Drawing Crime Noir for Comics and Graphic Novels

Ioannes

at 6:16 am

This is a very good book and makes a good introduction to drawing in the noir style. It clearly shows the drawing and ink up techniques needed to produce top quality artwork in this style. Team this book with the book “How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling” and you have a good start with a little talent at being able to produce artwork in this style. I recommend the second book because I feel that “Drawing Crime Noir for Comics and Graphic Novels” is weak on the mechanics of producing the final comic artwork. It’s very good at showing how to draw is this style if that’s what you need.
Rating: 5 / 5

Natalie Livingston

at 10:38 am

I spend a lot of my time drawing and illustrating. I’m entirely self taught and i’ve picked up a lot of hints and tips from books like this one. Noir is not my style but i thought i’d give it a go.

The book is well laid out. It talks you through the genre in an open and intuitive manner (not chopping and changing from subject to subject like some other books i’ve had). There are lots of illustrations with side notes to explain what exactly has been done and why.

I really bought this for the shading lessons and it does not disappoint in that regard. Yes, it skims over the basics and assumes that you have a good basis under you and that this is simply a style excercise, which in my case it was, but it’s a good overview as a whole.

It’s a good book. As long as you have basic artistic skills and you just want to try something new, this is the way to go. It’s not steeply priced and doesn’t waffle at you like you practice modern art in New York. It’s succinct and to the point.

There’s nothing remarkable that makes it stand out from any other in the market, but that’s fine. It does its job and it does it well.

If you want an introduction to the basics of Noir, get this book. You want to specialise or, at the other end of the spectrum, start learning, you’ll have to find another.
Rating: 4 / 5

Philip C. Webb

at 2:52 pm

One of the best in the series from the prolific Chris Hart, a good guide to the illustration of “noir” comics, dealing well with the anatomy, poses, accessories, typical characters and scenarios, and, of course, harsh lighting that populate graphic novels in the Chandleresque world of detective fiction The helpful tongue-in-cheek text is written in a typical “noir” style. Recommended for beginners and more experienced artists alike.
Rating: 4 / 5