A review by studiomikarts
ImagineFX: Manga: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Digital Painting Techniques by Claire Howlett

Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

This book is presented like an all-encompassing, everything-you-need-to-know compendium of digitally-created manga art. The problem is, it's not. It features almost nothing but art that is popular not because it's technically impressive or because it tells an incredible story, but because it prominently features scantily or tightly clad women, often posed awkwardly and vulnerably. It's so heavy on the male gaze it practically drips. It would be one thing if the book presented itself that way in the first place, as a sexy manga art exposition. But it talks about itself as if sexy manga girls ARE manga art. It doesn't allow for anything not aimed at teen and adult straight male audiences. It definitely doesn't feature any of the manga art that inspires me. There's a whole WORLD of manga out there, and this book does most of it a disservice by perpetuating the harmful stereotype that people who read manga are just perverted, sex-crazed men.