How to Draw Anime & Game Characters Volume 4

What I like about this book is that it has many angles for a fight style. It offers hints on small details that would make your characters look alive. I recommend that you go checking out this book first at your local library before you buy it because you might not like it. This book only shows fight moves not actual battles between two characters. It is a book for intermediate artist who has mastered some drawing skills. This book is a good reference book because if you drew a character and it look "weird" there are hints in this book that will help you fix the "weirdness."

If you view this book as just a drawing book, then I can understand some of the negative reviews. For example, one of the reviewers complained that the author spent too much time on the drawings for a side kick. And that reviewer was absolutely right. The reason is: this is really an ANIMATION book. And all those "redundant" drawings that the author is spending time on are the Key Frames and Passing Frames that are ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL for creating great animations. For example, take Macromedia Flash, draw in those key and passing frames. Then draw in the inbetweens, and you have FANTASTIC animated action sequences. I know, because I've done it! Viewed as an animation book, this is THE DEFINITVE BOOK for martial-arts, anime animation. Buy the Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams, along with this book and you will have a complete course on anime animation.

If you've gotten Ozawa's other books, then you already know how detailed his books get! This volume is no different and goes a step further by showing you actions in progress such as showing you each movement of a person walking. Then he shows you how to do the same action but at different angles and foreshortening. There's so much info in here that it'll take you awhile to digest all the information in it. It's stacked full of drawings and side notes! There are quite a lot of action moves in this book, specifically hand-to-hand combat. No instructions on drawing weapons even though the cover shows them. Quite unlike Martials Arts & Combat Sports and Illustrating Battles editions, this book prep you to think in 3 dimensions and animation-type movement. If you're set on making animations and video games in the future, this book is the best way to learn spatial relations and seeing your characters more than just one or two-dimensionally. If you're into making manga, getting this book won't hurt at all but you're probably better off getting the Illustrating Battles or Martials Arts & Combat Sports book initially. Like his other editions, this book is young-reader friendly and covers nudity well using block, wire, and wooden model figures.

I actually do not use this series for cartooning, but rather for 3D computer rendering and animation. The entire set is the perfect reference guide for a computer animator/modeler. It's a must have series.

It teaches you all of the battle moves. From jabs to throwing!