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Mecha Mania book cover
Mecha Mania
How to Draw Warrior Robots, Cool Spaceships, and Military Vehicles
2002
First Published
3.39
Average Rating
128
Number of Pages

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.

Avg Rating
3.39
Number of Ratings
38
5 STARS
24%
4 STARS
26%
3 STARS
24%
2 STARS
18%
1 STARS
8%
goodreads

Author

Christopher Hart
Christopher Hart
Author · 72 books

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. I started drawing character designs and storyboards for a small animation studio in while in High School. Cartooning and animation was a magical experience to me. I try to bring that experience, as well as art tips, to my readers. Their enthusiasm also motivates me. Early in my career, my cartoon work got noticed by Watson-Guptill, a premier publisher of art books. They asked me to do a book for them on drawing cartoons. It sold 200,000 copies, which is a healthy number. So we kept going. I discovered that I enjoyed the art of creating books, which has its own special requirements. I also worked as an author for Random House, Quarto and Soho Publishing. In total, I have had 8 million books sold, and have been translated into 20 languages. My book, "The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates" has sold over half a million copies to date and is still very actively in print. An earlier book of mine, "Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics:" reached the number one art book in the country, according to Bookscan. I've also been a cover story on the industry trade magazine, "Publisher's Weekly." And if you've read this far into my Bio, then I'm more impressed with you than you are with me! Thank you so very much for letting me offer some inspiration to you in your art adventures. Christopher Hart

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