Things You Need To Know To Be A Better Manga Artist
September 9, 2014 ByAlex and Monique& filed under Art Blog.
Big eyes, exaggerated expressions and cute chibi characters are only some of the appeal of drawing anime. But before you launch into a drawing tutorial, it helps to have a few words of wisdom from a manga pro. To be a better manga artist, here are some essential, actionable tips and some pointers on avoiding beginner mistakes.
Paint Realistic Manga Portraits
Just because anime and manga have simplified color and bold linework doesnt mean you cant change the style. Plenty of anime styles use more realistic designs.
This tutorial shows you how to start a loose sketch and move into adding swathes of color, all the while blending and keeping color harmony.
When trying to paint realistic versions of anime characters its best to use a picture as a reference. Maybe even grab a sleek anime art book of your favorite series and use that concept art as a reference.
Just pick out a character and get painting!
How To Draw Anime
These step-by-step tutorials focus on the face, which, as it turns out, is pretty easy to do:
How to draw anime face
Heres a video tutorial on how to draw a girl face
Animated anime drawing
Another great drawing of Naruto
Colours are another exaggerated feature of anime
Anime girl drawing
How to draw anime eyes expressing different emotions
Look at this little anime cutie
Gorgeous pencil anime sketch
Now this is a stunning drawing
Easy anime drawings
How to draw an exaggerated hairstyle
How to draw anime boy
Video tutorial on how to draw Goku from Dragon Ball
Different examples of hairstyles
How to draw anime lips
Another tutorial on how to draw anime step by step
How to draw hand gestures
How to draw anime characters according to their age and height
Draw anime step by step
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Choosing Your Anime Drawing Style
Not all anime is in the same style.
Some anime is super detailed while others simplify things down for comic effect.
Many different decades even have a significant impact on the style of anime.
From the realism of Ghost in the Shell to the hyper-simplified faces of Dragon Ball Z, this video shows you the options available and how to choose the right style to suit your preferences.
Be Skeptical Of Praise From Family And Friends
People who love you will always say your artwork is perfect, but heres the thing: theyre not being totally truthful. Sometimes, artists end up buying into all that praise and stop trying to improve. Always seek out people wholl give you honest feedback and constructive criticism. Its the only way youll grow as an artist!
Also Check: What Anime Is The Song Renai Circulation From
Tuning The Details Of The Drawing
Once all these steps are completed, all the guidelines that are not part of the main silhouette of the character must be erased.
This process, as with the face, must be done with great care so as not to eliminate any section of the previously made drawing.
After this you must add clothes to your character.
This element of the drawing is very important to consider, since the clothes of a character is the way in which his personality and tastes are shown, having that the designs have no limits and depend only on your imagination.
Then, the clothes should be drawn on the silhouette that was already had the body of the character, so that there are parts that should be erased because they are covered with clothing.
The wrinkles of the clothes are also necessary, for which it is recommended to imagine how the clothes of your character would wrinkle if they were used by a real person.
Finally, if you follow all these steps you will have completed your anime girl character.
How To Draw Anime Muscular Male Body Step By Step
This tutorial shows how to draw a muscular male body in the anime and manga style with a step by step breakdown of the various muscle groups.
The focus of this tutorial is on the upper body . It shows an example of a very muscular but still a more realistic looking character. Its important to note this as sometimes anime characters can be drawn with very exaggerated proportions to look absolutely huge.
If drawing on paper its recommended that you make light lines up until the final step of the tutorial. This will make it easier to erase any potential mistakes.
For more general drawing tips also see:
Also Check: How Many Seasons Of Danganronpa Anime Are There
How To Draw A Simple Anime Face From 3 Sides Front/side/profile With Guidelines
This video is one excellent place to start drawing your anime characters face. Beginning with the very basics of drawing a simple front-facing anime face. But luckily not just limiting it there but to also expand the knowledge on how to draw it from the side view too.
This video is all about drawing a simple anime face, but as we know, basics should be known before moving on to an advanced facial drawing, which the next video is more about.
Bangs Fringe & Curly Hair
Getting hair to fall naturally is no easy feat. When drawing manga its standard practice to simplify the hair into large clumps called bangs.
In this tutorial youll learn how to form the curve of the bangs accurately and how to add extra detail.
