The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics [ペーパーバック]

I was excited when I first learned about this book coming out because it's difficult for me to set up a normal artist's station in my house. Not knowing who this Freddie Williams guy was, I ended up going to his website and checking him out. It was here that I first became dismayed.

His website has a section labeled "DigiArt Quick Tools," in which one can find several Photoshop tools Freddie has available. These include several variations of his MasterPage file, which tend to cost a little bit of money (the bundle pack that gives you all the Master Pages runs I think about $125). I also noticed a blurb in which Freddie mentions that an entire section of the upcoming book is devoted to the Master Page. I immediately started thinking that the book was going to end up being a $15 commercial for the various tools he has to offer.

Never have I been so glad to be so dead wrong.

The section on Master Pages walks you through the process of making your own Master Page, and while he mentions his website, he never tells the reader to go buy anything. Instead, he teaches you how to do it yourself. In fact, there's only one thing that Freddie tells the reader to download, and that's the perspective tool that he created... and its free (as is a generic version of the Master Page, if you don't want to make your own or pay money for a company-specific Page).

As far as the rest of the book goes, it was a massive wake-up call in regards to realizing how powerful and how fast creating sequential artwork on the computer is. In fact, it seems that Freddie's main goal is to get the reader to create better artwork, faster, and he constantly discusses ways to make your work faster and more streamlined.

Be warned, though... this is NOT a "how to draw" book. If you don't know how to draw, this book won't be that helpful to you. This book is more accurately described as a "how to use the computer to draw" book. Additionally, if you don't know how to do any basic drawing in Photoshop, you might want to learn, quick. I have a very basic understanding of how to draw and paint with Photoshop, and this book has my mind racing with all the possibilities I have available to me now. Be prepared to think and imagine when you read the book.

Not every aspect of Freddie's work method will work for everyone, and he acknowledges fact. He describes his methods to the reader, and for key areas offers alternative paths for the reader to take that may be more comfortable for the reader.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I did. Did I learn anything from this book? Almost every step of the way. Would I recommend this book to the serious hobbyist or the artist getting into the comics field? Without a doubt and with no reservations, yes!!!!

This is an excellent, excellent book, truly..
But with that said I felt it would be helpful for you guys to know whether you really are ready for this book. This is an advanced book for generally competent comic book artists who are aspiring to move into a digital work flow. This book will not teach you how to draw. If you have never used Photoshop or are just getting started with it and aren't familiar with a Wacom tablet, this book is probably a solid two years away from being really helpful to you. I've been a graphic designer for more than ten years and I actually found a couple of challenges with new tricks I gleaned from using this book.

Something else I'm going to mention that might seem obvious but you might not be thinking about when purchasing this book is that in order to follow through with setting up your digital work station, there is a good chance you'll need to spend some bucks, possibly a lot of bucks depending on what kind of system you have and whether you already own Photoshop and a Wacom tablet etc. Oh, and you'll need your RAM to be up to snuff.

For newer and intermediate guys I would give some added advice: If you are still really working on your drawing and anatomy skills, you will learn to draw better and faster by pouring through sketchbooks than by trying to learn how to draw strictly through the use of a Wacom tablet. A tablet will help you to be much more efficient in the production end of your drawing, but its not ideal as an art learning tool to really tighten skills. Some people might disagree, but most artists I've talked to, and from my own experience, the learning part really works best with a sketchbook.

All that aside, this is an almost perfect book for moving into digital drawing and comic book illustration. Freddie does a stellar job of really mapping out the process and helping you to set up your files and templates. It has excellent explanations and for the most part is very clear. In it's category, I couldn't recommend it more.

I am reviewing this as a working comics creator who has read almost every comics how-to book under the sun...
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I've grown up reading how-to books for comics since the age old "How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way"-- whichas a twelve year old, blew my mind. "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud brought the unique concepts behind comics to the forefront, and as I prepared to launch my professional career in comics, it helped give me a set of mental tools to focus on storytelling that I still use to this day. But Freddie E Williams II has written and illustrated The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics as a book that focuses on the draftsmanship and technical tools that will help define comics through the 21st century.

Written in a friendly, easy-to-understand style, Mr. Williams leaves the basic discussions on HOW TO DRAW, and assumes the reader already has enough books on that. This book really focuses on creating comics in either a completely digital way, or (addressing most traditional artists' fears) creating comics as a hybrid between the computer and the hand drawn comics in a variety of ways that can cater to one's strengths. I have always been a writer/penciller, and can only describe my own inking as though I inked with a chocolate bar instead of a brush. When I picked up the book, I immediately went to the Inking section, and immediately found the methods to be completely within my technical abilities in Photoshop (a must have, along with a wacom or cintiq tablet for the methods described). And while I have over 15 years experience with Photoshop, Williams really makes this a doable thing for anyone who takes the time to learn just a few of the tools in Photoshop.

Other topics that surprised me for their ease and flexibility include the sections on creating backgrounds, working from a library of art for warping to fit perspective and placement, and other items that caused a few "Why didn't I think of that?" moments.

Whether you draw funny animals, super heroes, or manga, I highly recommend this book to anyone that is ready to delve into the process of creating comics in what can ultimately be a more efficient, flexible, and ultimately more creative way.