Manga Sketching Workshop follow-up

Just wanted to thank all CCPL Anime Club members that attended and actively participated earlier today in the Manga Sketching workshop at the Collier County library headquarters. Glad to know the material covered met your expectations and that you had fun while picking up a few drawing tips. Just to review some passing comments: wooden manikins, PVC figurines (like the Darkstalker's Bishamon and Tenchu's Ayame), and action figures (like the Final Fantasy Tifa) can make fairly nice reference models for drawing human figures (of course you can also draw friends and relatives or even yourself with the use of a mirror). When beginning to draw do not worry too much about any list of suggested art materials. It is best to start practicing with whatever you already got readily available at home or school like printer paper and regular pens and pencils. What is really important to improve your drawing skills is that you practice doodling and sketching often to develop your manual dexterity and control making different marks on the paper. If you feel ready to start experimenting with some shading and coloring in your Manga art, you might want to try brush markers like the Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens that work quite nicely on Canson Fanboy Manga 150 lb drawing paper and are a far more affordable initial investment than a set of the professional grade Copic Markers. For more info on selecting art materials you can check this blog entry and this step-by-step marker coloring demo.
After reading your thoughtful comments and suggestions in the workshop's feedback survey, just wanted to highlight or add the following books to my list of recommended Manga drawing reference books.
For those interested in a book focused on drawing Manga girls you might want to check out How to Draw Anime & Game Characters, Vol. 5: Bishoujo Game Characters by Tadashi Ozawa.Which is getting a tad hard to find on Amazon, but can still be found in-stock in some Anime online retailers.This book by Yuki Kirishima and Ran Mutsuki KAOPPE, Let's Draw! Illustrating with Copic, is an ok reference for the use of Copic Markers, the choice of many professional Manga artists in Japan. Quick side note: If you decide to get your Copic Sketch markers or any other recommended art materials online through Blick Art Materials, I would really appreciate it if you were to order them after clicking on one of displayed Dick Blick Art Materials banners (scattered throughhout the right column or at the bottom of this blog) since I am one of their affiliates.
I would recommend checking out this book by David Chelsea, Perspective for Comic Book Artists, to improve your drawing skills and render more realistic cityscapes.
Fantasy Cartooning by Ben Caldwell is a personal favorite fun reference book on drawing Fantasy warriors, swords, and monsters in a cartoon style that was already included in the suggested reading list.
Thanks again for attending the workshop, and keep on practicing and drawing everyday!