Drawing Comics Lab: 52 Exercises on Characters, Panels, Storytelling, Publishing, & Professional Practices

by Robyn Chapman

Do you dream of becoming a comic artist? "Drawing Comics Lab" covers all of the basic steps necessary to produce a comic, from the first doodle to the finished publication. This easy-to-follow book is designed for the beginning or aspiring cartoonist; both children and adults will find the techniques to be engaging and highly accessible.

Featured artists

- James Sturm

- Tom Hart

- Jessica Abel

- Matt Madden

- Eddie Campbell

- And many others

Start your comic adventures today with "Drawing Comics Lab"!

Genres: Art, Comics, Nonfiction, Drawing, Reference, Writing, Graphic Novels

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Julie Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for artists of any genre

As an artist and writer that does not d o cartoons, I found this book to be a great resource for it's insight on storytelling, drawing, organization, experimentation with methods and materials, editing, and getting connected with other artists. I was impressed with the amount of crossover value this book has. Plus, I feel like I could absolutely draw a comic now!

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Going through the book a second time. There is the same impression of underachiever, but overall the pictures have seldom something in common with the text so the information is quite low even for a book in this category.

[Jesse Stoddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book for people starting out who want a fun overview of the comics world, especially those interested in going the Indie and self-publishing route. I thoroughly enjoyed it and got a lot of inspiring ideas.

[Linda Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am looking forward to trying some of these methods of drawing comics as a form of expressing myself

[Kevin McCloskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've used exercises from this book in my college classroom and used other exercises with 8th graders in a half-day zine making workshop. This is a splendid book for anyone who wants to get better at visual storytelling. I doubt you will do every one of the 52 exercises, but even if you do 10 or 20, it will up your game.

The exercises are meant to improve your plotting, pacing, and all around cartooning skills. The author has a lot of connections in the comics industry and many well known artists contribute their favorite exercises.

I especially like Robyn Chapman's attitude. She talks about living the dream. I find it refreshing and helpful for aspiring comics artists. I will paste it below...

"Living the Dream
For many of us, the dream means making a living, possibly a good one, from drawing comics. That dream does come true--for a small number of people. The rest of us need to build a counter narrative to The Dream. For the past seven years, I've worked in what can vaguely be called the comics industry--as an administrator, a teacher, an editor, a publisher, a project manger, and now an author. If I had waited around for that comics drawing job I would have long since starved.

So, am I disqualified as being professional? Hardly. All being a professional means is that you take cartooning seriously and approach it with an industrious work ethic. With a little effort and a bit of guidance, we can all be professionals, and each fashion a version of The Dream to our personal trajectories." from Drawing Comics Lab.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate this book. Very easy to follow along, with diagrams that actually make sense. Some of the other artists who show up in the book seem really disinterested (like she of the one-pager section. But this was inspirational, and got me thinking that I can actually do this!

[Stefanie Girard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring and great creative prompts

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough introduction to making your own comic! It was interesting, and it kept me entertained. It was also full of prompts/projects to help develop your own characters, comics, etc.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good tutorial. I will dip back into for re-reads.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is trying his best. But the hints are convoluted and over complicate the newcomer.