Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

So I recently got an email from Adam, the publisher of theOtaku.com, asking me if I would be interested in reviewing Art of Otaku. To be honest, I hadn’t ever heard of either theOtaku.com or Art of Otaku, but when I went to the page, the description had me intrigued. See, in addition to watching too much anime for my own good, I also enjoy doing fanart. Man, I remember spending spare time in highschool reading manga, searching for tutorials, and just practicing all the time trying to learn to draw in an anime style. Resources then were painfully rare, and only a few kind artists ever posted about how they created their works of art. Nowadays as anime has become a little more popular, several books have sprung up; however, I think that Art of Otaku stacks up very well against the books available on the market.

The first thing that differentiates Art of Otaku is that it is available in a digital format, as a PDF file. There’s nothing like that instant gratification of signing up, clicking the provided link, and downloading 852 pages of wisdom without even leaving my seat. Art of Otaku is essentially lessons from 8 different artists that take you step by step through the process of creating anime-style art. More than any other publication that I’ve browsed or purchased, Art of Otaku is clearly done by normal fans who are sharing their own lessons and experiences. I have several books from professional artists, and while they are very slick, the books don’t always act as the best teacher. Most art tutorial books seem to skip extremely quickly through the steps and so the work in progress jumps from a few scratchy lines to a gorgeous picture in only 3 steps. While that’s great if you’ve got all the basics down, it can be very discouraging for beginners. In contrast, Art of Otaku may not possess the most polished pieces of art you’ve ever seen, but what it does do is take you through the steps with explanations from the ground up. Moreover, each of the featured artists has a strong grasp of the basics of lighting and also using shapes to construct a body/pose. Personally, I feel that these are two of the most important things that can be learned from an art book. However, Art of Otaku actually provides 8 different variations on how you can use these shapes to set up your picture, and does a great job of helping beginners to find which method works best for them.

I read through the entire book, but the book is structured to allow for easy skipping between lessons. As I read through the various chapters, I was impressed at how well the guide remained focused on its core audience: normal anime fans trying to learn to draw in an anime style. The vast majority of the lessons are devoted to working with pencil, pens, watercolors, and colored pencils. I use a Wacom tablet and Photoshop for my art nowadays, but it is extremely important to work with real media at the beginning. I was a little disappointed at first that there weren’t more digital media lessons, but it made more sense the more I thought about it. Most normal fans are not going to drop several hundred dollars on specialized hardware and software in order to learn how to draw; they’re just going to pick up a piece of computer paper and a pencil. Art of Otaku is always aware of this fact, and always explains the basics of all the tools used. Every chapter starts with a short introduction and a list of tools that will be used.

I had a few nitpicks with the guide, but I should stress these are more suggestions for later installments instead of harsh criticisms. I thought the PDF format was good, but perhaps an HTML version could have been provided as well, for even easier browsing (as the guide is rather epic). The guide could also have used a few lessons about hands, as most artists find them challenging. As a personal nitpick, I would have liked some more screenshots of the buttons or steps used in the CG sections, but I understand that programs change with each version and that screenshots may have confused some readers.

After finishing the book, I felt that Adam and his crew had really stuck to their goal of finding “how best to teach people to draw anime better and develop their own unique art style.” The 8 artists do a fabulous job of guiding you through all the steps, and the subject matter covers males, females, backgrounds, animals, chibis, and more. With so many tutorials from different sources, the reader really has an opportunity to pick and choose methods that fit his/her own style. The intros and sidenotes are all entertaining and informative as well, and they give the book a chatty, and friendly feel. Overall, I think Art of Otaku is an excellent resource for learning to draw anime, and it is clearly a book made by fans for fans.

Kabitzin’s Rating: 5/5