Simple Guide That Teaches You How To Learn Drawing Anime Manga Characters

How To Learn Anime Manga Drawing
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Reading Time: 7 minutes

Drawing Anime is a demanding process and needs time, patience, and dedication. Knowing how to create your style will require many practice sessions before you get on the exact track to learn how to draw Anime characters.

 

However, often when learners scout through different resources to figure out how to draw manga, there is a risk of subconsciously adopting other artists’ styles. Thus, care and caution need to be exercised. Nonetheless, if you are a Manga or an Anime fan and wish to learn the skill, this guide will help you.

 

Below we will discuss some tips and tricks on how to learn Manga drawing and create art like never before.

 

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How To Start Drawing Anime For Beginners?

1. Get familiar with the basics

Of course, you wish to draw full-fledged Anime characters. But, you cannot do that if you are not well-versed with the basics. So, when you start your journey to learn Manga, begin with elementary shapes, such as circles or squares, or drawing a straight line.

 

Some people get bored repeating the same drill, but you can only learn how to draw Manga for beginners if you do not omit this step.

 

2. Understand perspective drawing

What is it? Perspective means an object starts appearing bigger as you come closer to it. You can understand perspective by examining the cube. You know all sides in a cube are equal, but those closer to your eye will appear bigger than those far from you. The larger object seems more noticeable.

 

So, how to learn Manga drawing in a way that puts perspective into consideration?

 

Perspective drawing involves showcasing your characters realistically. There is a simple drill to learn this. Draw 3D objects like cylinders and cubes from different angles. It will help you draw even complex shapes like a Manga character effortlessly.

 

3. Know about the anatomy

Be it any figure drawing, knowledge of anatomy helps. In Manga, too, the character’s anatomical measures make it recognizable. Hence, you must understand how the body of the Anime character compiles together and the functioning. The thing with comic drawing is that the characters appear exaggerated. For instance, their eyes will not be the same size as you and I. They will be larger.

 

Similarly, there is a variation in the mouth, chin, forehead, and nose sizes. Their hair never honors gravity, and they have different facial expressions from humans. It is not easy to showcase this stylization in your drawing. So, if you want to know how to learn drawing Anime, you cannot ignore the anatomical differences.

 

4. Learning to draw human anatomy

Once you understand the proportions, focus on the individual body parts, especially the face. If you want to draw anime characters, you should get proper practice drawing a face, expressions, eyes, nose, hair, and ears.

 

These things will decide the whole appearance and beauty of the character. So, practice with different variations till you can create distinctions instinctively.

 

5. You need some reference

Most newbies think of it as the most dreaded step. But, if you dig deeper into how do Manga artists learn to draw, you will know that even pros look for references online if they do not know how to shape or draw their characters. Hence, newbies should surely make the most of this tip.

 

Whenever you get stuck drawing the environments, props, or poses, search online and try to emote it. It can dramatically improve your drawing. You are bound to omit vital details when you depend on your memory for everything,

 

6. Get well-acquainted with the shading

An essential step towards understanding how to learn Manga drawing is getting the shading right. If you do the shading accurately, it can give you 2D images and a 3D appearance. But, to learn to shade correctly, you need to understand the science behind it. So, study how the light reflects from the different surfaces and shapes.

 

Broadly speaking, the object’s end that faces that light will have a lighter shading than the one facing away from it. The farther an object goes from the light, the darker the shading.

 

You want to draw manga, so why does shading play a role in it? A character will be present in a setting. So, with shading, you can communicate the environment’s lighting conditions, the weather, and the time of the day.

 

7. Study the color theory

You can only use the colors correctly if you are well-versed with the color theory. So, if you want to learn how to draw Manga for beginners, you must hold knowledge of the warm and cool colors.

 

For instance, blue is one cool color, whereas yellow is a warm color. You can always check the color wheel if you forget which covers are what.

 

On the wheel, the colors across each other are complimentary colors. To discover how to learn Manga drawing, you must use the color combinations properly. It can make your Anime more appealing.

 

8. Practice

Practice makes a man perfect. It cannot get truer than that. Once you are well-versed with the fundamentals, you only need to practice more and more. The more variations you try, the better you get at it. So, try birthing as many characters. Overtime, you will see how easier it gets.

 

Professionally How To Learn Drawing Anime?

