Come for the promise of learning how to draw various creatures of the night, leave with your mind blown at the examples included from some of the masters of the craft.
What They Say:
From movies to comics to graphic novels, monsters and their ilk tap into the terror that lurks in the darkest regions of the human collective unconscious. Enduringly popular characters, from vampires to zombies, provide an exciting challenge and appeal to comics and animation artists. How to Draw Chiller Monsters, Werewolves, Vampires and Zombies features the artwork of comic-book artist and Hollywood monster designer Kerry Gammill, Gene Colan as well as Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Jack Davis, Frank Frazetta, Basil Gogos, and Wally Wood.
The Review!
Technical:
The release is a soft cover one in the old graphic novel 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.6” dimensions and it is printed with a serviceable stock paper that doesn’t foster too much bleed through. The pages themselves vary in presentation based on what material they are carrying-be it words, charcoal art reproductions or full color images. There is a nice touch of texture to the pages that helps create an atmosphere to the book itself much like a film playing with the lighting or music to help set a mood. The paper is rather reflective which isn’t too bad when read by lamp but it is rather disconcerting when read out in full sunlight areas (which goes against the material of the book anyway now that I think of it). The binding is nice and solid, which may actually be a detriment as there are a few pieces in the book one might be tempted to take out and hang on the wall.
Content:
The title bills the book as a “How to Draw” one and in that area it sort of fits the bill and sort of doesn’t. The author is clearly a gifted artist and he starts the book with some material that seems rather basic with on opening on basic shapes used for heads and how to use lines to set up faces properly. From there he proceeds to show off how to draw the human figure as a whole as well as some of the more intricate steps that come later in the drawing process like shading and texture. He also points out the importance of keeping perspective in mind as it will be crucial to conveying depth and realism (even in two dimensional mythical creatures) as without that the picture just won’t bring the viewer in as the lack of visual clarity is a distracting factor.
I haven’t done any art other than stick figures (badly) since 8th grade so I admit a good deal of the specific drawing advice is rather lost on me when it comes to the technical portion of the book. In some ways this makes it feel an intermediate level book as many issues and concepts are rushed past and some very basic drawing knowledge- like the simplest shapes used- are kind of assumed to already be known. Those looking for a ton of intricate “Do this, now look at this part here and focus on it” may find the book a touch frustrating as well as it a good deal of the drawing advice feels more like a Cliff Notes version to drawing. The material is also not helped when some ideas are stressed in writing rather than with examples, at least for myself as when I pick up a “how to” book I find illustrations generally very helpful when paired with written descriptions.
So if I didn’t get much out of the technical stuff and think what is there might be a little limited to (and for as well) the advanced drawer what could I say is the appeal of the book? That is easy to sum up in the shear amount of images collected from some of the greatest illustrators of our time that are presented here. The author uses the book to introduce a good number of these artists and feature some of their work which can range from the very simple sketches they start with as they layout, then fill out, their vision on the way to the full spectacular work as well as some just absolutely breathtaking color images that have been compiled for this release. I’m not the biggest monster fan around but I was taken aback by the images here as the creator’s skills are definitely present here and one can’t help but marvel at the skill and techniques used to create their pieces.
The author doesn’t just stop there either as the book has biographical pieces on the artist presented that helps fill out the length of the path they walked on their way to becoming the renown successes that they have become. An extra bonus to this is that the author also managed to obtain some quotes from many of those who are still living which helps give some insight into how they go about their work on any given piece or what drives them to draw the things they do.
If the book has a flaw, it is that it is neither fish nor fowl and the mixture of splitting time between the how to draw segments and the detailing of some artist and showing off their work feels like it causes the separate concepts to appear to be fighting each other for attention. In some ways this book would have been better served being split in two with one volume dedicated to the keys of learning how to draw these fantastical creatures and the other being dedicated to how the best in the business apply these tools of the trade to draw them.
It comes across well that the author has a love for these creatures and their history but some of the narrative tools used clash at times with the more formal drawing steps and tips. I’d love to see the author be able to just spend an entire book gathering his favorite works and lore that he feels are important in a book that could focus solely on this material as it would really make for a stronger presentation than what is found here. There is plenty to love in the material present, but the split focus feels more like a divisive element that will separate the material and make it less accessible rather than more as few are likely to get exactly what they hoped for out of this spectacular, though a bit nonsymmetrical in its internal structure, chimera as it currently exists.
In Summary:
How to Draw Chiller Monsters etc. is a book that likely has far more appeal then is readily observable from just the title and its promise of drawing tips could lead one to believe. While there are a number of steps here that might give someone already familiar with the practice of drawing some insight the book isn’t as “how to draw” as one might expect, however it compensates in some areas those with less drawing ability can enjoy. The book shows some of the different skills and placing used to draw the audience in that maybe subconscious for most and how that makes the subject look real and then the spectacular examples showing off those skills that knock the reader off their feet. This book is as much art book as it is how to draw-if not more- and is a worthy addition to the shelves of those who love the things that go bump in the night or for those who just some incredibly impressive art done by some of the most lauded (and for good reason) people in the business.
Grade: A-
