I recently picked up "Draw Manga Style" by Scott Harris, and as someone who’s always wanted to try drawing anime and manga but didn’t know where to start, this book was a game-changer! It’s packed with 62 easy-to-follow lessons that break down everything from the basics of anatomy to creating dynamic poses and characters.

The first 20 lessons focus on fundamentals like proportions, facial expressions, and body shapes, which really helped me build a solid foundation. Then, the book dives into step-by-step tutorials for over 40 characters—ninjas, witches, samurai, and more. Each tutorial is clear and detailed, showing the process from rough sketch to finished drawing. I especially loved the variety of characters and poses, which gave me plenty of inspiration to practice and experiment.

While the book doesn’t cover coloring or advanced techniques, it’s perfect for beginners or anyone looking to improve their manga-drawing skills. The instructions are straightforward, and the author’s encouraging tone made me feel like I could actually do this!

If you’re new to manga art or just want a fun, accessible guide to drawing your favorite anime-style characters, "Draw Manga Style" is a great place to start. It’s definitely sparked my creativity, and I can’t wait to keep practicing!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I am absolute beginner to drawing Manga Style and this provided lots of information. Even though the book introduces to basic structure and shapes and how to draw each part, I found it a bit difficult as a newbie to follow. If you already draw a bit of manga or not absolute newbie to drawing like me, this is a great book.

This title was short which can be good for titles I want to select for teens but it didn't have a lot of description. This made it seem like it wasn't terribly informative. I think there are better options out there.

This drawing how-to for Manga does an excellent job of having the basics of how to draw Manga (the proportions, the basic drawing shapes that make it up) and walking you through sample characters that involve a level of character design by the reader/drawer.

I think this is definitely appropriate for introductory level artists interested in learning how to draw Manga. This drawing how-to does not have how to color in a manga style. If that is something that you are looking for, this isn't the best book.

Again, a solid starting book for anyone interested in learning how to draw manga.

Draw Manga Style is a tutorial and style guide for beginning artists for learning how to draw anime and manga figures by Scott Harris. Released 14th Dec 2021 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This a fun and accessible tutorial guide aimed at beginners to slightly more advanced readers and usable for all-ages. The author has an engaging and encouraging style of teaching and writes clearly and enthusiastically. I love that he says that the way that he saw improvement was simply by practicing and refusing to give up! The book includes an abbreviated introduction with a primer on forms and elements, followed by very general anime anatomy and physiological features and how to progress from rough sketch through the refining process.

The book's tutorial chapters include step by step tutorials for different characters focusing on facial features, character personalities, and step by step simple line drawings for producing an outline sketch.

This would make a good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or gift giving (perhaps bundled with some basic drawing supplies). It's a very simple and abbreviated guide but there's a lot of good basic information here.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.