Foundations in Comic Book Art: SCAD Creative Essentials (Fundamental Tools and Techniques for Sequential Artists) Paperback – August 12, 2014

I was very fortunate to have John Lowe as my professor in a several classes in SCAD. In this book, John Lowe explains everything as it is, very clear and straight forward --with his own and students' examples, how to's, and exercises, just like how he conducts his classes. I think it's interesting and important that he includes his and his students' works so the readers can see how other people approached the subject he teaches. It doesn't matter how many pages I have drawn, I find myself refer back to something in this book time to time. This book is timeless and just like how the book is to me, it will be one of those books you'd want to have around whether you're doing comics as a hobby or whether you want to do comics professionally.Also, don't worry if English is not your first language, it isn't mine either --the book is still very easy to understand. The author divides the book into several chapters with increasing difficulties so as long as you don't skip chapters, you'll be fine :D.

Excellent! To quote the book (put into words how I felt when I read it). “I imagined the book my students (and my younger self) would want to discover at a library.( John Paul Lowe, pg 11). By page 23, starting learning concepts about perspective I had not learned in other books! So many art books want to just show off the authors talent, but this book is well illustrated and shows the authors talents. I have heard that SCAD has a excellent reputation in arts and design, but now others of us who could not make it to SCAD have a chance to learn sequential art! Thanks to the author for excellent presentation and style! Highly recommend!

i will have to say that, though i have many books on the topic of comic book art illustration... that foundations in comic book art: fundamental tools & techniques for sequential artists by john paul lowe & SCAD, is by far the most complete book on the subject as far as a single book goes, for ones such as i whom are largely "self-taught" that this book is like having a personal home study course from an art school that specializes in comic book art, john paul lowe & SCAD ( the savannah collage of art & design ) have delivered a book that is top notch and far exceeds any positive hype of the book !! i WILL always recomened this title to ANY artist, amature, novice, aspiring and PRO- comic artists out there ! imo, this book should be a STANDARD text book in ANY high school & collage art course ! for its value is inmesurable !!!!

This is a good book and worth the $17 I paid for it. The advice, information, and exercises are good. But that said, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others in most cases, since there are better books which cover the same subject matter more thoroughly. (See the end of this review for titles I would recommend instead).The case where I would recommend it is to a budding artist, and in conjunction with something such as How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, which will fill in a couple of key blanks in Foundations is Comic Book Art.All of the material in this book is good, and the few exercises are excellent, but it's fundamentally incomplete in any aspect to be considered a great book. I would have found it revolutionary if I had read it within the first few years after I started taking art more seriously (say early to mid teens) but now there isn't much to be gained from this book for me.What surprised me the most is that there is very little that is specific to comic book art. About 80% of the book is information that would apply to any drawing style, which is fine, but I was expecting something more focused. And none of the information is given a very thorough treatment, except for inking (more on that below), which gets a fair treatment, although not exhaustive. And although there is a "Figure" chapter, there is almost nothing of value in terms of figure drawing or visual character development, which in my opinion leaves the book incomplete.Also nothing really about translating story or action to the panel.The exception to the shortcomings is the inking section, which consists of 2-1/2 chapters. It is the most complete segment of this book, and is very good. I have other books on drawing with ink that I prefer, but those aren't specifically geared to comic book inking.So all in all, good material, just lacking in depth.For the deeper dive I would recommend:How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination, which covers all of the same general drawing information covered in Foundations in Comic Art's second and third chapters, plus a lot more, and in exhaustive detail. The angle is more from a design perspective, but can be applied to a broad array of drawing disciplines.Scott McClouds books, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art and Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels which are an incredibly in depth approach to comic theory.Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators (Force Drawing Series) to supplement the missing translation of character and action into image.Really any good text on figure drawing such as Figure Drawing: Design and Invention. Or Bridgman, Loomis, etc.My favorite inking book Rendering in Pen and Ink: New Edition of the Classic Book on Pen and Ink Techniques for Artists, Illustrators, Architects, and Designers is a wealth of knowledge if you're going to be attaching the subject with traditional materials.Getting each of those books will set one back a little bit, and will take a fair bit longer to study and practice. So maybe this smaller, less expensive book is a good starting point... but if you have the time and money, go with the better materials and give the subjects the careful study and practice that they deserve.

This book has been extremely popular in my house the last few days - with every member of the family flipping through the pages - not only enjoying the illustrations by John Paul Lowe but also the friendly manner he explains how to achieve results. For me, what I like best is his appreciation for individuality - he isn't teaching a robotic pattern to follow - but rather a careful set of basics that allow each of our inner voices to be expressed on paper. Now, those pale white sheets of paper and pointed pencils are now less intimidating to me. It all seems doable and achievable and a heap of fun.

I'm an indy comic book artist and over the years I've bought several art books and art books specifically geared for comic books. A good deal of them out there are lack luster and only cover a small amount of what there is to learn. This book however, in my opinion, is one of the best out there on the subject! It covers a lot of ground and there's lots of great illustrations through out. Everything from penciling to perspective to computer coloring. Great purchase!