| Level: | Beginner |
| Tone: | Introduction Guide |
| Pages: | 191 |
| Published: | 2008 |
| Arbitrary Rating: | 4/5 |
| Plan to Reread: | No |
My Opinion:
Phew, that's a mouthful right? John M. Byrne's "Cartooning" is a crash course in a variety of artistic disciplines that you can find in that crazy title. As an example, chapter 7 is on caricatures and is about twenty pages long with multiple illustrations on most pages.
I really like this approach for beginners because it's easy to follow along with the visuals and there's just enough instruction to get your feet wet. That being said, if you're looking to improve on any of these styles you're going to need way more than the one or two examples provided in this book.
The chapter on humor, using puns, and generating interesting ideas was probably my favorite. A lot of books take the approach of showing you a pretty picture and then breaking it up into a few easy to follow steps. Byrne gives advice on tools to use, writing tips, and observation techniques to choose the best details when translating from real life to cartoon.
While the contents of this book may not carry you as far as a more academic text, it has plenty to offer in an enjoyable and colorful presentation. That's one of my biggest gripes so far. Most of the books I've been reading through are so heavily focused on the use of charcoals and pencils that they don't bother to include any colored illustrations. Looking at 100+ pages of black and white can be a real drag, so I'm happy to find a guide that goes that extra step.
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