The artist takes it a step further by discussing how pigtails influence the shape of the hair and the best way to construct them. Lots of info here for anime hair lovers.
Recommended Reading: Which Anime Personality Are You
Use Painter As Your Anime Drawing Software
Finish drawing the lower part of the leg by extending the tubes until theyre of the same length as the top half. Add small circles for the ankle joints and attach trapezoid shapes for the feet.
Who Are Manga Artists Or Professionals
Manga professionals not only specialize in drawing, but use these drawings as a way to tell stories that have influenced many people around the world.
It is for this reason that people try to learn how to draw and recreate the characters that are shown in their favorite anime.
Whether you make drawings as a form of entertainment or as a profession, drawing an anime character can be very complex if you try to recreate a character from the manga, since such designs are made by professionals in the field.
Then, it is best to start drawing following a series of steps.
The most complex drawings require a lot of effort and concentration, but they can be simplified if you know the proper techniques to draw with the Japanese style.
So, this guide is designed to help you start in the drawing of the anime, for which the design of a girl will be done from the most general design to the last detail.
The drawing of girls in the anime is usually very aesthetic and cute, always trying to make all the characters of this genre have unique characteristics that differentiate them from the rest.
But before starting make sure you have the right materials to make the drawing, that is to say, special pencils for this task, small drafts and any other instrument you consider necessary.
Also Check: How To Draw An Anime Boy Body
Manga Anatomy Quick Tips
Get your pencils out because this video is perfect to draw along with and practice your anatomy skills.
The artist teaches some neat tricks to keep the anatomy of manga characters looking proportional.
Quick and easy to follow, drawing out each lesson will help solidify the theory in your mind and train your hand to make the right strokes.
And if youre struggling with human anatomy definitely take a peek at these online courses touching on all the bones, muscle groups, and structures that artists need to know.
Importance Of Proper Poses
Even if you are a reasonable good artist an improperly drawn stance can greatly detract from your drawing and the message your are trying to convey to the viewer.
For example in the two punch drawings above the first one looks like a person holding their arm out while the second looks like they are actually punching.
Its very important to properly convey the action or stance you want to show. Without that an even otherwise well done drawing wont look right.
Recommended Reading: What Happened To Soul Anime
Draw The Overall Shape Of The Female Body
One of the most important thing to keep in mind when drawing the full figure is the proportions or the relation of one body part to another. Everything has to be the right size or your character will look odd.
Certain styles may deliberately exaggerate certain proportions there are still rules to follow when drawing.
For the front view of the girl you should start by drawing a vertical line. This will help you make both sides of the figure more even. If you are drawing two views at once you can add the horizontal lines to make sure that the different body parts match up in both views.
Drawing both views at once is a good exercise. If you are good at drawing one particular body part in one view but not so much in another this can help you.
Start By Drawing The Basic Shapes
Drawing anime characters is fascinating and looks pretty hardbut, interestingly, all your favorite characters are born out of basic shapes like circles, squares, triangles, and so on.
Start by improving your basic drawing. Practice simple figures like straight lines, circles, rectangles, ovals, and other similar shapes. This sounds boring , but everyone who draws has started from this “baby” stage, so why should it be any different for you? To build complex structures, you need to first master simplicity. This will help you improve your drawing and your creative vision.
Try drawing these basic shapes for a few minutes daily. Then, draw anything that fits your imagination. You can try combining these basic shapes to make real-life figures for example, you can use squares or rectangles of different sizes to build basic human anatomy. One such example is given in step 3 below.
Master Perspective Drawing
Recommended Reading: Color Anime Eyes
How To Draw Anime Poses Step By Step
This tutorial explains the basics of drawing different poses. The instructions it provides can apply to anime and manga or to more traditional art styles.
Drawing an anime or manga character in a given pose can be quite challenging. To make things simpler this tutorial shows examples from fairly easy to draw angles. It also show how to use mannequin like characters for getting the pose without any of the details such as the facial features, clothes, hair, etc
The mannequin approach mentioned earlier lets you draw various poses quickly making it easier to find the right one for the character you want to draw. It can also help avoid having to do excessive erasing in case of a mistake.
