Christopher Hart - The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates

An imprint of Sixth&Spring Books
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LAURA COOKE

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LAURA COOKE

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ERO-PINKU
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Copyright 2015 by Cartoon Craft, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The master guide to drawing anime : how to
draw original characters from simple templates /
Christopher Hart. First Edition.
pages cm
eISBN 978-1-68462-017-3
1. Comic books, strips, etc.JapanTechnique.
2. CartooningTechnique. 3. Comic strip
characters. I. Title.
NC1764.5.J3H36945 2015
741.51dc23
2014030200

First Edition

Dedicated to you and to
anime fans everywhere!

CHRISTOPHER HART

www.christopherhartbooks.com

Author Note

This practical guide
will not only show you
how to create original
characters but also help
you to build a rock
solid foundation as you
go forward with your
artwork. Keep this book
handy, and turn to it
whenever you need
some inspiration. I want
to express my thanks
for the opportunity to
share in your progress.
I hope youll check
out some of my other
popular titles on
manga, figure drawing,
and cartooning. And
feel free to stop and
say hello or ask me
a question on social
media. Until next time,
always remember, you
deserve to succeed!
www.facebook.com/
CARTOONS.MANGA
Christopher

Contents

Introduction

Finallythe ultimate drawing
guide for the anime artist!

This book focuses on the leading
character types of anime based on the
most popular genres. And best of all,
it gives you templates you can use to
draw a limitless number of variations on
those characters.

What is a template? A template is
a basic form that you can customize
to create an original character. Anime
artists in Japan rely on templates for
their characters that show the various
angles of the head and body, the
proportions, and a selection of outfits.
This is also called a model chart.

This book uses a similar principle.
Each chapter begins with a basic
template, such as a traditional
schoolgirl character. Then Ill show you,
step by step, how to add little changes
to the eyes, hair, pose, costume, and
color to end up with a completely
original character.

Youll never have to struggle to draw a
character again. Why start from scratch,
when you can begin with the templates
in this book? For many aspiring artists,
as well as seasoned professionals,
inventing original characters is the best
part of drawing anime. Lets get started
now. Drawing original characters has
never been so easy to do!

Schoolgirls

School life is a popular genre which
features trademark school uniforms and
engaging high school characters.

Schoolgirl types have a range of personalities,
such as the amiable klutz, the hopeless romantic,
and the wallflower. Often, characters share the
same basic head and body shape; therefore, you
can use the standard schoolgirl model, provided
in this chapter, as the foundation for each one.
In other words, if you can draw one type,
you can draw them all.

The characters are approximately 13 to 17 years
old with large and expressive eyes and well
coordinated outfits. In addition, the hairstyle is an
important feature of each character.

Once youve got the basics down, the next
step is the key: creating original characters by
combining features from a menu of possibilities
for eyes, hair, outfits, accessories, facial
expressions, and poses.

Head Proportions 360 o Template

No doubt youve run into this problem before: youve drawn a
character, but you cant make it look the same when you draw it
at another angle. The key lies in maintaining the characters basic
underlying proportions. The following templates are based on
average proportions. You can adjust them according to your taste.
The head is as long (from top to bottom) as it is wide
(from side to side).
The eyes are placed lower on the face than on a realistically

FRONT

The head is egg-shaped:
wider on top and
narrower at bottom,