How to Draw Manga Knights

Manga storylines, like those in any other kind of book, can range widely in the types of topics covered. There is romantic manga, horror-story manga and manga stories about baseball. Fantasy is a popular type of manga series, complete with knights, dragons and kings. To draw manga knights, research must be done to accurately depict armor and weapons. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Eraser
• Pictures of knights, armor and weapons
• Colored inks
• Pencils
• Paper

Draw Knights in Full Armor

1. Look at pictures of knights and the type of armor they wear. Study the lines and textures of the pieces in order to accurately replicate them.
2. Sketch the rough outline of a male manga character. Draw his face with a strong nose and slightly narrowed eyes, creating a mature look.
3. Place a helmet on top of the knight's head, using smooth, rounded strokes to denote metal. You will not need to add hair to the knight because it will not show through his helmet.
4. Broaden the knight's shoulders with almond or triangle-shaped epaulets or shoulder guards.
5. Add a chest plate on which you can put a crest or other insignia.
6. Draw the leg pieces of armor, with joints where the knees bend. Add boots for his feet.
7. Practice drawing hands in different poses, such as holding a sword or knife.
8. Produce variations of your knight character based on what actions he is performing. Draw him leaning forward as if dueling an opponent or ducking to avoid a blow.

Draw Weapons for Manga Knights

9. Research the type of weapon your knight is likely to use. Common choices are swords, daggers, bows and arrows and staffs of different lengths.
10. Draw the weapon you have chosen as if it is lying on a table, and you are looking down on it. This will help you get the basic shape down. Later you can draw it from varying points of view.
11. Make a basic sword by drawing a shape similar to a pencil. Put a line down the center of this shape to render it three-dimensional. Create a handle by adding a plus-sign (+) shape at the bottom of the sword.
12. Use action lines to show that the knight is swinging the sword. Draw slightly curved lines from the sword outward.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to draw your manga knight in a realistic fashion. The more armor you put on a knight, the clunkier he may appear and the slower he will move. To create a knight that is fast on his feet and able to fight, dress him in only the most essential pieces of armor that will protect him, yet not hinder his movement any more than necessary.