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Whats a good Anime/Manga "How to draw" Book?
samurai6966
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Not sure if this thread is better here or on artist's corner but here we go:
I love to draw. Almost more then sex but thats a different subject. Im a fan of anime/manga art style but being American, Art Classes didn't teach anime drawing basic or whatnot. I've gotten a few books over the years but not happy with the way they show things. Anyone know any good books out there? I have right now Draw your own Manga (All the Basics) by Haruno Nagatomo (like it but its comic teaching style isn't what I care for); Step by Step Manga by Ben Krefta (Worst book I've gotten); and Action Cartooning by Ben Caldwell (Nice for showing poses but its more for the American comic style then Anime/Manga).
I love to draw. Almost more then sex but thats a different subject. Im a fan of anime/manga art style but being American, Art Classes didn't teach anime drawing basic or whatnot. I've gotten a few books over the years but not happy with the way they show things. Anyone know any good books out there? I have right now Draw your own Manga (All the Basics) by Haruno Nagatomo (like it but its comic teaching style isn't what I care for); Step by Step Manga by Ben Krefta (Worst book I've gotten); and Action Cartooning by Ben Caldwell (Nice for showing poses but its more for the American comic style then Anime/Manga).
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How's your drawing skills in relation to drawing realistic people? Basically, learning the human form, how it moves, poses, and balances, and all the little details can translate very well when you move on to draw something more stylistic like manga.
Here's a thing that throws me for a loop.
One of the reasons why Anime looks the way it does is because the characters have stylized East-Asian faces. It's really tricky to see and somewhat of a skill to transpose the look to paper.
Here's a game I like to play that deals with the same aspect in the real world... In the following picture, pick the Caucasian. Bonus points - They are all wearing traditional Japanese clothes
This is a concept that Western artists time and time again fail to grasp. You need to learn how to draw Asian features, or go in understanding you are drawing Asian features and the end result looks better.
Going further, Anime is really tough to draw because it's follows how real bodies are proportioned more so then typical Westren cartoons. (Comic book not incluided). You will be hard pressed to find an Anime character with less than five fingers, or missing sternocleidomastoid muscles. (Not having a tube-neck).
I recommend the "How to draw Manga" books that are written by real, professional Manga artists and translated into English. They come in volumes and each cover a particular aspect of the art. Not only how do they teach to draw, but also how scenes are set up and how panels flow.
For the love of God get those books.
What books like the ones you've got, and the books you are looking for, do is give a very brief rundown of these things (if that), in an effort to cram in what the buyer (usually younger students who aren't aware of these issues) more of what they want to see, and what they know- the trademark 'anime' minutia: eye "styles", hair spikes, how big a manga drawing page is, what ink and pen and brand of blue pencil to use. A young student will look at that and say, "these things will teach me how to draw anime, it's all here!", and then get frustrated when, ultimately, they don't- usually they end up with the sort of weird hybrid style that you can tell on first glance is just an American trying to ape the anime look- if you've been on DeviantArt ever, you'll know what I mean. These books are meant to sell copies to people that don't know better to know how shallow the information is- they're designed and marketed to make money off a trend, far more than they are designed to train a reader into a competent artist, anime-style or not. I know because I bought some of these books in high school myself.
What separates the professionals from the amateur is the mastery of all the things you're not going to find in a "How to Draw Manga" book. If an anime face looks good, it's because the artist has a solid grasp on the structure of real human skulls, of how real eyes work, of how real people look when they take an expression, the real proportions of the head. If a drawing is dynamic, it's because the artist knows anatomy, knows foreshortening, knows composition and knows perspective, backwards and forwards. Everything having to do with "style" is just the frosting- it doesn't do any good if you don't know how to make the cake. I'd guess the books you already have cover the frosting as well as it's going to be covered- you're not going to be a chef until you pull out a real cookbook.
Where did the pros get those essential skills? By drawing from life, by taking any useful information they can get from any source they can get- I suspect the guy who draws Berserk, for instance, was more influenced by guys like Frazetta and Burne Hogarth than by Tezuka. These guys don't exist in a vacuum, detached from Western art (if they were, anime would look like this)- there's no "anime" way to approach anatomy, or perspective, or composition, so looking for books on such is going to be a wash. So classes and books about traditional drawing and painting is really what is required, because that is where that information will be covered. It's more information to take in and learn than could be covered in any one book, and the skills don't come without intense practice, study, and patience- years of work, even under the best instruction. But when you have a solid grasp on the fundamentals, then applying whatever tricks in the books you already have will actually function in the way you intend- looking like the real deal, rather than like a cheap knockoff.
If I've not scared you off, I wrote up a list of books worth looking at in a previous "I want to learn to draw" thread:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=12465372&postcount=4
and there's some good tutorials and book recommendations here as well
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=105734
Not trying to overwhelm you or rain on your parade, but the fact is any sort of drawing is hard to learn, and people starting out more often than not overestimate and therefore neglect their basic skillsets, and focus far too much on things that are of middling importance, like trying to emulate a specific "style". (As if there's only one anime or manga "style" out there in the first place, rather than thousands of distinct styles done by different manga artists...but that's a topic for another thread.)
