how to draw anime manga characters

by Lesly Collier 7 min read
image

So where do you begin with creating a manga character?
  1. Brainstorm Your Character and Build a Concept for Their Pose. ...
  2. Sketch a Wireframe. ...
  3. Correct Proportions. ...
  4. Outline the Shapes to Create a Skin Layer. ...
  5. Draw Facial Proportions. ...
  6. Add Clothing, Decoration, and Hair. ...
  7. Tidy Your Outlines and Ink Your Drawing. ...
  8. Refine Shading and Color.
Oct 2, 2019

How do you draw a manga character for beginners?

Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & MangaMake Light Line Drawings First. ... Use Guide/Construction Lines. ... Plan Out Your Drawing & Draw Larger to Smaller. ... Keep Different Parts of Your Drawing in the Same Stages of Completion. ... Draw Things That Are Hidden. ... Do Drawing Exercises. ... Study the Anime Style. ... Check for Mistakes.

How do you draw a manga artist like?

10 Things You Need to Know to Be a Better Manga ArtistStudy Real Anatomy. Just like with any figure drawing, knowing a body's anatomy is vital. ... Find Reference Images. ... Use Guidelines. ... Don't Copy. ... Be Open to Criticism. ... Be Skeptical of Praise from Family and Friends. ... Avoid Shortcuts. ... Draw Different Kinds of Characters.More items...•

What app do manga artists use to draw?

ibisPaint (iPad/iPhone/Android) A fast-growing free app that lets you draw illustrations and manga on your smartphone or tablet. We recommend ibisPaint for artists who want to draw on their smartphone or tablet. ibisPaint is a free illustration and manga drawing app.

How do you create your own anime character?

8 Steps To Create an anime character online for freeChoose the artistic style you like. ... Choose a skin tone. ... Choose the eye. ... Add tear and eyebrow. ... Choose the nose & mouth shape. ... Change the hairstyle. ... Add gesture and accessories. ... Add texts to express yourself.

Who is the fastest mangaka in Japan?

1 Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) It's no surprise Eiichiro Oda, the creator behind the greatest-selling manga of all time, One Piece, is also the wealthiest mangaka in the industry.

Is manga hand drawn?

Yes, 80% of manga artists use digital tools today to keep up with their demanding work schedules. Only 20% stick strictly to the traditional way of drawing, and then a few combine traditional with digital.

What pen do manga artists use?

In general, dip pens and black ink are used for drawing manga lines.

Do manga artists draw everything?

The truth is that individual manga artists can only do so much. As such, many of them employ manga assistants who deal with the backgrounds, shading, and toning. In this sense, manga artists are able to draw faster because they have help. They only need to draw the characters or the foundational elements.

What is the best app to learn to draw anime?

Best apps to learn how to draw anime and manga on Android for freeQuomodo Draw Anime.How to draw an anime by Zerojeck.Draw anime step by step.We draw.How To Draw Anime Ultra Instinct.iDraw: Animation Tutorials and How to Draw Animations.How to draw anime by gmzcreators.cartoon tutorial.

Who invented anime?

Osamu TezukaThe defining characteristics of the anime art style we know today first emerged in the 1960s through the works of Osamu Tezuka. If you watch modern anime, you'll quickly pick up on the unique look and feel of the anime art style.

Who is the strongest anime character?

The 12 Strongest Anime Characters of All Time1 Saitama (One Punch Man)2 Son Goku (Dragon Ball) ... 3 Giorno Giovanna (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) ... 4 Anos Voldigoad (The Misfit of Demon King Academy) ... 5 Tetsuo Shima (Akira) ... 6 Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer) ... 7 Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto) ... 8 Yhwach (Bleach) ... More items...•

Is SpongeBob considered anime?

The SpongeBob SquarePants Anime, simply referred to as SpongeBob SquarePants (Japanese: スポンジ・ボブ Hepburn: Suponji Bobu, pronounced Spongey Bobbu) is an ongoing Japanese anime television series produced by Neptune Studios to produce a quality fan series built around his and Narmak's ideas.

What are the three basic shapes of an anime face?

When drawing the outer shape of an anime face in the front view it may be helpful to think of it as being composed of three basic shapes as shown above (circle, quadrilateral and triangle ).

What is a good hairstyle for a delinquent?

This type of character can often be a bully/hostile and pick fights. A good hairstyle for the delinquent can be short and maybe slightly messy hair. It will help create a sort of “tomboy” image for the character.

How to draw anime head?

1. Draw an oval and divide it into 4 sections. This will be the basic outline of your anime character’s head. The proportions don’t have to be exact, but make the oval narrower at the bottom since that will be the chin. Once you’ve drawn the oval, draw a horizontal line through the center of it. Then, draw a vertical line through the center ...

