Product Description

Drawing realistic robots is like building a better mousetrap: Every manga artist wants to do it, but few know where to begin. "Giant Robots," the latest entry in the world-renowned How to Draw Manga series, provides step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations that will prove invaluable to novice artists and accomplished illustrators alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #444581 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9784766112559
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

ALMOST AS GOOD AS MECHA MANIA - STILL A MUST HAVE FOR MECHA
I know some of you may go to this page and might not be sure if you should go ahead and buy the book, saying maybe you should just get Mecha Mania instead. I say get both, like I said before in a previous review, tutorials and resources on drawing mecha are rare, so you should grab this book alongside Mecha Mania. I would have gave this book 5 stars, but they didn't show how to draw a robot step by step through a pretty good progression like in Mecha Mania. Instead they just show the finnish product and show you the shapes and methods you would use. That is a fault this book has compared to Mecha Mania. On the good side though, this book has some advantages over Mecha Mania in many ways. First it shows you more different examples of robots and has a large number and variety of accessories and styles. This book is also pretty much set up the same way Mecha mania is set up, even show how to draw cyborg women but a little more realistic.

This is how the book is set up:
SECT 1: BASIC ROBOT DESIGN
A. FULL BODY
B. HEAD
C. TRUNK
D. CHEST
E. HIPS
F. SHOULDER AND ELBOW JOINTS
G. SHOULDERS
H. HANDS
I. ARMS: OVERALL DESIGN
J. LEGS
(WITH MORE SUB SECTIONS FOR EACH)

SECT 2: COMBAT ROBOTS
A. DESIGN BASED ON KNIGHTS ARMOR
B. ROBOTS BASED ON COMBAT UNIFORM
C. DESIGN HEAD
D. WEAPONS
E. MAGAZINE ARRANGEMENTS
F. TRANSPORTATION UNITS
G. COLOR EXPRESSION AND SPEACIAL EFFECTS
H. DESIGNING ORIGINAL ROBOTS
(MORE DETAIL FOR EACH)

SECT 3: FEMALE ROBOTS
(GOES THROUGH ALL OF THAT, COMPARING A REGULAR MANGA STYLE FIGURE TO A FINAL CYBORG LOOKING CHARCHTER.)

All and all it is an excellant companion to Mecha Mania. You must and I mean must go get this book! Dont let the no image scare you, just look for another site where you can see the picture. In conclusion, just get this book if you are serious and want to learn how to draw mecha, it is an extra source of information where information on this subject is scarce. Peace out, untill another book or product worthy of my praise and review!

G Money a.k.a Guardian
"I eliminate all obstacles"
- Heero Yuy

The best so far on learning to draw mecha
There are few books on this subject - this is an excellent primer on drawing robots of all sorts. If you are looking to draw mecha and robots of all kinds and flavors this is the one to get above all other books on this subject so far. Covers various styles of mecha from 'hero'-style super robots (gaiking, mazinger, etc), to Transformer-type robots (including faces - useful) to the more Gundam-style mecha.

Only gripes is a section towards the end covering designing a robot - it uses CGI and wireframes and is difficult to visualize - this book deals with illustrating but this section explains with CGI modelling- doesn't work at all as a visual example. Better to have had 7 pages filled with more 'stuff' like more examples of articulation, weapons, heads, thrusters, etc - for inspiration. Could've also shaved a few pages off the female robot section for more mecha examples.

If you want the ultimate mecha duo, combine this book with the Model Graphix Special Edition "Gundam Wars III Gundam Sentinel" book (in Japanese, but has pages and pages of mecha, weapons, tranformation sequences) and you'll be on your way in no time! Or research on the Internet - plenty of additional inspiration to complement this book.

One of three solid mech drawing books
4-1/2 stars. The more I spend time with this book, the more I like it. The big surprise for me here is the amazing attention to detail: *many* ideas & principles of robot design are analyzed & examined, with great variety in mechs. 5 stars for idea generating help(!), but 4-1/2 stars overall due to lack of transforming mech examples, which is really my main interest.

I recently bought three books on robots. A brief comparison:

1. How to Draw Manga- Giant Robots. 4-1/2 stars. Phenomenal details for all kinds of robots. It's my favorite book of the 3. It has very little on robots that transform, which is too bad, but few books can match the incredibly detailed instruction here with such a wide variety of designs. It's a visually attractive, well organized effort.

2. Let's Draw Manga- Transforming Robots. 4 stars. The best book of the 3 in dealing with actual transformations. It shows actual photos of toys, and then plenty of pictures detailing the transforming process. The drawing quality is a little rough but still professional. Better drawing quality would've made this a 5-star book.

3. How to Draw Manga- Mech Drawing. 4 stars. Great looking cover; the interior art is professional as well. Some drawings are truly excellent, but many are a bit too plain looking and lack visual interest. It covers the artistic rendering of mechanical vehicles & items of all types, and not just robots. With very little information on transforming mechs, it's still above average overall.

As you can see, each book has its strengths & weaknesses. And each is entirely black & white- no color drawings inside. I have yet to find a book on robots that I consider truly 5-star material. The day I do, I may update this review.