The Simpsons Handbook

From lines and circles to richly hand-drawn characters, The Simpsons Handbook is an homage to hand-drawn animation and might just have you drawing like the pros in no time at all.

Here is a rare homage to the art of classic 2-D animation and the time-honored method of hand-drawing characters that come alive on the silver screen. the creator of "the Simpsons" and "Futurama," reveals the art of brilliant character design, backgrounds, and prop art in this lavishly detailed handbook that unveils the complex secrets behind the deceptively simple and universally loved Simpsons characters.

With creative insights, artists' sketches, helpful insider hints, and step-by-step instructions, enter the imagination of "master doodler" Matt Groening and receive some professional "how-to" advice from many of the animators and directors who have made "the Simpsons" the longest-running animated show and situation comedy in television history. In our technological era when animation has become increasingly digitalized, this unique handbook records the genesis of some of the most extraordinary examples of the art of hand-drawn animated characters.

The most comprehensive book you'll ever find about how to draw characters from a series. The five family members get ten pages each: head and body construction, body poses, facial expressions, hand poses. The back two thirds of the book shows how to draw Barney, Flanders, Moe, Ms. Krabappel, Chief Wiggum, Nelson, etc. The end of the book covers background design from the house interior to Homer's workstation at the power plant. There are several wonderful gate folds with extra drawings of Krusty, Mr. Burns, etc. The last page in the book is a scene of the family on the couch. The base page is the rough construction drawing. On top of that there are two vellum overlays showing cleanup and ink drawings. On top of the drawings is a final color cel.