How to draw a nose in anime?

To draw your character’s nose, draw a short, simple vertical line along the center of the face at the halfway point between the horizontal line and the chin.

How to draw hands well?

Community Answer. The best trick for drawing hands well is to study your own hands first. Notice the shape, color, texture, angles, etc. Draw your hand in dozens of different positions and in different lighting. This isn't a shortcut, per se, but it's an exercise that will improve your drawing.

How to draw a stick figure?

Make the hands about 1/5 the length of the arm, and make the feet about 1/6 the length of the legs. To get the proportions right, make your stick-figure outline about 7 times as tall as your character’s head. Have the arm lines start about 1/5 of the way down the line you draw for the torso.

How to draw a short hair character?

However, if your character’s hair is going to be short, draw a narrow oval on each side of the head. Have the top of the ears line up with the horizontal line running through the center of the face, and have the bottoms line up with the bottom of the nose. Then, draw the flaps of the ear inside each oval.

How to make your character's nose bigger?

Make the line longer if you want your character’s nose to be big. Make the nose the smallest feature on your character’s face. The nose will overlap with the vertical line you drew. To see it better, make it darker than the vertical line, or erase the vertical line around the nose.

Can anime characters draw hair?

The hairstyle you choose for your character is up to you, but generally, anime hair features pointed ends and distinct sections. You can draw a short, buzzed hairstyle, a medium-length style, or long, flowy hair. Whichever hairstyle you choose, avoid drawing individual strands of hair.

How to draw a man and a woman?

If you're a man, start off drawing men, if you're a woman start by drawing a woman. Start off according to your gender and learn to know the male/female body better before you draw any boy/girl characters. Turn your dots into larger circles, for example, around the knees (this eventually makes the kneecap).

How to draw realistic pose?

Making your pose realistic is important, but start of with something basic, a person standing with hands behind their back. Draw a large circle for the hips, the legs connected on. Draw an oblong/egg shape for the head. Add some flesh. Draw circles/oblongs around your lines , making sure again it's realistic.

How to make clothes look realistic?

You can basically design any clothes but an important part is the fold. They make the look realistic (that ever so important word again). Start basic though, a simple robe or something. If you need help, get a rag and hang it the same way. Gravity applies to fabric as well so make sure it falls the right way. ...

Is manga art a skill?

Manga artistry can be an amazing skill when mastered properly. It's simple, easy and with proper practice can become a skill that can help you in many ways. Eg - doing projects (at school), designing clothes and heaps more.

Can you draw circles?

It is difficult to draw anything perfectly, and circles are no exception. If you want to draw better circles, it may be useful to trace something or invest in a compass (the math/drawing kind, not the navigational kind), as it will help you draw circles. Thanks!

How to draw a neck?

The neck is fairly straightforward: just draw a line from the center of the clavicles towards the ears, and fill the rest as a simple column. As for the back, don't forget about the shoulder blades.

Where is the body divided in anime?

Most of the time, an anime character's body can be divided into halves right at the crotch level. Sometimes, the lower half is made longer to make the legs longer or the torso more robust, but it's rarely shorter (A).

Why is the torso the simplest to draw?

The torso is the simplest to draw because it has big, clear muscle masses, and it doesn't change shape too much.

Why are breasts so tricky to draw?

Step 8. Breasts can be tricky to draw, because they're not really what they seem . They're soft masses, affected greatly by gravity, not simply firm balls attached to the chest. They don't really have one solid shape—it changes all the time with the pose.

Is there a right or wrong proportion in anime?

However, while there are no right and wrong proportions, there are intentional and unintentional ones.

Is it easy to draw anime?

So while drawing anime characters is easier than drawing realistically, it's still not easy! In this tutorial, I will show you the basics of drawing the bodies of anime characters. I'll show you how to start a manga drawing—how to define a pose for your character and how to make sure the proportions are correct.

Customers who bought this item also bought

How to Draw Fortnite Minecraft Roblox: 3 in 1 Drawing Book: An Unofficial Fortnite Minecraft Roblox Drawing Guide With Easy Step by Step Instructions ... More! (Unofficial Activity Book for Ages 10+)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

How to Draw Fortnite Minecraft Roblox: 3 in 1 Drawing Book: An Unofficial Fortnite Minecraft Roblox Drawing Guide With Easy Step by Step Instructions ... More! (Unofficial Activity Book for Ages 10+)

How to draw anime characters?

While artists have varying preferences about how to structure an anime character’s head and face, they all start with the same basic principle: First draw a circle, and then draw a horizontal line and vertical line directly ...

