Learn To Draw Manga

I just wanted to know, about any good material (books, magazines, videos) on how to draw manga? I know of the “How To Draw Manga” books. But I wanted to know what do you guys use? Or is there anything better? Mainly because I would love to learn how to draw manga. I am a truly terrible artist lol ;D, but I at least want to give it a try. I seem to be able to come up with some great story lines though 8).
 
Why do you need books, magazines, videos when you have
How "Kid_Berserk" draws MANGA
step 1: get a paper and pen
step 2: get a book (get backers for exlample)
step 3: find the page with the image you want
step:4 put the paper over it, push the paper down you should see the image
Step 5: start drawing. ;D (this is what i do if all my drawing books)
----

stick to "How To Draw Manga" its the best on the market,so stick and your right, i to make some good story lines, i just cant draw.

EDIT: i seen something but i cant find it, sorry
 
kid_berserk said:
Why do you need books, magazines, videos when you have
How "Kid_Berserk" draws MANGA
step 1: get a paper and pen
step 2: get a book (get backers for exlample)
step 3: find the page with the image you want
step:4 put the paper over it, push the paper down you should see the image
Step 5: start drawing. ;D (this is what i do if all my drawing books)
----
LOL
kid_berserk said:
stick to "How To Draw Manga" its the best on the market,so stick and your right, i to make some good story lines, i just cant draw.

EDIT: i seen something but i cant find it, sorry
Thanks for the info, and if you find anything else that you think would be of any use just post it.
 
How to Draw Manga

1. Learn how to draw the human form, preferably from nude models.
2. Learn how to draw an octopus.
3. Combine.
 
Denial said:
How to Draw Manga

1. Learn how to draw the human form
thats what I'm trying to do actually. I'm just having serious problems with hands and facial features. along with some proportion problems. oh well i guess practice makes perfect ;D
Denial said:
2. Learn how to draw an octopus.
3. Combine.
not a bad idea. that could actually be a really sick looking character, but i have to learn the human form first
 
Denial said:
1. Learn how to draw the human form, preferably from nude models.
2. Learn how to draw an octopus.
3. Combine.
thanks Denial, now i know how to draw "aqua man" 8)

DarthVenom said:
I'm just having serious problems with hands and facial features.
hands are problay one of the hardest thing to master in any art style, A hand holding a object or getting ready to punch something can be very hard to do...so how to you find out to draw it? look at your own hand or take pictures of one of your friends hand holding something.It may make things alot easier.cant get hold of a friends hand? use a google image search
 
kid_berserk said:
hands are problay one of the hardest thing to master in any art style, A hand holding a object or getting ready to punch something can be very hard to do...so how to you find out to draw it? look at your own hand or take pictures of one of your friends hand holding something.It may make things alot easier.cant get hold of a friends hand? use a google image search
yeah ill definitely give that a try. i also am going to be buying a book called "How to Draw Manga: Bodies and Anatomy" ill let you know how it is.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
I have a few anatomy cheatsheets I use a lot scanned and up here. http://webspace.ringling.edu/~ccannon/anatomy
 
DarthVenom said:
yeah ill definitely give that a try. i also am going to be buying a book called "How to Draw Manga: Bodies and Anatomy" ill let you know how it is.
Thanks, my mom hates when I buy drawing books because i buy the shitty ones ;D (meaning they dont teach me anything)
But if you are as cheap as i am
http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial/tutorial.html
tutorials... online
Denial said:
I was going more for Woman + Tentacled Creature = ...
sexy? ??? slan
 
kid_berserk said:
Here are some more Online Drawing tutorials
http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/index.htm
It tells you everything from what you need to draw a great manga, to everything
Thanks for the site. i have been using the other site that you told me about
kid_berserk said:
i have already seen great amounts of improvement. as soon as i get a scanner i would like to post some Berserk related art(once i get a little better) 8)
 
DarthVenom said:
Thanks for the site. i have been using the other site that you told me abouti have already seen great amounts of improvement. as soon as i get a scanner i would like to post some Berserk related art(once i get a little better) 8)
cool, working already, well happy drawing. http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/materials/materials.htm
all you need to start drawing ^
also i think its about time you start making your own self-manga.  8) put your skill to the test. P.S. dont forget to buy "HowTo Draw Manga" at your nearest book store :-X
 

TheSkyTraveller

Monster adventures on the high seas!
My advice would be to not try to draw "manga" at all.  First you need a foundation in life drawing before developing a style, as some others have suggested.  Also, don't take offense or anything, because it's a personal pet peeve of mine, but you can't draw in the "manga style", because "manga" is a word used to describe comics of Japanese origin, not a genre or style because manga encompasses all genres and styles.  Saying "manga style" is like saying "novel style" or "movie style."

I've just noticed that a lot of people that do try from the beginning to draw in a really specific style end up appropriating another artist's work or miss out on skills to draw the basics. 

