How to learn to draw manga: tips for beginners and features of the creative process

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Manga is a type of Japanese comic book. This genre of drawing began to develop since 1950. Now it is one of the most popular genres of comics. To create such comics is within the power of every person. Then the question arises: "How to learn to draw manga?". It's not difficult, the most important thing is to follow the instructions and practice more.

Basic learning to draw manga

At the beginning of his creative journey, a person should familiarize himself with ready-made comics. Also, before learning how to draw manga from scratch, you need to watch Japanese animation. It will show how the characters should look and what the storyline should be. After reading the manga, a person will be able to understand the difference between Japanese and American comics.

How to learn how to draw manga (for beginners)?

After familiarizing yourself with the genre of such comics, you need to move on to practice. However, there is no need to rush to the learning books. To begin with, a person needs to try to draw the characters himself. Necessarytry to create your own style, and not copy the finished work. If there are step-by-step instructions in the training books, then you need to draw your heroes based on it. For example: eyes, head, hair, and so on should not look like the creation of a literary author.

A person can create their own style based on the work of another artist. However, to learn how to draw anime manga, you do not need to copy other people's work. With practice, a person will begin to form their individual heroes. Someone else's creativity here serves only as a starting point.

Plotting

At the very beginning, you can't do without a script. It is best to write it from beginning to end, taking into account all the lines and events. This is necessary so that in the future a person knows what needs to be drawn. Important points of the script:

• It's not necessary to write big plots, but it should be noted what will happen and what the characters will say.
• During the compilation process, you can make small sketches. In the future, this will come in handy if a person loses inspiration.
• When writing a script, it is necessary to make notes of the scenes. You also need to think about the appearance of the main characters.
• A person must decide in what style he will draw. The choice must be made between color or black and white comics.
• Format. At the stage of drawing up the plot, you need to choose a format. For small scenes, a simple A4 is suitable, and for more global A3.

After writing the script, you can proceed to the next steps. The main thing is to work out this partcreating comics as clearly and in detail as possible. Each frame must have its own description. Also, all chapters should be connected to each other. Otherwise, a person will have to redo the manga many times.

Character development and creation

After writing the script comes the most interesting and difficult part of the work. Here you need, following the instructions from the tutorial books, learn how to draw manga characters. The more experience you have, the better they will get. Important principles for drawing characters:

• The most important thing is the sketch. You don't need to put in a lot of detail at first. It is necessary to gradually fill with various parts. For example: highlights in the eyes need to be drawn later, otherwise, in case of an error, you will have to draw everything again.
• Line of movements. The artist will need to draw many characters in dynamics. It is best to do this at the very beginning. It could be a curve that runs through the entire character.
• Creating a skeleton. At this point, the artist needs to draw everything clearly and evenly. After that, you can apply details: clothes, muscles, body parts, and so on.
• Drawing hands. A person before this part of the work needs to study how they are depicted and arranged in the manga.
• Appearance. This is the most important part of comics. Thanks to her, the artist conveys his drawing style. It is necessary, following the instructions, to learn how to portray the emotions of the characters.
• Gender. At this stage, the artist needs to figure out how female and male bodies differ in manga.
• Image effects. In such comics, you can convey the atmosphere of the scene. For example: the lines along the scene reflect the speed or emotional shock of the character.

These are the most important things in drawing characters. The person who follows them will no longer have the question: "How to learn to draw manga?". Also thanks to this, the artist can develop his own style. After that, his work will have the original look.

Main characters placement

The angle of view is an important part of a comic. Thanks to him, a person can perceive scenes positively or negatively. Before learning how to draw manga with a pencil, a person must learn some principles of framing. Here you already need to experiment, and the artist must also feel like a director. For example: the dialogue of two men should be depicted in the foreground in order to focus on their conversation. If you need to show the scale of some destruction, then you need to show the second plan. The work of other artists will help to practice this, but it is better not to use their style.

Final part of drawing

When all the sketches, replicas and characters are ready, they must be circled. Almost all artists use black pens or a pen with dark ink for this. You need to erase the pencil lines and circle their place with a permanent tool. In some places, you will need to finish the forgotten lines. The artist should approach this process as much as possible.responsibly.

Recommendations

A beginner artist must improve and practice all the time. To do this, you need to buy a sketchbook and draw in it as often as possible. Gradually, the level of pen proficiency will become much better. If someone does not like this work, then you do not need to listen to such a person. Better to just keep quiet and raise the level of drawings. Also an important part of learning is finding people with similar interests. They can tell you some of the nuances and secrets of manga creation.