Love the world of anime and chibi art? Join renowned artist Yoai as you enter the world of anime and chibi art! With instructions on how to create both digital and traditionally-drawn anime protagonists and their chibi counterparts, this guide has tons of unique characters to inspire as you continue your artistic journey.

            Anime + Chibi Art Class by Yoai is an intermediate-level art guide showcasing anime and chibi characters. There are lots of characters to draw inspiration from, and step-by-step instructions on how to draw the same individuals in both anime and chibi style. There are bonus pages with additional clothing and accessory ideas, and both traditional artists and digital pioneers can greatly benefit from this compact guidebook.

            However, this is not a great launching point for beginning artists. While there are a few pages that briefly introduce the basics of anime and chibi art, this guidebook does not contain a comprehensive tutorial on the fundamentals needed to achieve the intended style. For an intermediate-level artist that is already comfortable drawing people and figures with an anime aesthetic, this guidebook can open up many new frontiers. But for someone new to the style, even artists with some basic drawing knowledge may struggle if using this guidebook by itself. However, for artists with some anime experience that want to up their game, this book is full of great ideas and techniques certain to inspire. And hey, you just can’t help but be inspired by Yoai’s incredible art!

            Earning four out of five stars for its wide array of unique characters and inspirational ideas, Anime + Chibi Art Class would be a great gift for a friend who’s passionate about art. Suitable for all ages, this guidebook is the perfect choice to up your skill level and find new ideas for creating your very own unique anime and chibi characters.

Review coming soon!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

I am a complete beginner at art, but i wanted to read and look through this to be able to start drawing. I was thinking it was going to be a little too complex for a complete noob, but to my surprise it was actually explained in a way that even I understood.

It includes everything from the basics of art, like Color theory and proportions, and side by side comparisons of chibi and anime figures, and tutorials for how to draw different characters. It also includes several inspiration pages where you can see different features and outfits that can inspire you for your own art, and also a colouring page! This is truly going to be useful in my art.

Another fantastic book by Yoai. My eldest daughter is 10 and is already a huge fan of Anime Art Class. She immediately threw herself into reading this latest book and copying some of the artwork. This leads to her creating her own comics with characters and really fires up her imagination. She can’t wait to get the hard copy!

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought. It was hard to follow but then again it was hard to follow from the phone. I thought it was cute but not for me

I really enjoy reading these books on drawing, this one I really like. It not only shows you how to draw normal characters but a chibi version along with it. It's a great way to learn both side by side if you are interested in learning how to draw Chibi characters as well.

I can't draw worth anything, but I love manga and wanted a "behind the scenes" look at how the art gets made. I thought this was great! There were even a couple very basic beginner steps I might try after all. :)

Very cute and informative book.
I love the page set up. This is a cute book that is actually helpful showing side by side comparison of chibi verses regular style. Highly recommended, there are even QR codes to go to the color pallets.

Small issue.
Table of context is hard to read due to the text being similar colors as the background.
Pg 48 & 80 is also difficult to read for the same reason. I recommend double checking that all backgrounds behind the texts are contrasting. Bight vs dark, for a more legible appearance.

As a manga reader, I love seeing the creative process behind the drawings and enjoy drawing myself. This book was incredibly helpful and is especially geared towards beginners. Even though I'm not a beginner, I still found it fantastic. It offers simple poses and useful comparisons between standard and chibi sizes, making the learning process easier. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning how to draw manga and chibi.

I looked through the book and instantly knew that by the end I was going to improve my anime drawing style! The drawings are cute and the book is informative. I can't wait to show it to my artist cousin when it comes out, I know she'll love it!

Thank you for the ARC!

*review will be posted 8/20/24

I wanted to check out this book because I actually own a few of the artist's other books and really love her art. 

This book had some great elements to it. It covered some basic techniques and tips for new artists. it also covered a little about anime anatomy and proportions, though I'd have to say it wasn't as in-depth as other books I've come across. I wouldn't say this is necessarily for beginners. However, I loved how it showed a nice variation of eye and nose styles. 

The tutorials were great as well. They gradually covered more information. The first ones put more of a focus on drawing the body and getting the chibi style right, but then moved into lineart, coloring, and even digital art techniques which I thought was cool. I also liked that each tutorial covered drawing the same character in a full anime style and chibi style. I think this worked nicely to highlight the differences between the two. 

Overall, I'd say this might not be for someone who wants to learn to draw anime/manga specifically. It's more for someone who already has a decent understanding of the style but wants to learn about chibis specifically. Still, it's a lovely book that any anime-style artist would love to add to their collection!

I thought this was an adorable art book, it was very well-written and easy to understand even for beginners. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn to draw in an anime/chibi style!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book.

As a manga reader myself, I have always thought it was so difficult to draw them. This book is truly for beginners with simple poses. Best part is there are side by side comparisons betweeen normal size and chibi. I would recommend for people who want to start learning how to draw manga and chibi.

What an informative and cute book! Nice variety of characters and examples. All the tutorials are informative and easy to understand and I like how it covers how to use different types of art materials (traditional and digital).

This is so cute!
I love the colors on the pages and the step by step drawings to assist. Along with the tips!
Loved the explanation of colors and coloring. These are parts of drawing that I never fully thought of and it’s a crucial part of design.
Showing multiple designs and ways to draw was wonderful as well. Such as traditional vs chibi, people have different preferences or styles or interests! This is a great book overall to learn more or just get started in the “anime” style of art.

An excellent guide about anime and chibi art. The instructions are easy-to-follow and the sample drawings are cute.

This was a pretty good drawing tutorial book! I'd recommend it. They do a good job of showing and explaining, rather than just telling.