anime/ manga drawing tips -n- stuff

[Psychaotic]

if u have any tips plz post.... for ppl who want to learn or want better tips, or just to watch... talk it up thx ! XDXDXD

[AnimeDudde]

Tip #1: DONT get a how to draw manga book. As much as they may say its for 'beginners' or whatever bullshyt, it doesnt work. Pratice on your own until you can draw, not exceptional, but decent :P Those books are only good for perfecting, all they do to beginners is make it feel like its impossible to get anywhere, and say their making stuff 'easy' at the same time :P

Tip #2: Draw, doodle, etc.. Whenever Im bored at school (which is ALOT) I always doodle, it helps :P Just dont waste time on tests though lmao, it kinda hurts your grade :rolleyes:

[blackmoon07]

I agree with you Animedude..i started drawing without the draw manga books...and i draw descent...not good but descent

[misaoshiru]

Well, if you just look at the books to get a general idea what you should be doing then ignore them entirely, it can help, imho. But yeah, practicing does a lot more good than that, and looking at other people's artwork does too. I don't claim to be a good artist, not at all, but I have improved over the years. The books helped me a little, though.

[His Holyness Moo]

Tip #1: DONT get a how to draw manga book. As much as they may say its for 'beginners' or whatever bullshyt, it doesnt work. Pratice on your own until you can draw, not exceptional, but decent :P Those books are only good for perfecting, all they do to beginners is make it feel like its impossible to get anywhere, and say their making stuff 'easy' at the same time :P

Tip #2: Draw, doodle, etc.. Whenever Im bored at school (which is ALOT) I always doodle, it helps :P Just dont waste time on tests though lmao, it kinda hurts your grade :rolleyes:


I have to agree with number 1.... The books did not help me at all... They helped my sister... But I still cant even make a stick figure look like a stick. ;-;

[AnimeDudde]

Oh yeah, that too :P I always get ideas from other artists xD Im not that good either, true, the books are good for a general idea. I just feel that they dont help as much as they claim to do so.

[misaoshiru]

For me, they kind of helped me to understand how the heck the artists get stuff shaped the way they do. Practice helped more, though.

[ParaKiss]

Moved to 'Share your manga' - It's the art section

Practice REAL anatomy. It really helps.

[kudakitsune]

I think if anyone who have trouble drawing the body and figure, they should get pictures of people to copy for practice and those dummy thingy. Sorry, I don't know what they are called.... amybe someone can. Does anyone knows what I am talking about?

[SailorMaddieMouse]

Study anatomy, perspective... things you'd learn if you were drawing from real life. You want to make your manga look nice, not just a bunch of SD characters running around in white space.
Backgrounds, shadows, viewpoints... And pay attention to how other people draw details and especially, the details on people around you. The way their hair flows... How their bodies move, facial expressions, and body language...

Get a sense for proportions. Oversize eyes and busts aren't what make a manga.

Also, getting a sense of how to vary your characters in appearance, personality, and style.

It's also important to give your style a sense of uniqueness if you want to stand out. Die 'How to draw manga' books and their generic rules. :mad:
And remember, there is no perfect or set way to draw. We're all still improving and changing how we look at things and how we draw. And change isn't always something that happens consiously. Compare drawings a few years apart, even a few months! You'll see what's changed, and can decide what needs to change, too.
Don't give up! Keep trying! :)

[Shizu-san]

I also agree with not having much of a need to buy those "How to Draw Manga" books. They are by no means step-by-step, and they seem to assume that you already know the human anatomy so you can easily draw your own characters in the same poses they have pictured. Well, that's not always the case. At best, a How to Draw Manga book could be used as a pose reference source. I wouldn't recommend them for anything else.

Practice practice practice. I cannot accentuate this enough. Oh, wait, yes I can. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Sometimes it can be frustrating and it feels as if you're not improving, but I assure you that if you continually practice, you'll get better. You're not going to fall in love with every single piece you draw/create; in fact, the majority of artists and whatnot are wholly content with only 20 percent of their work! Actually, I find this relatively easy to believe.

Also, look at pictures of magazines or just other manga and copy them. Some people consider this "cheating". How is that cheating? As long as you're learning something new and you don't plan on violating any copyright laws, I don't see how you can define something like that as "cheating". It's called STUDYING. [ahem] My point being that you should constantly look at the works of others around you and see what you can learn from them.

[Klawzie]

I don't think very many people at all are bothered with someone copying them for practice. The problem is when you repost it online as your own work. By all means - I suggest you fill up entire sketchbooks with your attempts to lean from other artists. But it should be very clear that that's all you're doing: learning, not cribbing.

My stance on the How To Draw Manga books: good for inspiration or reference. Not so good for learning outright. I collect them, but don't think people who are beginners would get much out of them because most beginners don't want to think about it too much. They want a magic wand to being better.

[kudakitsune]

I agreed... several years ago, "How To Manga..." books didn't help me at all. I'm getting better now and they kinda helped from time to time. YES! Wood MODELS! Perfect for those who can't just get that right pose. ^__^

[supersaiyanneo]

im no professional by any means but i bought a drawing book that just shows you what somthing looks like and gives you short and sweet steps. (though i never really read the steps) but the book just has a bunch of pictures to help you see how something is done. like lets say you want to have a guy punch upward. i find it to be a good refrence book (though mine is only for fight scenes) its called "how to draw manga"

though i too learned to draw without one of those books, and most of those books arnt very helpful. but there are some good ones out there :D

[Shizu-san]

Yes, well, I'm not going to say that How to Draw Manga books are completely useless, because I have a few myself. Like others have said, it's a good source of reference, but not something beginners should pick up expecting to learn new techniques from.

[javva-hut]

i with most of you guys i didn't like those drawing books telling me what to do.
It always pissed me off, you know they us to do this and that when I do that I feel like their bitchh

[stickmanbob0]

i started off with the books and grr i hated them. it makes me feel like i really suck at drawing but as AnimeDdude said it is smart to doodle till your pretty good.