Rubbishy manga!

I've been interested in anime for a while now, and although I don't
read manga, I do like the art style a lot. I had to do some artwork for
my design ideas for uni and sort of enjoyed doing some character
drawing, so I've decided to give a serious effort to improve at it.
Here is my first proper effort at drawing a manga style girl...



I'm fairly happy with how she turned out, though its far from perfect.
The materials I'm working with could be nicer too - lined paper, a
s**tty general purpose pencil, and a desk already crammed up with
computer stuff. Oh well, it will do for the mean time :biggrin: Anybody else
draw anime style characters, and if so, got any tips for me or work you
care you care to share with the pit?

There's actually specific rules to drawing anime characters. They have 'line-up' rules the same way real-life drawings do. They're just different.

Rather then starting with an oval you start with a circle. Then a triangle bineath that, the lower cirle line becomes the eye line.

I used to have a tutorial somewhere.

But, good effort :smile:

Yeah, to be honest, though I was going for an anime style, it came out
more like a semi-realistic cartoon style. I'm gonna pick up a book
for/after christmas on drawing manga characters that should hopefully
help me nail the style a bit better. I know that the other art thread
at the moment was discussing this, but would you recommend a tablet for
this sort of work or just drawing by pen and paper?

To be honest if you're using a tablet to draw period it should be the exact same as drawing on paper. You can even place a piece of paper down and get thicker pen tips so it feels like a pencil. You just have to get used to not looking at the paper. The reason why I suggested bigger sizes is that the size of the tablet drawing area is NOT proportional to the size of your drawing. Meaning, the bigger the tablet, the better your detail will be (of course you zoom in and such, it's just annoying).

Try a tablet out at your school or somewhere else, give it a shot, see if you like it :smile:

I've tried to draw manga a few times. Your drawing looks much better though, especially the hair.

Take a look here:

http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial/tutorial.html

http://www.inet.ca/~stephenw/manga.html

well, just google :wink:

I'd suggest, Reno, that you try drawing girls to begin with (and not for perverted reasons -- I'm talking art here). I found that manga girls are easier to draw than men -- with girls, you can get more of the proportions wrong/misaligned, and it still looks alright. With me, everything is generally oversized a little.

One other thing: The eyes. Eyes generally aren't straight black (occasionally they are, or if its a "realistic" drawing, but I myself don't draw like that :wink: ) I have some manga girls hung up on my wall, lemme see if I can get my mom off of her dell to let me scan them in....

will be right back

That first link is the exact tutorial I was talking about. But when I saw it it was on Jullie Dillon's site.

...and not for perverted reasons...

...I have some manga girls hung up on my wall

Not for perverted reasons eh? :wink: On a more serious note, I am sticking
to drawing girls at the moment as personally I find it more fun. For
perverted reasons? Probably!

With me, everything is generally oversized a little.

Pervert. :biggrin:

That looks like the woman off of that one Bungie game. Can't remember it right now.

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:

Thats because I nabbed her hair - I couldn't get it looking right at
all so I took hers and toned it down a bit. Can't remember her name,
but the game was called Oni if you are still wondering :smile:

While on the topic of bungie, go read their interview with the Red vs.
Blue guys and download the video linked at the end that they made for
the Halo 2 launch party, wonderful as usual!

Here Reno, sorry about the lame scans :smile:



First drawing.



Second drawing (lame scan, sorry)

Enjoy :smile:

I like the head in the second picture - the expression, eyes and hair
work really nicely together. I think you should work on proportion a
bit though, as your necks are too long and thin and your shoulders too
round and undefined. Good job on the eyes though, I'll definately need
to try and improve mine.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting TwoKnives</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quote:</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
With me, everything is generally oversized a little.

</DIV></DIV>

Pervert. :biggrin:
</DIV></DIV>
Typo :razz: "With men, ..."

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting G.Ballblue</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting TwoKnives</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quote:</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
With me, everything is generally oversized a little.

</DIV></DIV>

Pervert. :biggrin:
</DIV></DIV>
Typo :razz: "With men, ..."

</DIV></DIV>
Lol, nice on G.Ball. That was hilarious.

Cool to see you drawing, Reno! I think your first attempt was great, and I'm sure you will hone your skills if you keep practicing. I have never really been drawn to anime (too old?). I should really take the time to look for the cream of the crop anime, I'm sure I would love it if I paid more attention.

As for the tablet....DO IT! You know how I love Wacom. You wont regret it. There is something to be said for learning with the ole pencil and paper. Some special quality that is unnatainable with digital art.... BUT, drawing on the pc, is just sooo forgiving, limitless, cheap, efficient.