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what bacon is telling you applies 100% to your goals and is very well said.
you don't want static generic images like the rest of the internet is producing
the clear and simple way to achieve that is to practice and learn drawing fundamentals. If you're okay with being a limited artist who can draw maybe three poses, a grand total of 6 facial expressions and have them look like every other artist on deviantart right now when you search "manga" then give "how to draw manga" or "how to draw anime" by christopher hart a go. or any single book that says "how to draw manga"
I sort of feel like taking a betty edwards book, ripping off the cover and putting "how to draw manga" on the front.
a very popular modern anime style artist is jason chan. he went to academy of art in san fran, studied fine arts with a concentration in illustration.
he also learned how to crawl before he learned how to walk.
learning to draw well involves no shortcuts
unless you're an artistic prodigy (i've met none in my life) you have to start at step one, and follow some sort of progression that involves hard work, dedication and at some point, learning a few things about basic drawing. That does not mean stop drawing anime and start drawing realistic renderings of still lifes. It means keep drawing what you love to draw, but also maybe start drawing some other things too. learn to draw what you see accurately and all of a sudden you can draw anything you want in whatever style. it's awesome.
now when it comes to COMICS. many artists have been fucking terrible and have made it in comics. Comics followers tend to be way more lenient than maybe they should
Liefeld is an example of that.
some artists obviously have and do make it big even though they are fucking terrible. That's life. Those artists are typically extremely lucky, right place right time, and are few and far between.
Anyways Samurai lemme give you a short sweet answer: learning the fundamentals gives you flexibility so that you aren't just learning how to reproduce an image in the style of ODA or Kishimoto, you learn to understand what you are drawing.
That allows you to draw what you want, through the lens of your style, be it western or eastern.
extra:
If you look at fanart, something about it is really off isn't it? The perspective, anatomy, lineweight, are all off. Especially in the eyes for some poses. That's because they learn from these set poses. But what if you wanted to draw helsing from underneath? You'd have to find a still which has that pose and trace it. But if you truly understood construction, you could draw him from any angle.
Also you should make a distinction between manga and anime. Often times Manga design have to be altered to allow for animation, because of the need for something to move in a spatial environment. If we're talking about something more realistic.
artistjeffc.tumblr.com http://www.etsy.com/shop/artistjeffc
One step at a time.
One step at a time....
Go over to the Question and Answers for more help.
As everyone else said: Learn to draw realistically before you learn to draw stylized pieces. It really is the best way to get good at drawing anything, from anime to political cartoons. Go and draw your own hand, go to a lifedrawing class, draw still lives, ect. You will learn how light and anatomy work in the real world. A solid foundation in reality is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Secondarily, most 'how to draw manga' books aren't all that helpful, at least from what I've seen. Some aren't bad but many are downright poor. I would suggest doing artist studies of artists you like in a private sketchbook; basically copy (do not trace!) images. Don't show it to others and don't claim the work as your own. You will learn how professionals stylize things this way. Do this only secondarily to life drawing; you must learn reality before you learn stylization, otherwise your drawings won't be solid.
Lastly, the artist corner on these very forums is a goldmine of resources. The people there are amazing. I suggest posting your art for feedback, no matter how amateurish it is. You will get some great help/tips/critiques there.
Good luck!
I like drawing, cartoons, cookies, and shiny pointy objects.
There's nothing wrong with drawing manga. The advice ought to be "don't learn to draw manga". If you know your fundamentals inside and out, you can probably put out some pretty slick looking manga-style images.
Edit:
One of these artists learned the basics first. One bought a How To Draw Manga book.
Unfortunately there are no shortcuts in learning how to draw... but learning how to draw is universally the same. Observe observe observe. All good artists are informed by the world around them. Especially manga artists. They don't get to the levels of clear distortion of the human body without first understanding what they are distorting.
go draw real life first.
Thats rude to say as he/she did what the OP asked: suggested good Anime/Manga how to draw books. I do not want to see anymore post like this on this thread.
the advice he gave was not only terrible advice for artists but as you could see by proxy's post, both completely unfounded and offensive.
Im really liking the advice here. And while Ive not gotten what I was looking for, you all have shown me a start better then I had, which will greatly improve my skills and understanding of manga art style and drawing in general.
So thanks. Im still all ears on this subject but I guess its better for the artist's corner after all.
All of those girls look asian.
Edit:
Please don't listen to Halkun.
You shouldn't be looking to draw mangy style, even if you are wanting to draw manga style. Essentially, if that's what you are wanting to do it will come out as you learn to draw the fundamentals. It will take a lot of hard work to get anywhere decent looking, though.
Start with "Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain" (actual title in the AC Sticky post) and an anatomy book. It will move you along a million times faster than any manga-based textbook.
second is, practice practice practice. Draw ALL THE TIME. Study your own body and see how things look from different perspectives. Oh and learn to draw hands and feet.
http://chainsawsuit.com/2009/08/25/strip-274/ :P
If you have some cool stories to tell you could write them out too.
skip the whole learning to draw part and just tell the story you want to tell