Ryusuke Hamamoto - Drawing Cute Manga Chibi: A Beginners Guide to Drawing Super Cute Characters

Drawing Cute Manga A Beginners Guide to Drawing Super Cute Characters Ryusuke Hamamoto CALLING ALL CHIBI FANS! WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, A LOT OF CHIBI-STYLE CHARACTERS WERE POPPING UP IN ANIMATED SERIES AND MANGA. I THINK THATS WHY I STARTED DOODLING LOTS OF CHUBBY LITTLE CUTIES IN MY NOTEBOOK AROUND THAT TIME, RATHER THAN MORE REALISTIC FIGURES. SINCE BECOMING AN ADULT AND DRAWING LOTS OF CHARACTERS OF ALL TYPES, I SEEM TO KEEP GETTING COMMISSIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS TO CREATE THE CHIBIS THAT PREOCCUPIED MY YOUTH. I WONDERED WHY I WAS THE CHOSEN ONEWHEN THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER ACCOMPLISHED ILLUSTRATORS OUT THEREAND WAS SURPRISED WHEN THE PEOPLE HIRING ME EXPLAINED THEY WANTED SOMEONE WHO COULD MAKE THESE EXAGGERATED AND CARICATURIZED CHARACTERS LOOK CUTE. I NEVER THOUGHT OF BEING ABLE TO DRAW CHIBIS AS ANYTHING SPECIAL. I THOUGHT ANYONE COULD DRAW THEM AND THAT IF I COULD PRODUCE THEM, THEN IT CANT BE THAT DIFFICULT.

WHEN I STARTED TO ASK AROUNDA WRITER FRIEND AND THE STUDENTS I WAS TEACHINGI REALIZED THAT MAKING THESE CHARACTERS LOOK CUTE MAY SEEM SIMPLE, BUT APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING. THEY SAID THEY TRIED TO REPLICATE THE CHIBI STYLE, BUT THEIR WORK NEVER LOOKED QUITE RIGHT. THEY MISTAKENLY CONCLUDED THAT THEY WERENT ANY GOOD AT IT. I PRODUCED THIS GUIDE TO SERVE AS A STARTING POINT FOR BUDDING ARTISTS WHO WANT TO DRAW CHIBI CHARACTERS BUT DONT THINK THEY HAVE THE SKILLS OR TALENT. NONSENSE: OF COURSE YOU DO! WHETHER ITS CREATING SIMPLIFIED OR EXAGGERATED CHARACTERS, THERES A CHIBI STYLE MADE JUST FOR YOU. PETIT EVA (C-STYLE) Illustration from the release of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. PETIT EVA (C-STYLE) Illustration from the release of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.

The C-style line added new dimensions to the illustrations. MACROSS SERIES These illustrations were commissioned for use as limited-edition merchandise at the Sapporo Snow Festival 2016. ORIGINAL CHARACTERS These characters created by the artist have distinctive, dynamic poses and individualized style. ORIGINAL CHARACTERS FOR BOOKS Book illustrations showing characters with differing proportions. The illustration process is explained in Lesson 5. Lesson 1 CHIBI BASICS CHANGING EXPRESSION THROUGH PROPORTION IN THIS CHAPTER, WELL LOOK AT THE BASIC METHODS FOR DRAWING CHIBI CHARACTERS RANGING IN HEIGHTS FROM 1.5 TO 4 TIMES THE SIZE OF THEIR HEADS.

THIS WAY YOULL BE ABLE TO COMPARE THE VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS AT A GLANCE. THE TRICK TO GETTING IT RIGHT IS TO REMEMBER THAT THE SMALLER THE BODY IN PROPORTION TO THE HEAD, THE SIMPLER THE DETAILS SHOULD BE. Emphasizing Changes in Expression Although all the drawings use chibi techniques, the depiction of the limbs and torso becomes simplified as the head-to-body ratio increases. On a figure whose body is four times the height of her head, finger movement is perceptible, but on a figure with a high head-to-body ratio, hand details are significantly reduced. In comic book illustrations, figures are generally six heads tall. For women, the swelling of the chest and the curve of the waist are clearly defined.Although the figure is a caricature, it maintains its femininity.

Six heads tall is an ideal choice for depicting children.The eyes are large in comparison with the face and the joints become simplified. On a figure with these proportions, its still possible to define the gender.Its All in the Eyes As the head-to-body ratio increases, the face becomes more compact, with the eyes taking up more room. The eyes are important features for characters expressions, so make sure they are balanced with the specific head-to-body ratio youre using. The sense of the characters gender is lost, replaced instead by a generic cuteness. Often when drawing the hands, even the thumb is left out.At this height, it becomes difficult to express age via the physique. The legs become shorter, and the neck all but disappears.

The joints are also simplified.This is around the height and physique for mascot-type figures. Gender is impossible to define through the physique, so its expressed through hairstyle and clothing.The head and body are the same size and youre not able to draw body parts in detail. The eyes take up much more room on the face, and the nose is omitted entirely.