Anyway... keep it up!

I don't think a tablet helps as much as some people would believe; if
you don't already have a strong art knowledge/foundation before you get
a tablet, you still won't have one after either. In other words, it's
not some magical solution to your problems.

That being said, I love my tablet! I can't imagine life without one. :biggrin:

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle> </DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quote:</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>...and not for perverted reasons...</DIV></DIV>

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quote:</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>...I have some manga girls hung up on my wall</DIV></DIV>

</DIV></DIV>

Again, with this fixation on gender.. its not gay to express a certain kind of affection for the same gender, and its definitely not taboo or perverted to express a desire for the opposite sex. :rolleyes:

geez, i cannot help but wonder, if all this gay rights s**t never happened, would we worry about distinctions such as this.

perverted has nothing to do with the opposite sex, not even where age is concerned. perverted is methodology. as in, you have a feather still embedded in your anus after you finish, or the whip is stuck between your toes after you fall asleep.
all this compunction to distinguish yourselves away from the stigma of sex is OTT guys. posting it draws attention to you, it doesn't push it away. you might as well wave a flag and proclaim "I HAVE ISSUES" :rolleyes:

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Orpheus</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle></DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quote:</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>...and not for perverted reasons...</DIV></DIV>

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quote:</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>...I have some manga girls hung up on my wall</DIV></DIV>

</DIV></DIV>

Again, with this fixation on gender.. its not gay to express a certain kind of affection for the same gender, and its definitely not taboo or perverted to express a desire for the opposite sex. :rolleyes:

geez, i cannot help but wonder, if all this gay rights s**t never happened, would we worry about distinctions such as this.

perverted has nothing to do with the opposite sex, not even where age is concerned. perverted is methodology. as in, you have a feather still embedded in your anus after you finish, or the whip is stuck between your toes after you fall asleep.
all this compunction to distinguish yourselves away from the stigma of sex is OTT guys. posting it draws attention to you, it doesn't push it away. you might as well wave a flag and proclaim "I HAVE ISSUES" :rolleyes:

</DIV></DIV>
Is there something you want to talk about Orph? Come just let it out, we're here to listen.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Spartan 34</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
Is there something you want to talk about Orph? Come just let it out, we're here to listen.

</DIV></DIV>
my concern, has nothing to do with myself. if you cannot read it like i wrote it, avoid it please.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Orpheus</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Spartan 34</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
Is there something you want to talk about Orph? Come just let it out, we're here to listen.

</DIV></DIV>
my concern, has nothing to do with myself. if you cannot read it like i wrote it, avoid it please.

</DIV></DIV>
I was just joking.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Spartan 34</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
I was just joking.

</DIV></DIV>

i know, and most times i would appreciate it deeply, but not this time.

its almost reached a point where people have to apologize for making comments that require no explanations at all.

all the old timers know my view on gays, so they should never read "XXXOOOXXX" as homo, nor should anyone feel the need to separate themselves from the perception of a degenerate, because they draw pictures of female cartoon/anime.
my only concern is the misconception that an explanation is necessary. no one should feel compelled to do so, whether they are straight or gay for that matter. its on a need to know basis, and no one in a forum needs to know a damned thing.

Orph, :razz:

The only reason I said that stuff was because about 99% of the people I encounter in Real-LifeTM can't take art seriously, when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex.

Enough with this now, back to Reno's art! Try looking at other manga drawings, sometimes the best way to learn is simply to stare at a very complex picture for a looonnnnggg time.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting G.Ballblue</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
Enough with this now, back to Reno's art!

</DIV></DIV>
what he said guys.

Reno, her head is a little big in the pic and the ears have no indentation detail.

Scanned it, cleaned it up, and coloured it very basically tonight. It
turned out more pop art than anime style, but hopefully once I've
shaded it it will turn out a little better. I've put the drawn version
in for comparisons sake also...

Had a go at some shading, after messing around with a bit by changing
the crappy mouth and sorting out the hair. The lighting is inconsistant
as it was a total rush job, and I have quite a bit of trouble using the
mouse to make nice lines. Still, I'm pretty happy with how it turned
out, and its been fun to work on :smile:



As a strange but nice little addition, I was just playing around with
after effects on the image and upon changing the line colour from black
to white, found the result to be pretty cool. I feel it changes the
girl's whole expression from a somewhat mean looking smile into a
completely shocked look, and prefer it to the "proper" version by quite
a bit.



