In spite of the actual CD-ROM falling by the waist side, Shoujo Art Studio only lacks in its software. Luckily, the Watson-Guptill publication isn’t just a single CD-ROM. Shoujo Art Studio includes a book to assist any level of artists in creating manga. The book, also by the same title as the software, holds the artist’s hand through the initial stages of questions—“What’s shoujo manga?” and “How do you make digital art?”—Until the artist has reached the final stages of developing an acceptable manga. Thankfully, the book rescues Shoujo Art Studio from a case of regret.

The entire book is well designed, with bright colors and easy-to-read content. The brief introduction into digital art is a refreshing and slightly surprising feature in Shoujo Art Studio. Most studio books hardly delve into the extensive software necessities for digital art creation. Shoujo Art Studio even touches on the essential hardware needed, including Internet, a graphics tablet, and a flatbed scanner. Although this might seem like a trite and almost laughable topic to address in a manga creation publication, it may be a godsend for novice artists. Even artists from higher calibers may learn something new from the provided information. The step-by-step images guide the artist through their digital creations.

The best selling point of the Shoujo Art Studio book is how it doesn’t overlook the minor details essential to effective manga development. The artist learns about the “rules” of shoujo, the fundamental necessities in making digital art, and how to place word bubbles on panels. Shoujo Art Studio even notes the words used to create sound effects, such as “Ahhh!” indicating screams and “Blam!” for hits between characters. Aside from sound effects, the book gives ample guidance on character development, pacing, layouts, backgrounds, and coloring. It may seem that Shoujo Art Studio is doing too much in relaying information on manga creation, but the book comes across as a handy manual for artists.

As an aspiring artist, the letdown in not owning another manga creation program was balanced from the book. It really gave me a better understanding of Photoshop even after taking digital media courses. Even in using my own creativity to make manga, like many artists, I have a hard time developing backgrounds. Shoujo Art Studio not only pointed me in the right direction in forming my own backgrounds from real images; it allowed me to use the pictures already packaged on the Shoujo Art Studio CD-ROM. With a side note on permissions on the disc, I could create manga without stressing over a silly background.

For starving artists looking for an alternative to expensive software like Manga Debut, Manga Creator, and TAB Manga—and don’t mind having to use their own creativity and intelligence—Shoujo Art Studio might be the next best thing. For artists in search of a full-fold manga creation program, Shoujo Art Studio might just be another empty promise with a bonus book.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Bottom Line: Whether you’re a beginning artist or an advanced artist looking to break into manga or comic book creation, Shoujo Art Studio is a good book to have on your shelf.