Shojo Fashion Manga Art School, Year 2: Draw modern looks

A few months ago I bought a copy of Irene Flore's "Shojo Fashion Manga Art School" because I saw that about a third of that book focused on how to draw clothing. A have about a dozen different 'how to draw'-type books and none of them focused on clothing. I was excited to see there was a sequel, but it wasn't in any of the book stores nearest me (and I don't like buying a drawing book without seeing first if it will cover what I want to work on). I decided to purchase it from Amazon based off of the 3 other reviews I read of it on here, and because I liked the first book. So for those of you who are in my position and want to know exactly what this book entails, I'll describe each section.Unlike the first book- which is 1/3 how to draw a person, 1/3 clothing types, 1/3 how to draw a character in clothing- "Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2" is almost entirely focused on the clothing. This is NOT a beginners book that teaches you how to draw a body/hands/feet/eyes/etc. It starts off showing you how to draw the way fabric drapes over a body. And the wonderful part of this book that I haven't seen in other books is that these aren't all the thin/athletic body types- it shows chubby, plus size, children, and elderly body types as well as clothing that would suit people of varying body types.Chapter 1- Around the House: basically shows casual wear. Learn to draw collars, sleeve types, necklines, tank tops, baby shoes, maternity clothes, and sleepwear.Chapter 2- Hanging Out: jeans, women's shoes, men's facial hair, plus size girl, couples, high school, elementary schoolChapter 3: Prom: women's dresses, men's suits, formal wearChapter 4: Wedding: brides, bridesmaids, groom, formal shoes, children in formal wearChapter 5: School Uniforms: many different types of school uniforms including winter/spring styles, gym, cheerleadingChapter 6: Work Clothes: different styles for different types of jobs, accessoriesChapter 7: Sports: athletic build and sports uniformsChapter 8: Seasonal: spring/summer/autumn/winter looks, swimwearAnd that's the whole book. In my opinion, this book is good for drawing people in those types of situations, but I like the clothing section of the first "Shojo Fashion Manga Art School" even better than this one because that one goes into the specific clothing a little more: like different kinds of shirts (i.e- silk, tees, sweaters, babydoll), pants, coats/jackets, even different types of gloves, hats, socks, and shoes. While this book is devoted entirely to clothes, it's more about clothes for different situations (school, work, formal) rather than different variations of clothing (i.e- jackets in leather/corduroy/hoodie/bubble/blazer). I hope that makes sense!While that did disappoint me a little, this is still a wondeful book that I definitely recommend to people who want to learn more about how to clothe characters in their artwork. And for those of you who want a more beginners book that also shows how to draw people, book 1- "Shojo Fashion Manga Art School" by Irene Flores is a great book that I definitely wouldn't pass up!I hope this review is helpful! Any questions feel free to ask! ;)

First let me tell you what this book is not. It is not a beginner's guide. It does not go over the steps to making manga characters. It is not a beginner's guide or step by step on how to make a Manga from scratch. This book occupies a very special niche which has been overlooked and under done for years. It concentrates on clothing, almost exclusively. That is this book's strength. Rather than rehash Bishie this or Shoujo that, this book concentrates on giving you some ideas on how to develop fashions to help make your Manga come alive. It manages to introduce you to more than just drawing a school uniform, incorporating some western styles into the book as well as covering uniforms for other types of things like police, army, construction, and things like that.Even more important to this, is that the artwork is consistent throughout the book. In most other books, I get the sense that the person doing the drawing is trying to impress the reader with how well they can draw, rather than concentrate on the subject material. Ms. Flores and Ms. McSpadden do an excellent job of keeping their focus on the fashion, where it belongs. They take their time going through the way garments differ. You can look at the drawing of a pair of jeans and actually see at a glance how it differs from a pair of slacks, including where and how they bunch. They go into the differences between collars on a shirt, and how to draw frays in a sleeve or holes in jeans. Honestly, how many "How to draw Manga" books go this in depth into just clothing? They even go into a little more detail in how to draw patterns in clothing like plaid, or how to make something look knitted.Lastly, I think the thing that sets this book apart is that They draw people of different sizes, ages, races, and differenciate between how a shirt might look or a pair of pants might look on a fat person or a pregnant woman. Ms Flores is flattering to them, giving each of her character drawings personality in a way that makes you wonder if they aren't representative of a real person. The way that they're drawn looks like they're being done by someone who actually enjoys what they do, and don't look wooden or like this person drew them with no joy in their heart. I think that's Ms. Flore's greatest achievement. Her talent and enthusiasm for the subject make me want to go out and create. To me, that's the hallmark of a drawing book that's worth having. BRAVO!

Irene Flores is an outstanding artist, and she's also a fine teacher. Whereas 99.9% of male cartoonists have no more understanding of clothing than I do--and that's likely because most of us don't care about the fashion industry or may actively despise it for a range of reasons, including its harmful labour practices and promotion of eating disorders--there's no question that drawing clothing as if it were an afterthought makes for boring and repetitive imagery. Film makers employ entire costume departments; since cartoonists are like indie filmmakers taken to the tiniest possible budget, we need to understand how clothing (not superhero outfits) affect characterization and mood of our stories. I've bought all three of Flores's books and will buy any other art instruction book she puts out. ministerfaust.com

Builds on the foundation that the first book set up splendidly but can be read on its own. It's a great fashion book with a ton of examples of how to draw/style clothing. I love it!

I bought this book back in January when I had super trouble thinking of ideas for clothes for my original anime characters and such. This has helped A TON! Not only does it teach you where to put folds and different designs, it also entertains the common otaku by adding in some obvious 'Hetalia: Axis Powers'/'Hetalia: Wold Series' characters in it as the models! In this book, you will find very strong Hetalia references and I find them quite adorable/awesome (especially when you reach the toddler and children's fashion ;) )I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs ideas on clothing ^^ Good luck on your drawings!Vhirous.deviantart.com~<3

I promise you there is no other writer/artist on the shelves within the how-to books even half as good! The title is very misleading, as this is not about Shoujo fashion, but about clothes, styles and how to add details to your drawings! Irene takes you through the process step-by-step and does not skimp on any subject, including plus sized people.There is nothing else on the market as comprehensive as these. Absolutely fantastic.I have been drawing manga specifically for coming up to six years and have come to loathe most how-to books, but this has restored my faith in the how-to!

It's an excellent tutorial book and idea source for even for clothing line students to learn about how to draw clothes. I wish I had this, the first book of the serie and How to Draw Manga series's clothing tutorial books when I was studying. They would have been very helpful in clothing desing and product design class to give tips and to show how to draw drapes and stuff and how to give texture on diffrent types of materials.

The second installment to the series, I felt that this book is brilliant for those who are both new to the series and are already collecting. It covers different body types and ages, casual wear, sleep wear and everything in between. Great for aspiring artists.

This tutorial book holds good references to how to draw clothing, what types of clothes for highschool teenagers and basics on how to build clothes (from folds, in-motion and posture tips.) However the artist does not cover 'Asian' fashion, the title 'Shojo' refers to the feminine art style blending Anime traits with realistic postures. Though if your manga is going for modern day characters in western setting, this is a book to get! I really like Irene's style and I find it has great tips for artists from beginning-to-intermediate with lots of illustrations, suggestions to follow.

Shojo Fashion Art School is something I've been interested in for a while now...I've wanted to expand my drawing techniques, and this book gave great full colour pictures, good advice and different ways to make your person look more "life like".I totally recommend this! Even if you're just starting out in drawing, this will help a lot!Worth the price, and great shipping. I got it 5 days after it was ordered!