Instructions on How to Draw Manga
Manga is a style of cartooning which originated in Japan. It has recently made its way over to the United States and has become popular among both kids and adults. Manga can be somewhat challenging to draw at first. Often times beginners will struggle with developing proportional characters who still maintain the proper manga look. The best way to learn to draw manga is to understand the fundamentals of figure drawing. With enough practice, anyone can create their own manga drawings.
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Things You'll Need
- Pencil
- Drawing paper
- Manga character reference picture
- Eraser
- Black pen
Instructions
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Study Manga Techniques
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1
Review your reference picture of a manga character (see Resources). Make note of characteristics commonly found in manga, such as large eyes, simplified noses, small mouths and exaggerated hairstyles.
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Sketch different parts of a manga character's body quickly. Do not try to create a finished picture, but focus on memorizing the unique styles of manga drawings. Practice drawing eyes, noses and mouths separately. Use your reference picture as a guide whenever needed. Sketch a circle to map out a head and practice drawing different hairstyles. Work quickly and do not erase any mistakes you make.
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3
Decide what style of manga you wish to draw. Observe reference pictures with different styles such as chibi, realistic and mainstream manga. Pick whatever appeals to you and practice drawing in that style. Continue to sketch until you feel ready to create your final manga character.
Draw Your Manga Character
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4
Sketch the rough draft of your character. Draw a circle for the character's head and pencil a line down the center of the circle to map the facial features. Sketch a line extending from the bottom of the circle to represent the spine. Draw two lines along the spine to create the torso and hips of your character. If you're drawing a male character, broaden the width of the torso. If you are drawing a female character, widen her hips. Draw two lines extending from the torso, and two from the hips to map out the arms and legs of your character.
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Pencil the basic shape of the character's head. Follow your circle to create the character's skull and jawline. Use sharp angles to create a male character's jawline, and use smooth curves for a female's. Map out the placement of your character's eyes using your vertical guideline. Draw large, round eyes for a female character and smaller, angled eyes for a male character. Sketch the basic shape of your character following the outline of his face. Make sure the bangs of the character do not overlap the eyes.
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Draw the outline of the character's body. Start from the neck and follow the spine to create the organic shape of the body, arms and legs. Avoid drawing the body parts with too much detail. If drawing a female, focus on developing the curves of her body and legs to bring out her feminine quality. For drawing a male, slightly broaden the character's shoulders and draw the body thin with muscle definition. Sketch the basic shape of the character's clothing. Follow the shape of the body to give the clothing a natural flow. Erase any part of the character which is now covered.
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Erase the markings of your rough draft. Draw in the character's nose and mouth. For either gender, make the nose and mouth small, amplifying the size of the eyes. Shade in the eyes using your pencil. Erase the shading in the upper right corner of each eye to add a reflection off the eyes. Draw long vertical lines into the outline of the hairstyle to add hair strands to the character. Avoid drawing too much detail in the hair.
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Review your picture and correct any mistakes you find. Pencil the details of your character's clothing, such as buttons, belts, zippers, gloves and weapons. Do not draw the character's clothing with too much detail; rather, simplify the texture and design of your character's outfit. Add folds into the clothing for a more natural look. Erase any smudges and extra pencil markings you find in your picture.
Ink Your Drawing
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Ink the outline of your character using a black pen. Draw the outline thick to add volume to your character. Make the outline of a female character slightly thinner than a male's. Work slowly and try to keep the width of the outline even throughout the entire picture.
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Trace over the inner lines of your character with your black pen. Make these lines thinner than the outline and avoid drawing too much detail. Ink only what is necessary and erase any other markings. Work slowly and use smooth, confident strokes while inking.
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Erase any pencil markings which are left. Use your pen and draw in any other necessary details. Shade your picture using a cross hatching method with your pen to complete your manga drawing.
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Tips & Warnings
Practice drawing daily. The more you practice, the better your artwork will become.
Look at other artists and the techniques they use to create manga drawings. This will give you inspiration for your own work.
There are many different methods to drawing manga. Explore them to see what works best for you.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Patrick Ryan/Lifesize/Getty Images
