Marc Powell - The Complete Guide to Drawing Manga: Step-by-step techniques, characters and effects

This edition published in 2014 by Arcturus Publishing Limited

26/27 Bickels Yard,
151153 Bermondsey Street,

London SE1 3HA

Copyright Arcturus Holdings Limited

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person or persons who do any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

ISBN: 978-1-78428-100-7

WITH THANKS TO ODA, STEVE, AILIN AND PAT

I n this book, youll find everything you need to know in order to draw manga characters successfully. Using a simple step-by-step system, well walk you from the start of a basic stick figure right through to fully coloured, dynamic pieces of art that you can be proud of.

We dont just stop at characters, though well show you how to do everything, from creating amazing locations for your characters through to mastering panel layouts for your comic pages and composing perfect scenes. Throughout the book, well also give you specific tips related to different genres, along with handy mini-tips from our artists to make life easier as you move through the amazing world of manga.

So, pick up your pens and pencils and get ready to enter a world of mutated monsters, manic martial artists and all manner of characters in between!

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book has been organized using a simple step-by-step system with seven stages from start to finish. Each step is layered over the previous one in a different colour, so you can easily see the new pieces that have been added at each stage. Of course, you dont have to use different-coloured pencils for each stage.

Stage 1

The basic stick figure of your character.

Stage 2

Fleshing out the basic stick figure.

Stage 3

The completion of fleshing out and the addition of extra details.

Stage 4

The completion of clothing and any accessories.

Stage 5

The inking stage, which will give you a final line drawing.

Stage 6

Flat colouring, using lighter shades to set the base colours of your character.

Stage 7

Adding shadows for light sources, using darker colours to add depth to your character.

BASIC TOOLS

You dont need lots of complicated, expensive tools for your manga images many of them are available from a good stationery shop. The others can be found in any art supplies store, either on the high street or online.

Pencils

These are probably the most important tool for any artist. Its important to find a type of pencil you are comfortable with, since you will be spending a lot of time using it.

Graphite

You will be accustomed to using graphite pencils they are the familiar wood-encased lead pencils. They are available in a variety of densities from the softest, 9B, right up to the hard 9H. Hard pencils last longer and are less likely to smudge on the paper. Most artists use an HB pencil, which falls in the middle of the density scale.

Mechanical pencils

Also known as propelling pencils, these contain a length of lead that can be replaced. The leads are available in the same densities as graphite pencils. The great advantage of mechanical pencils over graphite is that you never have to sharpen them you simply extend more lead as it wears down.

Inking pens

After you have pencilled your piece of artwork, you will need to ink the line to give a sharp, solid image.

Ballpoint pens

Standard ballpoint pens are ideal for lining your piece. However, their quality varies, as does their delivery of ink. A good-quality ballpoint pen will serve you much better than a collection of cheap ones for delivery of a consistent quality of line-work.

Marker pens

Standard marker pens of varying thicknesses are ideal for colouring and shading your artworks as they provide a steady, uniform supply of ink and can be used to build layers of colour by re-inking the same area. They are the tools most frequently used for manga colouring.

Erasers

Everyone makes mistakes, even the worlds greatest manga artists! Thats why a good eraser is essential. You can buy soft, kneadable putty rubbers that you can shape to erase either small or large areas and, of course, the traditional all-purpose hard eraser is still available. A good eraser is one known as a white vinyl, which provides the right balance of gentle erasing with minimal crumbling of the eraser and without damaging your paper.

Templates