddie for an excellent Guide or rather a BIBLE in my opinion. This book is priceless.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 24
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