If you want help with the human figure, see if you can take life drawing classes from a model.  And for anatomy, there's some great books out there you can get.  A great one is "Visualizing Muscles" by John Cody, M. D.  It has a model in various poses with muscles drawn right on him, so you can see how they'd look from many different angles and positions.  Another good one that's really in depth is called "Cyclopedia Anatomicae", and it covers animal anatomy as well. This books is really big and also expensive, but it's worth it if you want really detailed information.  I'm not sure how available it is these days; it may be out of print.

I think if you start out with this stuff in mind, you'll find that your own style will naturally begin to shine through. :)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
TheSkyTraveller said:
Also, don't take offense or anything, because it's a personal pet peeve of mine, but you can't draw in the "manga style", because "manga" is a word used to describe comics of Japanese origin, not a genre or style because manga encompasses all genres and styles. Saying "manga style" is like saying "novel style" or "movie style."

So I'm not the only one to find that stupid... Glad to know it.
 
TheSkyTraveller said:
don't take offense or anything
none taken
TheSkyTraveller said:
but you can't draw in the "manga style", because "manga" is a word used to describe comics of Japanese origin, not a genre or style because manga encompasses all genres and styles.  Saying "manga style" is like saying "novel style" or "movie style."
i just named the thread Learn To Draw Manga after the book series "How To Draw Manga" i know its not a style. even though the term Draw Manga is considered to bassically draw Japanese Comic style. but thats not what i meant at all. sorry for the confusion :).
TheSkyTraveller said:
If you want help with the human figure, see if you can take life drawing classes from a model.  And for anatomy, there's some great books out there you can get.  A great one is "Visualizing Muscles" by John Cody, M. D.  It has a model in various poses with muscles drawn right on him, so you can see how they'd look from many different angles and positions.  Another good one that's really in depth is called "Cyclopedia Anatomicae", and it covers animal anatomy as well. This books is really big and also expensive, but it's worth it if you want really detailed information.  I'm not sure how available it is these days; it may be out of print.
i have been doing that as well thanks to some stuff i found on the internet and the site Lithrael posted for me to try out.
TheSkyTraveller said:
I think if you start out with this stuff in mind, you'll find that your own style will naturally begin to shine through. :)
thank you. i have been trying to just learn the basics. like i said before i am an absolute beginner. and I'm just doing it for kicks.so I'm trying to get my own style, but i have to learn the basics first. you should check out the site Kid_Berserk told me about the "how to draw manga site" it is quite helpful actually. 8)
http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial/tutorial.html
 

TheSkyTraveller

Monster adventures on the high seas!
I realize that you were mostly talking about "How to Draw Manga" books, but you also said:

DarthVenom said:
because I would love to learn how to draw manga.

(I'm not picking on you DarthVenom, just my thoughts on a recent trend)

[personal rant]
Maybe I'm just being a semantics snob or something, but I really detest the recent use of "manga" and "anime" here in the US to denote style or to refer to non-Japanese sequential art that wants to look like some generalized idea of Japanese sequential art.  The word only seems to be thrown around because it's trendy. 

To me, if you draw some panels on a page, it's a comic.  Or a graphic novel, if you want to call it that.  That's what it's called in the US, at least.

Sequential art (to try to use a term no one's going to argue with ;) ) is probably my favorite form of artistic expression, and because it's popular now, it seems like people would rather say they're drawing "manga" than a "comic".  The thing is, describing things this way just limits the scope of the medium, IMHO.  For example, Berserk is a manga, but the artwork looks nothing like the artwork on any of those manga tutorials.  So does that mean that Kentarou Miura is drawing it wrong?  Or that the stuff in the tutorials can't be manga because it's not like Berserk? 

I mean, you've got an amazing range of styles used by comic book artists around the world.  Kentarou Miura's art doesn't look like Junko Mizuno's art, which doesn't look like Rumiko Takahashi's or Hiroaki Samura's, or Hirohiko Araki's, or Jim Lee's or Frank Miller's or Robert Crumb's, or Massimilano Frezzato's, or even (shudder) Rob Liefeld's art.  I just think that these tutorial books are really limiting.  Someone will become a much better artist by following their own instincts, drawing from life, and looking at and learning from artists from a wide range of backgrounds, and specifically if they're into sequential art, a wide range of styles and genres within that medium. 

I guess what I'm trying to say whilst turning my post into a train wreck, is that manga is not an art style but an art form.  It really makes no sense to say someone draws in a manga style, because any style you can possibly dream up can be used in a manga (or comic, etc.)  Despite the fact I seem to be throwing a fit here, in short my message is a positive one: don't limit yourself!
[/rant]

I checked out the link you posted.  Sorry, but I'm not very impressed with the tutorial.  When someone that's trying to teach you how to draw people says: "In  this tutorial, I will attempt to go over how to draw DBZ style bodies. I don't have much experience with drawing figures, though, so just bear with me." it's just not very encouraging. 
 
what i actually should have said was
Because i would love to learn how to draw
i guess i should have worded it better.
and i know that the link that i was given is limited in a lot of ways. but like i said before
DarthVenom said:
i am an absolute beginner.
so any art knowledge (learning how to draw) is at least more than i have now. 8)

