My Review:
I first encountered Fred Perry in the How To Draw Manga book series. I instantly liked his style, and while he is American his drawings have a certain Japanese Manga feel to them coupled with his own fresh contribution.
I have to say though that the videos are a completely different beast. When you read the book you can read the artists comments and see his drawings but there is something magical about seeing him draw in real time while listening to his comments. It’s almost as if you are taking part in a personal drawing mentoring session. It is definitely much more inspirational while providing much more insight about the actual drawing process. For example, I was really surprised how often he erases parts of his drawings. I had never had a problem with erasing in photoshop but for some reason it didn’t feel right to do it on paper. Watching Fred do it every 5 seconds really helped me to relax and change my mind about it and start erasing every time I feel something isn’t perfect. This exponentially increased quality of my drawings.
The video has 5 main chapters:
Female Villain, Male Villain, Alien Hero, Male Sidekick, Female Alien Sidekick. Each of them is filmed over Fred’s shoulder while he describes the drawing process as well as the personality he would like his characters to emanate. There are several “Review” parts in each chapter where he stops drawing and the video shows a scan of a drawing in process and Fred talks about the proportions of various body parts and the balance of the figure as well as his plans for the next step.
There are 2 more chapters, one of which is an unfinished Female sidekick. Apparently the camera guy fell asleep and missed most of the drawing process 
This is followed by a 20 minute interview with Fred where he gives lot of information about his personal life as well as his experiences in the comic industry, his favorite manga artists as well as his experience in the army as a member of a mine clearing squad 
. One bit of information that was particularly interesting to me was that he is 36 years old and has been drawing for about 15 years.
Short summary:
+ real time drawing process
- over the shoulder camera distorts the drawing
My opinion:
I like it a lot 
Price:
Last time I checked it cost $20 you can buy it at:
www.antarctic-press.com/html/version_01/viewitem.php?id=4719&bk=store.php?id=AP+DVD
Product Description:
The ULTIMATE instructional DVD! Peer over the shoulder (literally!) of Gold Digger’s celebrated creator, Fred Perry, as he puts pencil to paper and creates characters, weapons and backgrounds before your very eyes. Listen as Fred explains his creative process and drawing techniques, all while offering valuable insights as you watch the magic of his illustrations unfold! Loaded with special features and an in-depth interview with the man himself. A MUST for any fan of the creative process, and of course, for GD aficionados!
About The Artist:
Fred Perry (born September 16, 1969) is an American comic book artist, currently working at Antarctic Press.
He is well known as author and artist of Japanese-styled comics. The series he is best known for is Gold Digger, a long-running comic anthology. He has also collaborated on other titles produced by the graphic novel publishing company Antarctic Press and produced a number of portfolios. He has also experimented with producing animation, both traditional and flash-based.
Currently the Cheetaholics web site is the best source of information on the artist and the work he has published.
Popularity: 16% [?]
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