How To Draw Japanese Anime Manga

So why do you want to learn how to draw Japanese Anime? Maybe because you've watched a lot of it and were drawn into the intricate story line and the beauty of the artwork. If so, then you are not alone.

I started watching anime when I was just a kid. First I fell in love with Speed Racer. Yup, if you didn't know Speed Racer is considered Japanese anime, then now you know.

Frome there I went on to watch G-Force, Robotech, Akira, Vampire Hunter, Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed and so on and so on. I remember I was not only enthralled by the artwork but also by the enthralling story line. It captured my imagination like nothine else before.

Japanese Manga mirrors real life. The story behind the artwork give the characters real life as though they are actually living breathing actors and actresses in CGI skin.

Manga can be funny, touch your soul and warm your heart. Or it can be cold, bloody and brutal and vomit inducing. Manga comes in all forms of genre just like films and books. Manga's boundaries are only limited by it's creator's imaginative and sometimes twisted mind.

1. You'll need to gather some essential tools to unleash your inner Manga imagination. Start with some basic drawing pencils (4H to 6B), pencil sharpener (preferrably steel), 18 by 24 inch drawing pad (with a sturdy backing), portable sketchbook, kneaded eraser, white nylon eraser and black ink pens (various line weights), and finally a blending stump.
2. Draw basic shapes such cones, spheres, cubes and cylinders until you can do it with your eyes closed. By mastering the fundamentals you will be working on a foundation for mastering difficult drawing techniques.
3. Study up on Manga drawing by reading books from Manga master artist Hikaru Hayashi. His books can be found on the Amazon.com links below.
4. Take a drawing class. Even if it doesn't have anything to do with Manga. Learning other drawing skills can lead to more creative ideas when you are drawing Manga. You might even surprise yourself if you invent your own Manga style.
5. Practice until you've had enough. Then practice some more. If Manga is what you love and it is your passion then you will find time to practice. Don't have time? Turn off that television. You can catch reruns of your favorite shows online these days.

If you love to watch Japanese Manga because you think it's great cartoon, then you're in the wrong mindset. Manga is beyond cartoon just like the "Mona Lisa" is a leap away from "Dogs Playing Poker". Real Manga to me is a true mixture of a great imaginative story telling with beautiful artwork drawn and created by Da Vinci like geniuses.

Throughout this hub will see How To Videos on Drawing Manga. These videos are created by a talented artist named Mark Crilley. His thoroughly informative videos give beginners a great start on the Manga art form.

He has a Manga sold in book stores called "Miki Falls". Go check it out.

He has a great set of videos that will teach you how to draw eyes, hair, fight poses, etc. Watch his videos and learn from the best. So I really have to give credit where credit is due. Mark Crilley is a true Manga art master.

Check out his "Miki Falls" series available on Amazon.com.

Manga character have over the edge hair styles. Sometimes the more over the top the better depending on how wild your character is. The biggest tip for drawing hair on a character is to draw the character bald first.

This all goes back to doing baby steps. Just like real people we all have a skull underneath our hair. So it is logical to draw the head bald first and than start working on hair detail.

There are many styles of eyes on Manga characters. But one important key factor is the eyes often enough are not Asian in feature. They are drawn bigger, wider and in essence more exxagerated. Each Manga artist have their own style. The more you draw and practice the more you will start to developed your own true Manga style.

1. First start off by sketching the basic shape of the eye as best as you can. It's important to get the size and the shape right the first time.
2. Begin to flesh out the eyelids with a heavier pencil. Details are key. Add light glares to bring out some realism.
3. Now is the right time to add detail to the pupil and begin to thicken the area around the eyes.
4. Time to complete your first set of Manga eyes. Draw the eyelashes with a pencil and use a marker to thicken and curl. Clean up any penciled guide lines. Now you can add some color to the iris for a little more flare.

Just like paintings have different styles and types of art, Manga too has a vast variety of final look on the artwork.

Manga drawings and their characters can range from the sublimely exaggerated to utterly cute and fluffy. Sometimes you will see hard core Manga mixed in with a bit of Chibi art, usually just to lighten a mood in a more serious Anime series.

Chibi Manga are drawn differently as well by various artist. The most notable being Naruto to even Ultraman.

First off you have to remember that Chibi drawings are simplified. From head to toe the character's body is exaggerated in proportion. The head being the biggest portion of the body. The hands and feet have the least details while the face has the most with expressions.

Never the less the artwork is backed by some of the most imaginative stories ever created.

If you are a fan of drawing animations on the computer then this is a great software for you.

This softwar has a setup and features similar to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. So if you are already familiar with these graphic softwares then you should get along with Manga Studio 3.0 very quick.

This software is built for hard core artist but with a little bit of a learning curve a beginner passionate about Manga shouldn't have any problems using the software.

Now this is not to say that Manga Studio has the same features as Photoshop and Illustrator. It basically has the same setup. Manga Studio is designed to help Manga artist build a comic book and give your drawings the desired affect to make it Manga style.

Manga Studio is equiped with inking capabilites and tools the emulate Manga style. So it has more pen options and pen tip selections to increase your toolbox for better design and artwork.

As I mentioned earlier Manga Studio can help you create a Manga comic book by helping you organize the pages. It organizes and saves all your files in one directory so you will know where all your pages are.

You will need a pen tablet to draw with Manga Studio. Using your mouse is not recommended for finer details for your artwork.