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Fantasy! Cartooning
The sizzling hot author of Action! Cartooning (100,000 copies sold!) has created a truly "fantastic" second a visually eye-popping, covers-it-all manual on drawing and understanding fantasy art.
A former Marvel cartoonist and one of the most talented young artists in this very hip field, Ben Caldwell now delivers his thrilling follow-up to Action! Cartooning . Fantasy! Cartooning is ideal for all kids and adults who love the Lord of the Rings movies, anticipate the Christmas 2005 release of The Chronicles of Narnia film, or have ever read a Harry Potter book. As before, Ben does not merely teach readers how to draw a line here or a circle there; he provides much, much more. Artists will find true insider tips on how to create mind-blowing scenes, awe-inspiring monsters, bigger-than-life heroes, and really incredible, magical landscapes. And because Ben Caldwell knows the fantasy genre inside out, he explains all the complex stories and legends behind each image, too.
A former Marvel cartoonist and one of the most talented young artists in this very hip field, Ben Caldwell now delivers his thrilling follow-up to Action! Cartooning . Fantasy! Cartooning is ideal for all kids and adults who love the Lord of the Rings movies, anticipate the Christmas 2005 release of The Chronicles of Narnia film, or have ever read a Harry Potter book. As before, Ben does not merely teach readers how to draw a line here or a circle there; he provides much, much more. Artists will find true insider tips on how to create mind-blowing scenes, awe-inspiring monsters, bigger-than-life heroes, and really incredible, magical landscapes. And because Ben Caldwell knows the fantasy genre inside out, he explains all the complex stories and legends behind each image, too.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 31, 2019
A very good reference book for different types of fantasy creatures. The tips, although classic, are also quite helpful in identifying and drawing these creature types.
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January 28, 2025I was just thinking about this book I read as a teen when I was learning how to draw. I most clearly remember being sad at the small variety of girl characters without stereotypical personalities in this book. (I wanted to draw a girl main character around the age of the boy on the cover, but there were only sexy adult ladies with huge legs, and a boring princess. No relatable ones). Now that I'm older, I notice a lot of artists in my generation with some of these bad habits when it comes to designing boring girl characters, as if these are the only designs they can think of, so I think this really did have an influence that was not so good, even though I learned a lot from it and I think it is good at showing how to draw cartoon anatomy. I wonder why this artist never cared about girls that much, since all his work seems to have these boring designs for them.
August 8, 2017
enjoyed it and think I might revisit it but I really wish there was a wider variety of female characters/body types!
December 5, 2012
(More pictures at parkablogs.com)
This book is incredibly fun if you're into fantasy cartooning.
Ben Caldwell has filled the pages with sketches and tips to drawing all sorts of fantasy characters, ranging from heroes, villains, fairies to beasts. The tips given are not just on drawing, but also on developing characteristics and personality into them. That's character design. He talks about everything, from the hair, eye shadows, wrinkles, costumes, postures, smiles and basically anything that you can see.
There's a companion website to the book called Action Cartooning. You can find more art, comics and a community forum.
This review was first published on parkablogs.com. There are more pictures and videos on my blog.
January 28, 2011
Ben Caldwell has a lovely style that is both eye-grabbing and comical. But this book in itself has many flaws.
Ben does provide lots of wholesome examples of variation between faces and character types, but not enough. The variation is very wide, for example, he shows more variety on males than he does on females.
Some of the poses he chose for the characters are also terrible if a beginner were to pick this up. Really it's not just a beginner, it's about showing clarity in the character. There should never be an image of a character not facing the front in an example. The Gypsy is a good example of this. Why did he bother drawing her body but not her face? He describes the face but doesn't show it. This is a flaw.
Another flaw of the book is that some of the images looked rushed or just unfinished. Even pencil work should be taken into meticulous care.
On the bright side, most of the proportions are done well. Ben Caldwell is one my personal inspirations, and I'm sure he'll be a great inspiration for others just the same.
Ben does provide lots of wholesome examples of variation between faces and character types, but not enough. The variation is very wide, for example, he shows more variety on males than he does on females.
Some of the poses he chose for the characters are also terrible if a beginner were to pick this up. Really it's not just a beginner, it's about showing clarity in the character. There should never be an image of a character not facing the front in an example. The Gypsy is a good example of this. Why did he bother drawing her body but not her face? He describes the face but doesn't show it. This is a flaw.
Another flaw of the book is that some of the images looked rushed or just unfinished. Even pencil work should be taken into meticulous care.
On the bright side, most of the proportions are done well. Ben Caldwell is one my personal inspirations, and I'm sure he'll be a great inspiration for others just the same.
July 31, 2015
Recycling my other review...waste not, want not
Really love Ben's style and wish I could draw like him. Overall some good tips in here and great for inspiring one to experiment.
Don't expect to draw like him at the end, but going through and playing with the ideas in here will probably help.
I draw slightly better than average, but not "good" and I credit books like this and other drawing books for getting me to draw and try new things. The key thing is to keep drawing and experimenting.
Good reference book.
Really love Ben's style and wish I could draw like him. Overall some good tips in here and great for inspiring one to experiment.
Don't expect to draw like him at the end, but going through and playing with the ideas in here will probably help.
I draw slightly better than average, but not "good" and I credit books like this and other drawing books for getting me to draw and try new things. The key thing is to keep drawing and experimenting.
Good reference book.
May 12, 2010
I love this guy's style. One of the most inspirational art books I've ever looked through.
October 17, 2011
See my brief review here: http://uuuinfinity.blogspot.com/2011/...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews