Books with author Christopher Healy

For anyone with manga mania, this guided sketchbook will be an endless source of instruction and inspiration. In easy-to-follow lessons interspersed with high-quality pages for hands-on practice, bestselling author Hart shows how to bring manga's faeries, warriors, villains, sci-fi figures, and monsters to life. The pad encourages students to sketch right along with Hart, mastering the skills to draw characters' heads, expressions, bodies, outfits, and dynamic action poses.

Because people are captivated by the “human” traits in animals, especially those that make us laugh, animals have been an endless source of humor for cartoonists. We chuckle at the antics of Marmaduke and Garfield, recognizing in them amusing behavior in our own pets. We also find humor in more human-like characters such as the irascible Donald Duck and the gloomy Eyore because their personalities remind us of people we know. With their ability to make people laugh, animals are essential in the repertoire of every cartoonist.In his latest book, Christopher Hart teaches an easy method for capturing the forms and expressions of animals. The book begins by showing how to create simple drawings with just a few strokes of the pen. Following the basic shapes, Hart goes on to depict animal personalities that are based on their physical traits. He covers many different species, from exotic African beasts to common breeds of dogs and cats. A final section shows how animals can be turned into “human” characters that stand upright and wear clothes.

Aspiring cartoonists of all ages can begin drawing a repertoire of characters from the moment they follow the wide-ranging yet simplified lessons that fill these instructive pages, written and illustrated by an all-time best-selling artist/teacher.This complete course, covering both comic strip and animation techniques, begins with lessons on basic cartoon body shapes and facial features. Included are helpful comparisons between the real versus the cartoon head, a smile chart, and various ways to draw the most popular and expressive cartoon eyes and mouths. Next come lots of typical body poses, how to draw action lines, slow/fast movement, cartoon hands, fun hair and clothing styles, backgrounds, and cute cartoon pets. Excellent directions also focus on helping beginners to find and develop their own cartoon style.

Today comic book heroes and villains are more popular than ever, appearing not only in print but in video games and movies as well. Now fans can learn how to create their own heroes and villains from such successful comic book artists as Gray Morrow of Superman, Frank McLaughlin of Batman, and Frank Springer of Spiderman and Conan the Barbarian. A superhero-mascot appears throughout the book guiding the reader with his humorous observations. Among the many subjects covered are heroic anatomy; monsters, mutants, and mythical creatures; action scenes, fights and combat; as well as designing special powers for heroes. Each section ends with a page entitled “Common Mistakes,” where the pitfalls and problems that beginning artists are most likely to encounter are demonstrated.With its fun-to-follow format and variety of illustration styles, How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains will encourage the cartoonist lurking in everyone.

Mecha, a generic term well known in the manga and anime community, is short for mechanically-based humanoids—as well as anything else mechanical, high-tech, and really cool. If it can fly, swim, fire a weapon, explode, or destroy stuff, it’s mecha.Comic book and animation fans hunger for mecha. From the Gigantor animated TV series in the early ’60s to today’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, mecha is the king of anime. Most Japanese mecha animation features giant robots in epic battles. These giant robots are as tall as buildings—and teenage heroes enter the robot’s deathpit and navigate it like a fighter jet. Mecha is also popular in such Nintendo, Playstation, and Sega Dreamcast computer games as Mech Warriors, Battletech, and Combat Assault Vehicle.While some budding artists may not have a feel for human anatomy or drawing the expressive faces of cartoon characters, anyone who can draw blocks and circles can draw mecha. Mecha Mania demonstrates how easy it is to draw fantastic mecha vehicles, robots, space stations, and more. The 300 step-by-step illustrations make it simple for anyone to master this wildly popular comic book genre and achieve dramatic results.Mecha Mania features all of the coolest mecha designs and variations, along with outrageous battle scenes. Also included are informative interviews with a company that creates mecha-based games and a Japanese publisher of mecha. Whether one’s a beginning or professional artist, Mecha Mania is the best how-to reference ever published for mastering this hot, hot comic book art.