How to draw anime girl eyes?

Start by sketching a curved upper eyelid, then draw a short line extending down from the outer corner of the eye. Leave the inner corner of the eye open for a softer look. Then, add a circle in the middle of the eye as the iris. Draw a smaller circle—the pupil—in the middle of the iris.

How long should an anime character's legs be?

The legs of an anime character should be approximately as long as the top half of the character, from the top of the head to the waist. Finally, add in the arms. A good rule of thumb is to align the elbow with the character’s waist, and then extend the rest of the arm (including the hand) to about mid-thigh.

What is the difference between a character's nose and mouth?

The character’s nose and mouth will typically be much smaller and simpler than the eyes. The nose, for instance, may just be two small lines that represent the nostrils. Similarly, the mouth may be a simple curved line.

What pen do you use to highlight a character?

While you will mostly ink with a black pen, it can also be helpful to have a white jelly pen on hand—you can use this to add highlights, like the reflection points in the character’s eyes. You may also choose to add additional colors with colored pencils or medium of your choice.

Step 1: What You'll Need

We're going to be drawing a manga character during this instructable for no particular reason other than it fits into the Burning Questions: Round 7 contest rules. So, I've collected a few items of interest below that we'll need to create our drawing.

Step 2: Enough Talk! Draw!

I could go on endlessly about theories and practices of drawing, but it's much easier if we just get to it. Starting in the center of your page, draw a bowling ball. It's basically a circle with 3 other circles (or ovals) positioned within.

Step 3: More on the Theme of Bowling

OK, so now we're going to be building up our shape some more so that it begins to look like something other than a bowling ball. It was a fine bowling ball, but we're drawing a manga character, remember? Next we add our bowling pin. However, we're going to have to be a little bit creative here with this step.

Step 4: For Future Reference

Now we're going to do a little forethought. Make a visual reference of where the arrow is pointing in the illustration below. It'll be important in a later step of this instructable. You can make a small mark here if you'd like but it's not critical to be precise with this drawing.

Step 5: Using the Other End of Your Pencil

Now we'll flip our pencil over and use the soft part to do some erasing. As wonderful as our little bowling picture is turning out, we're drawing a manga character.

Step 6: All That Work for Nothing?

Now get rid of the right half of the bowling pin. I know you're probably thinking, "Hey! Wait a minute! That was a mighty fine drawing of a bowling ba ... oh, right! We're drawing a manga character! Nevermind." ... and you'd be correct. This will all make sense in just a couple more steps. Hang in there, you're doing fine.

Step 7: Remember Step 4?

We're getting into some more advanced things now and within a few steps this whole thing will start to make sense to you (I promise).

What is manga style?

Since manga is only one style and most of the characters represent people, much of it is based (with noticeable variations) on the basics of realistic drawing. This includes the anatomy and proportions of a person, the effect of light and shadow, or the use of different perspectives.

What is the eye in a manga?

The eyes are usually the eye-catcher in a classic manga figure and may be larger (especially in female and childish figures) compared to the other parts of the face. Then follows the position of the small nose and mouth. To make the face look a little more delicate, I like to just indicate the nose a little.

What is shading in manga?

I want to change this quickly with the shading. Shading is an essential part of manga drawing. Tip: When shading, you should be aware of the direction, angle and strength of your light source. Also, what kind of light (warm, cold, artificial, natural) the shadow creates can be important for your drawing.

Is it cheaper to draw digitally?

Drawing digitally is of course not very cheap in the beginning, but it has the advantage that you don’t have to pay attention if your pens and colors are all filled up or if you have enough paper left. While drawing you can also correct most mistakes more easily. However, it takes practice to get used to using a drawing tablet, so be patient with yourself. I would recommend using:

image

Understanding The Manga Art Style

Image
Have a look online at different anime and manga animations to get a really good idea of what you are in for. You will notice the eyes immediately, but remember, you have full control of your character’s eye size! You will notice the style used in our example images is quite childlike – the characters all have the typical manga styl…
See more on artincontext.org

Materials You Will Need to Draw Manga

  • Obviously, choosing to do your drawings on a digital platform is not the most affordable, especially in the beginning. That said, once you have made the initial purchase of a graphics tablet and the appropriate software, you will not need any other tools! In particular, there will be no purchasing of costly art supplies! You will also have the awesome advantage of being able to co…
See more on artincontext.org

The Basics of How to Draw Manga

  • You are here to learn how to draw anime characters, and as mentioned before, there are a few different manga styles you can choose from. There are also various techniques. Here, we will cover all the basics while using a graphics tablet for our manga drawing tutorial. You should learn everything quite quickly and relatively easily!
See more on artincontext.org