If for example you fully draw out the details of the head and then move on to the body you may realize it does not quite have the right angle. This means now having to erase all of the facial features when you could have caught the mistake much sooner if you were to draw a basic outline of the entire body.
For more common drawing mistakes and good practices also see:
One Character Six Manga Styles
Have you been planning to create your own manga but just feel discouraged?
Youll need to pick a style to work in, organize a story, and master the art style. It takes a while but this video can help.
A good way to solidify your style is to draw your character in multiple other manga styles. Follow along with this tutorial and try to adapt your character to all six different styles.
Also Check: How Much Do Funimation Voice Actors Make
How To Draw Anime People And Bodies
- In this course, you will learn to the proportions of anime bodies
- How to draw all ages, from toddlers on up
- How to draw in the unique anime/manga style
- How to draw both the male and female bodies and what makes them different
- How to make your anime bodies look 3D
- How to pose anime people
- How to draw all the muscles–crash course on anatomy
- How to draw a hot bikini anime girl.
- How to draw a reaper anime girl
- How to draw a buff anime guy
Ways Drawing Manga Eyes
If you are struggling to understand how different styles of eyes match different characters, this video will clear up all your questions.
Over a time-lapse video the artist narrates what makes each eye unique while drawing the eyes of 20 characters from popular anime. Yes, twenty!
If you are following along be prepared to pause often. This 11-minute video is fast-paced and packed to the brim with useful knowledge.
Have you ever heard of the Manga Studio software?
Its software like Photoshop but dedicated to manga & anime drawing.
Using manga studio in this guide you will learn which tools to use and how to ink a pencil drawing digitally. If you want to learn how to add color then watch part 2 of the video.
Recommended Reading: What Is Simulcast
How To Draw The Best Butt Ever
To complete your characters forms, you need to know how to draw a butt. As with everything, good knowledge of human anatomy is always something that is valued. It gives you opportunities to create your own looking forms. Proportions are the ones that matter. If you know the proportions, things get much easier.
Draw With Reference Material
Getting everything right in the first few attempts is pretty rare. Its better to start with reference material. Sometimes what you think is best may not really work the same way in reality. If you are drawing a historical character, then start by researching other, similar characters. Study their personalities, statures, colors, and how their faces are drawn to show the types of characters they are.
You can also follow specific manga artists and should definitely check other peoples work, especially when you are a beginner. Most famous artists have distinguished approaches, You can also look at photographs or take inspiration from real-life objects, animals, and human beings. An example in the image above is Yuno from the anime Black Clover . Yuno is serious, handsome, and sophisticated. He also has the power of the wind. All these attributes are clearly identifiable in this drawing.
Keep practicing
Read Also: Anime Body Shading
Draw The Outline Of The Abs
Start the drawing of the abs by first outlining their combined shape. In this case the character will have an eight pack so make the set of muscles just below the chest significantly wider. These should then transition into the next set of narrower abdominal muscles. You can outline the rest of the abs with just two curved lines on each side of the body as shown in the example above.
Drawing The Nose Mouth And Ears
The drawing of these parts of the face is very simple in the style of the anime, so that almost not notice if the character is seen in front.
Then, to draw the nose you should look for a midpoint between the highest horizontal line and the end of the chin, so that it is as proportional as possible.
The line of the nose is a vertical line that is placed a little more moved to the right and represents the smallest characteristic of the face of your character.
The position of the mouth is defined by you and its drawing is as simple as the nose, since it should only be a simple and subtle line.
You should not even draw the characters lip, since this is not a common feature of the anime.
On the other hand, the drawing of the ears will depend on the hairstyle that you intend to give to the character, but that will be discussed in the next step.
In case the ears are visible you should draw them at the height of the eyes, making a small oval whose size matches the horizontal lines drawn at the beginning of the process. Later you can place the internal details.
Recommended Reading: How To Draw Anime Legs And Shoes
Mapping The Face For Anime & Manga
This tutorial explains how you draw face and head from different angles. Might require some previous knowledge on how to draw an anime face. So if you didnt watch the previous video yet. Do start from there.
This video is more advanced and shows you how you can draw the face from any angle if you apply the knowledge creatively. The examples are easy to follow and shows you how to approach when drawing eyes and other features in different angles.
Though Mikey is using traditional methods, the results are just damn impressive. Easy to learn but may be hard to master.