*edit*

i forgot to add

TheSkyTraveller said:
To me, if you draw some panels on a page, it's a comic.  Or a graphic novel, if you want to call it that.  That's what it's called in the US, at least.
agreed
TheSkyTraveller said:
For example, Berserk is a manga, but the artwork looks nothing like the artwork on any of those manga tutorials.  So does that mean that Kentarou Miura is drawing it wrong?  Or that the stuff in the tutorials can't be manga because it's not like Berserk? 
i understand that. but like you told me
TheSkyTraveller said:
I think if you start out with this stuff in mind, you'll find that your own style will naturally begin to shine through. :)
his already has. and i am just having a good time with drawing. so if i am influenced by a certain artist that either
draws for a Japanese comic or an American comic or where ever else. then i will not try to imitate him but my own style might at first be influenced by they're style. ;D

basically all i would like to do is learn how to draw. oh and thank you for the info.and if you have anymore like diffrent books or anything ??? just let me know it will be greatly appreciated.
 

TheSkyTraveller

Monster adventures on the high seas!
DarthVenom said:
what i actually should have said was i guess i should have worded it better.
and i know that the link that i was given is limited in a lot of ways. but like i said beforeso any art knowledge (learning how to draw) is at least more than i have now. 8)

Yeah, agreed, everyone has to start somewhere.  Also, it was probably a bit presumptuous of me to suggest running out and signing up for a figure drawing class.  Not everyone has the resources.

DarthVenom said:
so if i am influenced by a certain artist that either
draws for a Japanese comic or an American comic or where ever else. then i will not try to imitate him but my own style might at first be influenced by they're style. ;D

This is a good thing.  Every artist has influences.  Influence is a great thing, my above point was just that these days there are too many people in the industry sacrificing skill and substance and personal expression to get to what they think is a popular "style." 

DarthVenom said:
basically all i would like to do is learn how to draw. oh and thank you for the info.and if you have anymore like diffrent books or anything ??? just let me know it will be greatly appreciated.

Well, I guess my best advice would be to just draw like hell! ;D  Draw tons of stuff from life, from photos, from your imagination, etc.  Practice is all it takes.  Personally, I think for the most part, everyone has some ability to draw. There are just those who practice and those who don't.
 
TheSkyTraveller said:
Yeah, agreed, everyone has to start somewhere. Also, it was probably a bit presumptuous of me to suggest running out and signing up for a figure drawing class. Not everyone has the resources.
yeah those classes are obscenely expensive lol ;D
TheSkyTraveller said:
This is a good thing. Every artist has influences. Influence is a great thing, my above point was just that these days there are too many people in the industry sacrificing skill and substance and personal expression to get to what they think is a popular "style."
i could not agree with you more.in art, when people become more influenced with whats going to make them more of a quick buck they're art and story lines start to suffer terribly to the point that they really suck and they create terms such as "draw manga"
TheSkyTraveller said:
Well, I guess my best advice would be to just draw like hell! ;D Draw tons of stuff from life, from photos, from your imagination, etc. Practice is all it takes. Personally, I think for the most part, everyone has some ability to draw. There are just those who practice and those who don't.
thanks for the advice. and i realized that i have gotten better by just practicing. like i said before i am only doing this for fun and i do not take it serious enough where I'm doing it all day or even every day. but its kind fun. i also like what
C,10-4, Agent-C does he makes some really cool animations.
 

Vaxillus

The one and only severed head
I'm actually sort of a newb at drawing people myself. In fact, I only really learned to draw a decent looking humanoid this year. My biggest recomendation is to try and draw something realistically, and then go from there. In my art class, we had to transpose a black and white picturre of ourselves onto an illustration board using a grid as a guide. By having to draw something to almost picture-perfection, you become aquainted with all the details and lines that make up a face. You'll find that you start to notice these features on other people as well, and pretty soon you can draw a face that at least resembles a real face. From there, you just simplify it but changing shading into lines and removing certain less prominent folds and dimples in the skin. Always start with realism before you move into abstract.

As for the whole anime or manga 'style,' this bothers me as well. What bothers me more though is when people see a drawing that makes use of a simplified human form and immediately lable it as an 'anime style' drawing simply because it is stylized vs realistic. What I considder to be anime is something that represents japan not only visually but also culturally, which it's very hard for a mere still picture to do. Not attacking anyone here of course, just having my own rant.
 
Vaxillus said:
I'm actually sort of a newb at drawing people myself.  In fact, I only really learned to draw a decent looking humanoid this year.  My biggest recomendation is to try and draw something realistically, and then go from there.
yeah thats bassically what i have been trying to do. I'm really working on hands right now. even though i think i should start with something easier.
Vaxillus said:
In my art class, we had to transpose a black and white picturre of ourselves onto an illustration board using a grid as a guide. By having to draw something to almost picture-perfection, you become aquainted with all the details and lines that make up a face. You'll find that you start to notice these features on other people as well, and pretty soon you can draw a face that at least resembles a real face. From there, you just simplify it but changing shading into lines and removing certain less prominent folds and dimples in the skin.
that sounds damn cool. i been messing with shading a little lately. but I'm just going wait until i get a little futher along.
 
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