Now that you know the drill, it is time to search for resources to get you well-acquainted with this art form. Here are some resources you can start with:

 

1. Join a creative curriculum in college

You want to take up Manga professionally, so how to learn Manga art? If you hope to be a professional cartoonist one day, you must also enroll in a professional degree course. There are several creative curricula in college that you can opt for. It will give you a well-rounded knowledge of this art form. The art college of Nihon University is a prestigious space to go to if you wish to learn this anime art.

 

2. Online manga courses

On the internet, you can find several platforms like Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Pluralsight, Alison, etc., that offer paid and free sessions for people interested in manga. Reputed universities and top colleges draft and offer these sessions.

 

So, you will learn from pro Manga artists. Some of these lectures even come with a certification. It can validate your knowledge of Manga and help you find a job in the field.

 

If you wish to learn how to draw Anime characters, you can enroll yourself in online manga classes. A few of them have also been listed below.

 

  1. Manga Art School: How to Draw Anime and Manga Course (Udemy)– It is a bestselling Udemy class where you learn to draw Anime characters, maintain a proportional level in anatomy, create characters digitally and manually, and so much more.
  2. Draw Manga like a Pro (Anime Art Academy)– Here, you will study with professional Japanese instructors and learn everything from the basics to the professional level in the most straightforward and easy-to-understand manner.
  3. Manga drawing club (Art School of San Francisco Bay)– It is suited for kids and teens between 10 to 16 years. In this session, you will go through topics like composition, color choice, paneling & storytelling, and anatomy practice.

 

3. Free tutorials

Not everyone wishes to pay for Anime. So, how to learn drawing Anime for free? You can find free tutorials online that give you good information and help you develop your creativity without spending a penny. So, go ahead and watch several tutorials.

 

It will help you understand your style. Once you have gathered ample information, put all your learning into practice and get ready to create beautiful objects and people.

 

A few of the tutorials that you can enroll in are:

  1. Anime Tutorial: Face Proportions for Beginners– In this class, you will study with Geoff Pascual and learn how to correctly draw the face proportions, which is one of the most vital elements of any Anime character.
  2. Manga Anatomy Quick Tips for Beginners! –YouTube is one of the best platforms to find free Manga classes. So, get your anime pencils out and draw along as you learn anatomy skills with this video. You will discover some neat tricks to keep everything proportional and in sync.
  3. Character Design Tutorial: How to Draw Manga Eyes– It will teach you how to draw different kinds of Manga eyes to emote various expressions and feelings.

 

4. Manga Anime Books

How do Manga artists learn to draw? They read books. Books are the most traditional mode of learning. Also, some people are never comfortable with digital learning mediums. So, they prefer comprehensive textbooks and study guides to get well-acquainted with the subject.

 

We have a detailed article on the best Manga Anime Books. You can check it out to pick some bestselling books for your reference.

 

5. Mobile Apps

In this fast-paced, digital world where everything is online, it is easier to grasp and learn a new skill on the go. So, you can find several Android and iOS compatible mobile software to train you on this creative skill. While there are both paid and free apps available, we will enlist the three best free apps to help you get started:

 

  1. Quomodo Draw Anime – It has more than 5000 tutorials to help you get well-acquainted with Anime and Manga. You can also share your drawings on the platform with other community members and check out other people’s creations. You will also find some tips and techniques that professionals swear by.
  2. How to draw an anime by Zerojeck is another popular app is you wish to learn how to draw Anime characters. It has a vast collection of tutorials and is a perfect one-stop-shop for both beginners and experienced learners. The app also has a section where you can color your favorite characters. It is 100% free and is available for offline use.
  3. WeDraw – If you want to know how to draw Anime and Manga from scratch, this can be your reference app. It delivers all the knowledge you need to make your first brush strokes. It also works offline. So, you can learn anytime, anywhere, and on the go.

 

We hope this guide provides ample knowledge on how to learn Manga art. So, stop thinking and get drawing!

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques 1. How long does it take to learn to draw Manga?

Ans. The time you take to learn to draw Manga depends on your abilities, but if you indulge in daily practice, it is not challenging to get adept at this art form in a month or two.

 

Ques 2. Can you make Manga if you are not very good at drawing?

Ans. In all honesty, to make Manga, you will have to draw. So, yes, you have to be at least decent at drawing to make Manga.

 

Ques 3. How many hours a day should I practice drawing?

Ans. You can see improvements in your drawing if you practice an hour or two every day, but if you need to see a significant difference, you should aim for at least five to six hours every day.

 

To Sum Up..

The best way how to learn drawing Anime is to practice and practice a little more. Get yourself enrolled in an online course, learn the tactics, gain from the experience from the experts and apply it all to your learning journey.

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