[.ca] Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain: How to Come Up ... (ISBN 0823013812)

Bleh:
I wanted this book to be good. I really did. It had what I was looking for, info on the most important aspect of cartooning: the writing.But, unless you intend to create cliche, unoriginal cartoons, this book is not for you. Because that's all it does. It explains in detail the most common cartoon character stereotypes and how you should use them. it tells you what is normally done and tells you to do the same. cartooning is not about following paths that have already been followed. i enjoyed The Naked Cartoonist by Robert Mankoff, cartoon editor for the New Yorker. It explains the creative process in general. Here's my advice: don't listen to advice from cartoonists who aren't even successful themselves. they clearly don't know what they're talking about.

one of Hart's more in-depth books:
Christopher Hart's name appears on a number of beginner's how-to books, but he's not just a beginner's author, as this book demonstrates. This is one of the better, and more advanced, cartooning books out there. While it does go over yer usual "stick-man" first steps briefly, most of it is devoted to addressing stuff like panel layout, strip breakdowns, consistency of character design, timing in humor writing, marketing your work, etc. In every case, Hart speaks from experience: apparently he has written stand-up and TV comedy professionally, as well as doing animation, comic books, strips, and piloting the space shuttle. \oI'm just guessing at that last one, but don't be surprised... \c Anyhoo, if you've advanced in your cartoons to the point where you're considering getting into the pool of publication, this book is a good resource for polishing and fine-tuning what you can do.

Much better than most catrooning books:
Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain is a great resource for aspiring cartoonists, one, because as one reviewer said, it doesn't insult you about your ability. The book helps you learn about creating your own characters, laying out panel strips, making single-panel strips, tricks of the trade, what poses and looks are funnier for characters, help with joke writing, learning more about dialouge, text balloons, shading, techniques, how to get your work noticed and sold, how to protect your ideas, and a ton bit more. He even discusses hard and soft punch lines, good and bad setups, dimensions to draw the copy, what tools to use, different kinds of panels, drama vs. comedy, wide and close views, shadows, connected and double balloons, tips on submitting to publishers and syndicators, rating your own gags, meeting deadlines, handling writer's block, building character name recognition, and cartooning resources to both submit to and get more information on. An all-around great book for the beginner cartoonist and the serious cartoonist with a career in mind.

Great book but not what I was looking for.:
Well this book has it all. How to draw and come up with characters, how to layout out for comic panals. What and What not to do writing strips and doing the comic layout, etc. I'de say you have it all here. I was just hoping it would give more on writing scripts, but I guess there realy is no help guid it's just skill.

Excellent book!:
Very helpful book on the basics of creating comics. I needed a book that would take me from square one and show me the ropes. This did all that and more. I would definitely recommend this book!