Here's a very interesting and comprehensive book that teaches you the techniques of drawing and painting characters. The book starts off with interviews of famous artists such as Ishikawa Fumi, whose works include character designs for Playstation games such as OZ, Gensosuikoden 2, and Gensosuikoden 3; Kozaki Yuusuke, the creator of Speed Grapher anime series; and Katou Eriko, creator of BiinZuesu Yasashi Ryu no Koroshikata. The rest of the book focuses on the techniques in drawing character faces, bodies, poses, clothing, accessories, coloring, and even backgrounds, buildings, and robots! 145 pages, all text in Japanese.