Kids Draw Anime at Anime Hideout

Grade 3-6-Hart supplies simple instructions for creating the distinctive eyes, exaggerated expressions, and dramatic poses that characterize Japanese-style cartoon figures. Intending to get budding artists off on the right foot, he shows how each body part and posture begins with basic geometric shapes and then, rather than furnish start-to-finish directions, he skips from the sketched outline to a finished, colored example. The brief captions mix practical advice, such as, "The neck isn't just plopped on the shoulders. It begins inside the body," with inspirational comments, and the book closes on a high note with pulse-elevating pictures of two large monsters and a general melee. Though this book never gets beyond the drawing of single figures, it makes a good start for serious beginners; more practiced young cartoonists looking for historical background, an extensive gallery of character types, or instruction in composition and page design will get more from Hart's Manga Mania (Watson-Guptill, 2001).
John Peters, New York Public Library
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