I'm definately gonna look into getting a tablet, probably just a
cheap one like the Graphire 3 to get me started. Christmas is coming
after all...

I'm sorta spamming the thread now but this is a little sketch I knocked
up ealier. The young boy is holding a rather unhappy cat that belongs
to his school class, and his raised hand is trying to get the teachers
attention. Proportions are quite horrible - the hat in particular is
gigantic and the arms aren't matching lengths - but I think its kinda
cute.

The cat is cute, except for its tail. :wink:

the hat scares me.

Ok.... I still enjoy drawing Anime and Manga and I still do it. Ok first Reno all the picture you have made needs is a different style eyes and the mouth rearranged to look different. Not to tell say your bad because thast good stuff your doin,.....but the face could be better. But hell my first pic sucked ass terribly bad. With practice comes better skillz.... cant say perfect because no one is dat good. Good luck

Ill work on one tonight and scann it so you can see some stuff I normaly do.

If only I had a scanner... Drawing is basically all I used to do at school :razz: I'm not fantastic but I know what I'm doing :cool:

Did any of you do Art as a subject at school? I got a D in my GCSE's (didn't do coursework), but I'm going for a B at A level :smile:

Keep on truckin'

Reno I really liket the pic where she has blonde hair and you put in shading. What did you do in PSP to accomplish the shading?

Spartan - I just used the photoshop tutorial on colouring at this site...

http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial/tutorial.html

Its a bit laborious to clean up all the lines, particularly when using
the mouse which I'm not too accurate with for this purpose, but I'm
pleased with the end result.

Neural Scan - I did Higher Art and Design at school and got a B for it,
but I've never done any art on my own accord really. My grade was
pulled up due to my writing, as opposed to the quality of my actual art.

SWAT - I agree my facial features in particular need work, they really don't come across as anime style.

I came upon that site once but never looked through it because I thought it was on just manga which I'm not too particulary interested in. Keep up your work though.

Here you go guys I worked just about 30 minutes on this it aint anything special so say what you want.

That'd look great with squared shoulders. I think someone complained
about your shoulders in a previous post. The face and hair are well
done. Good work.

lol its the NEW hev from hl2 not dah old one. lol big difference in shape but i might have made a mistake anyways. Thx for comment....Ill make a bigger more detailed one later.

sorta crosseyed there

and anime =

I've always had trouble getting shoulders to look right.

I can make them look right. But I was tryin to make it look like the real HEV suit form HL2 instead of a high shouldered freak. Get what Im sayin......

edit:....
Plus if you didnt notice He is corsseyed. lol thanks for tellin me Yak . lol gotta work on those praportions to.

Hey reno, i used to draw a lot of DBZ and other anime style characters a few years back, i dont know why i stopped drawing, but i did, and im not sure i have time to start again, ill try and dig out some of my work to share with the pit :biggrin:

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting SWATSiLeNt</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Here you go guys I worked just about 30 minutes on this it aint anything special so say what you want.
</DIV></DIV>
Young, gay Gordon just after smoking and injecting copious amounts of crack cocaine?

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Cassius</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting SWATSiLeNt</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Here you go guys I worked just about 30 minutes on this it aint anything special so say what you want.
</DIV></DIV>
Young, gay Gordon just after smoking and injecting copious amounts of crack cocaine?

</DIV></DIV>
You killed it, cass.

diablobasher said:
Hey reno, i used to draw a lot of DBZ and other anime style characters a few years back, i dont know why i stopped drawing, but i did, and im not sure i have time to start again, ill try and dig out some of my work to share with the pit :biggrin:

Toriyama in general isn't anime really, since his style is fairly unique. It's the same with Otomo (Akira, Domu), Tesuka (Tetsuwan Atom, Metoroporisu), Amano (Vampire Hunter D), Miyazaki (Mononoke Hime, Spirited Away), etc.
They're all easily identifiable. However, more general anime styles are not.

Sorry I'm late on this thread. My advice... http://www.polykarbon.com/

Its a great website, taught me a lot about drawing anime stuff. Individual studies on eyes and different parts.

My advice on your drawings is that they are too detailed in the wrong places... manga characters have wierd simplistic features... take that in mind.

Nice work Reno. Its fun to see your drawing develop more and more, it looks real nice in the end. The only thing that i see, is that her mouth look a little weird. Dunno why, but it is just extreme perfectionists that would care anyway.
I tried too draw a manga picture myself once. I don?t dare to scan and show it though =). Its a picture of Kenshin (unusual huh?).