Mark Crilley - Mastering Manga 2: Level Up with Mark Crilley

Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to free content, and information on the latest new releases and must-have art resources! Plus, receive a coupon code to use on your first purchase from NorthLightShop.com for signing up.

or visit us online to sign up at

http://artistsnetwork.com/ebook-promo

Many aspiring artists tend to worry a little too much about art supplies. There seems to be a belief that having all the right stuff is the key to creating great art. Well, thats like thinking that if you just wear the right swimsuit, youll be able to swim as fast as Olympic gold medalists do.

What really matters is not the pencil, but the brain of the person holding it. Experiment to find the sizes, styles and brands of art supplies that work best for you.

I almost want to cry when I see that somebody has put hours and hours of work into a drawing on a piece of loose-leaf notebook paper. Do yourself a favor and buy a pad of smooth bristol paper. Its thick and sturdy, and will hold up to repeated erasing.

Pencils come down to personal preference. What is perfect for me may be too hard or too soft for you. I like a simple no. 2 pencilthe kind most of us grew up with. But there are pencils available in varying degrees of hardness and quality. Try some different types of pencils out to test the marks they make. It is important to remember that the softer the lead is, the more it may smear.

Get a good permanent-ink pen, one that wont fade or bleed over time. They are available in art stores. Dont confine yourself to super-fine tips. Have a variety of pens with different tip widths for the various lines you need.

Get yourself a nice, clear plastic ruler so that you can see your art as you make lines. A 15-inch (38cm) is good, even for some of the longest lines.

These big soft erasers, available in art stores, are great for erasing huge areas without leaving tons of pink dust behind. However, they arent always precise, so feel free to use them in combination with a regular pencil eraser.

Ive come to prefer a simple hand-held disposable sharpener. Youll get the best use out of it while the blade is perfectly sharp.

Lets get started with a little practice step-by-step demonstration. This will get you familiar with the process well be using throughout the book. Ive decided to use a pair of manga eyes as the subject matter. Eyes are a great place to begin manga drawing as they are key to the characters, yet simple, even if you are an absolute beginner.

STEP 1 Draw two horizontal pencil lines about 1 inch (2.5cm) apart. Connect them with four vertical lines, each an equal distance apart. The three resulting shapes should be narrower than they are wide.

STEP 2 Draw the eyebrows and upper and lower eyelashes. Note the angle of each line and the curvessome are very gentle, others are more pronounced. Finally note the distance between the lines. Use the initial guidelines to help you see where all the various elements belong.

STEP 3 Add the iris of each eye, including oval shapes for highlightsa large oval at the top and a small one in the middle on the right side. The pupil of each eye in this style resembles a crescent moon.

STEP 4 Begin adding details. Draw a line for the fold of the eyelid above each eye, eyelashes on the left and right edges of the upper eyelids, and some shading lines across each iris. Feel free to experiment with your own shading style if you like.

STEP 5 Put down the pencil and grab your ink pen of choice. If you were careful following steps 1 through 4, then you will know exactly where to put heavy black lines and which areas to leave blank.

STEP 6 Leave time for the ink to dry completely. (It may take several minutes depending on the brand of pen youre using.) Then carefully erase all the penciled guidelines.

Every manga panel is composed of a wide variety of elements, each requiring different types of artistic knowledge. This book is designed to familiarize you with all of them.