Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers Paperback – Illustrated, August 31, 2010

Great book. Love the style and finish of it. Feels really good in my hands. Definitely well worth a read and to own it for any reference.

It took about a month for this book to arrive, but it was well worth the wait. When I flipped through the pages, I was somewhat impressed with the artwork, but not very. A second flip-through (double-take) proved that the book was mostly made up of inking and not a whole lot of text. I began to worry if I'd been duped and wasted my money. What could I possibly learn from a bunch of black and white images with a paragraph or two thrown in? It reminded me of some the art books my university lists as required reading that cost an arm and really don't deliver. I could've gotten more artistic education out of a graphic novel.However, I finally found the time to sit and actually read it. It is an amazing book. Upon attentive study I realized the inkings weren't somewhat impressive they were incredible. It seems that the author, Mateu--Mestre, has a very minimalist approach to both art and instruction; yet, both his art and his lessons are immensely informative. The lessons are short and oh-so sweet. I learned new things just reading the first few pages because Mateu-Mestre isn't just trying to convey an academic sense of storytelling, but the very spirit of it. And I can tell you that is one of the major issues I have been tackling with my artwork i.e. breathing life into it, creating mood and emotion.Mateu-Mastre's book is a very good complement to two other books I bought, both by James Gurney - who does take a more academic approach to instruction and whose art is detailed and vibrant. I wish I would've come across these guys when I first began art college.Marcos Mateu-Mestre has created an excellent learning tool here, especially if you are a novice or mid-level artist. I so highly recommend this book that I would go as far as to say that it is a must have in any artist's library who is interested in narrative art e.g. comics, graphic novels, storyboarding, illustration, concept art, etc...I also recommend James Gurney's Color and Light.

Excelente impresión, este libro es un recurso obligatorio para todo aquel que le guste contar historias, los temas y técnicas abordadas te entregan alto valor.

So far this book has been everything I have been wanting, in an instructional guide, for creating Graphic Novels. I also have the books Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel and Foundations in Comic Book Art.About half way through Writting and Illustrating and just started Foundations.This book I find to be better because Mr. Mateu-Mestre not only is giving you the foundational principles for creating a great Graphic Novel. But also introduces so many great new ideas and ways of changing our thinking and perceptions in regard to the visual arts.When I am learning something I don't just want to learn the how to, but also the why's. The reasonings, the concepts, the underlining purposes. This way I can then adapt, alter and change these to suit my own needs.Like I said, I'm not even finished the book and I think it's Great! I also have his perspective books and ordered his Graphic Novel so that I can actually study his style and methods in action.I am looking to become a Great Graphic Novelist and to do that I might as well learn from the best. From Masters.Going through all my purchases on this subject, this would have been the book I wish I had bought first and then the rest. I am not knocking the rest. I mean glean all the knowledge you can as much as you can. Every Artist has something they can offer you. I'd just say, buy this book first or now, if you are still trying to find an amazing book on the subject. Good luck in your endeavors. All the best.

The entire corner of this book is bent. The book and its contents are beautiful so I'm super bummed Amazon sent it damaged because I wanted to put it on a shelf when I'm done.

This book helped open my eyes to the things that people think about as they tell their stories. There are opportunities in how you frame things in perspective and such that can highlight or diminish features that advance your story. Knowing the levers you can pull really helps. I really appreciated this behind the scenes insight into how it is done and it has helped me appreciate comics and graphic novels I read in new ways. Great book.

Very interesting book learning ink

I looked through some of the reviews on this book and I was a bit disappointed. First off I have my BFA in 3D animation and work to improve my skills constantly. For me, this book was a case of "Finding an unknown unknown".The book is descriptive enough for me to fill in some gaps and set me on a journey to learn more. It's not a one-stop shop for be the perfect artist like I assume some people want it to be.Some reviewers have declared this book to be the "basics". That is both true and untrue. Out of my years of education some concepts I knew and some I did not. Some things I remember only being taught in the advanced illustrator courses I got to sit in on. This book holds a wealth of information for all skill levels I would say.The illustrations are in my opinion amazing, in that they accurately convey a story, mood, and theory as described by the artist in a simplistic style with a limited palette. He defines methods of storytelling from more of a illustration point of view that can be applied to film as well.