A rip-roaring, hilarious alternate-history adventure starring the world's most famous inventors--and its most forgotten. From the author of the beloved Hero's Guide series, Christopher Healy.It's 1883--the Age of Invention! A time when great men like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Nicola Tesla, and George Eastman work to turn the country into a land of limitless opportunity.And it all happens at the world famous Inventor's Guild headquarters in New York City--a place where a great idea, a lot of hard work, and a little bit of luck can find you rubbing elbows with these gods of industry who will usher humanity into the future.Unless, of course, you're a woman.Molly Pepper, daughter of brilliant but unknown inventor Cassandra Pepper, lives with her mother in New York. By day, they make ends meet running a pickle shop; but by night, they toil and dream of Cassandra taking her place among the most famous inventors in America.In an attempt to find a way to exhibit Cass's work at the World's Fair, they break into the Inventor's Guild, where they discover a mysterious plot to destroy New York.The evidence points to the involvement of one of the world's most famous inventors, and now it's up to Molly, Cassandra, and a shop hand named Emmett Lee to uncover the truth--even if no one will ever know it was they who did it.

Any kid who's ever dreamed of owning a Ferrari, getting behind the wheel of a huge truck or a fierce fighter jet—or at least being able to whip out a pencil and amaze friends by drawing them all—will race to get a copy of this coolest of how-to art instructionals. All of the most spectacular makes are included, from Lamborghini to Lotus to Porsche, as well as the entire array of American muscle cars. Timeless classics are highlighted, such as the Jaguar E-Type and the “Gullwing” Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe, as are Formula One, stock, and rally cross racing cars. Authentic diagrams and blueprints show exactly how a car is built and how an engine works. Instead of being shown in static isolation, models are depicted racing, going around hairpin turns, crashing, and in other exciting scenes, and immensely popular monster trucks are shown in eye-popping action, crushing rows of cars. The author takes his students to even greater heights with lessons in drawing awesome stealth fighters and other U.S. Air Force jets, bombers, and Apache helicopters.

Manga devotees—especially fanboys—will welcome the latest installment in Chris Hart’s blockbuster, bestselling series. Shonen manga stories feature male protagonists in action-packed, often humorous plots. Boys in particular devour the genre’s most popular works, including Naruto, Dragon Ball, Bleach, and Death Note. With Chris’s help, they can feed their passion further and learn how to draw all the essential shonen characters: teen heroes, violent samurai, girl ninjas, hideous monsters, masked warlords, tomboy fighter girls, giant battling robot-buddies, evil martial arts masters, and more. Step-by-step demonstrations break down the drawings so that artists of any level can follow along. Filled with top-notch art instruction, tons of visual tips, and over 350 drawings in the authentic Japanese style, this is the essential resource for all manga maniacs.

Do you love manga? Now you can learn to draw your own! This book has everything the beginning manga artist needs! You’ll learn how to draw the basic manga head and body types…but that’s just the beginning! Over 100 manga characters—from magical shoujo girls and their super-cute chibi friends to mysterious ninjas and double-crossing villains— are broken down into easy-to-follow steps so you can start drawing all of your favorite manga characters right away!

[ Children's Fiction (Ages 10-12) ][Read by ]All your favorite princes, princesses, and villains return in the hilarious and action-packed conclusion to the acclaimed hit series that began with The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom -- Prince Liam, Prince Frederic, Prince Duncan, Prince Gustav -- you think you know those guys pretty well by now, don't you? Well, think again. Posters plastered across the thirteen kingdoms are saying that Briar Rose has been murdered--and the four Princes Charming are the prime suspects. Now they're on the run in a desperate attempt to clear their names. Along the way, however, they discover that Briar's murder is just one part of a nefarious plot to take control of all thirteen kingdoms--a plot that will lead to the doorstep of an eerily familiar fortress for a final showdown with an eerily familiar enemy.

Pencils! Paints! Passion! The Japanese-style comic books known as manga have a huge following in America. Chris Hart, author of several bestselling how-to-draw books, now offers aspiring young artists a complete course in the manga-romance genre. He shows how to create classic manga characters: sweet-and-caring pretty girls with huge, glistening eyes; exciting boy heroes, including handsome teen-idol types, rough-hewn rebels, and young mystery men; girl comedy characters, who not only provide laughs, but also help high school girls deal with their insecurities; and many others. With thorough art instruction and lots of ideas for story plots, this is an intriguing invitation to an art form that anyone who loves to draw will find irresistible.