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A) A nice, large,clean,
flat,sturdy, well lit table.
D) a comfortable chair.
The #1 important thing to consider when setting up your workspace is "comfort". Remember , you will be
sitting here for hours at a time. Make sure your area is well lit and as clutter free as humanly possible. I like
to keep inspirational objects and reference material around my work area so I can stay juiced about what I'm
doing. (Notice the DangerGirl action figure set over the desk). I also like to keep all my tools with reaching
distance so I don't have to break my train of thought to grab a tool while working. I hang them on the wall to
keep my desk space clean and clear. I keep a large collection of Video Game mags and manga on hand to
use as layout or reference material.
If you drink or eat at your desk make sure your food/drink items are secured. I've accidentally spilled more
coffee on artwork than I care to mention so now I keep that stuff on a side stool away from my workspace.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are the B grade pencils. B has a soft
lead so it makes a darker line. 9B is like mascara.
I use about 5 different pencils over the course of a drawing. I rough in with a
photoblue. Clean up line art with a lead-holder pencil and then detail with a
.03 mechanical.
I've used Millions of erasers over the course of
my art career but I've finally whittled my choices
down to 2 kinds.
A) Kneaded Eraser:
This eraser usually comes as a plain Grey or
Blue square. Once you open it from it's wrapping
you start working it like silly putty. Squeezing it
into a Ball...pulling it into a ribbon..folding it,
squishing it..Kneading it, really. What's the
purpose? Well, you can squeeze it down into a
fine point and erase lines in hard to reach places
without disturbing the pencil lines around it.
Another handy feature is that it doesn't completly
erase lines...If you just dab the eraser over the
lines you can lighten them up for inking.
Pens are a difficult thing to reccomend since so much of what you chppse is based on how you ink. I'm
going to list the pens I personally choose to get the job done. They may or may not work for
you...experiment as needed.
You can't really do a good job without these tools unless your some kind of machine. Let's see what they do
for us.
French Curves:
I assume most of you are interested in comic style art so I'm showcasing the comic type paper. If you're into
Watercolors or Charcoal you'll want a different type of paper than what's show below.
Bristol Board Smooth:
the Dummy:
Top 10 System
Recommendations:
A great system (for PC) consist of
1) Faster the better (600mhz
minimum)
2) 256 MB of Ram (more is better)
3) 32mb Video Card
4) 13-25 Gig hard drive
5) A Wacom Tablet (shown at
Right)
6) A 5 button Mouse
7) a 19-22 inch monitor
8) Adobe Photoshop 5.5 - 6.0
9) A digital Camera
10) A Scanner
2. Here we start cleaning up and detailing. now that we know where everything is supposed to go we can make it look like
it's supposed to look.
3. Getting finalized and deciding which lines are going to be heavy and which lines are going to be light so you knw what
your doing when you finally get to the inking stage.
OK..Here we are at the beginning. The human
head is pretty much an "egg" shape. the set up
for this is to draw a circle representing the top of
the head and an inverted cone for the chin.
Anime chins are much sharper than standard
chins. Don't go making an arrowhead out of the
chin but think more along the lines of the
bottom half of a heart. (the cartoon kind of
heart..not the biologically correct heart)
I believe the eyes set the styles apart from each other.
It's like a fingerprint. you can tell who did what just by
looking at the construction of the eyes. But I will admit
..All Japanese anime eyes share similar traits across the
board.
The big deal to this stage is defining the hair and a relevant
light source so you know which lines to make heavy and wear
to put shadows n' stuff.
Hair is tricky business. Do what you want but just make sure
you sweep some of it into the eyes. It should have "highlight
squiggles" (for lack of an actual term) that makes it look like
hair from a pantene pro V commercial. Anime hair comes in all
sorts of colors so go nuts.
Here is the first in a series of HAND tutorials. This first step is important to understanding how the
hand is constructed and were the pivot points are. Once you are comfortable with the proportions of
the hand it will be easier to draw it in different positions. For now let's concentrate on the basic
"Spread Fingered" hand. Follow along and study your own hand as you go.
Hands are a nightmare for most artist...myself included. It's hard to contruct it in basic shapes
so I don't really try. Instead I break it up into major forms and really pay attention to where it
folds and bends. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ THE FIRST HAND TUTORIAL! This one
doesn't deal with proportions like the other did. This is more the form of the hand.
Like everything else you draw, the foor also consist of basic forms. I
break it down into 3 parts.
1) a cylinder for the shin
2) a half a peanut for the front
3) A roundish shape for the heel
Side view
Here you can kinda see those basic shapes beneath the foot.
The shin comes into the ankejoint which then branches back for the heel
and forward to the toes. Notice the foot does not sit FLAT on the ground
plane..there's an arch between the toe pads and the heel pad.
A shoe is basically just a wrap for the basic foot shapes. Looking at
pictures of shoes will give you ideas for styles. Here I chose a modified
US Army Jungleboot. Make sure you make the Sole of the shoe go below
where the bottom of the foot would be. There's about a 1/4 of an inch to
4" of rubber between the bottom of the foot and the bottom of the sole.
If your stuck...
Draw the foot first. That will give you a better idea on how to wrap the
shoe around the foot form.
the Wedge
Notice how the foot is shaped like a rounded wedge the bend IN towards
the body's center. The toes are also arced like the fingers of the
hand...the middle toe is usually the longest.
The Instep
Okay, this foots a bit wide but you see the important structures.
Everyone's seen foorptints in the sand. The heel and Ball of the foot are
linked by the outside edge of the foot. The arch of the foot doesn't come
into contact with the ground.
Once you understand how a foot is put together you can start getting
creative with action poses. Take a good look at those basic shapes I
drew in step one and see if you can find them in this drawing to the left.
HAIR: First you may want to download and print out the template I made just for class so you can
follow along. It includes a bald female and male head. Use it to develop your own hairstyles.
Step 1: Define the Hairline
Hair can be a very useful visual cue for describing motion and
adding a dynamic element to your art. The trick is to show how the
hair follows the direction of the head. If the character is falling..the
flow of the hair is the opposite direction. if the character is blown
backward, the hair shoots forward...see?
(p.s. forgive the high quality cocktail napkin art over here..I just
wanted to use this to make a point)
HAIR: First you may want to download and print out the template I made just for class so you can
follow along. It includes a bald female and male head. Use it to develop your own hairstyles.
Angry (okatta)
Sad (kanashii)
Happy (ureshii)
A tip on Foreshortening:
Foreshortening is never really easy and it's something you will have to get comfortable with over time
with practice...but here's a tip. If you're really stuck, try drawing your character from the side then use
a ruler to draw lines from key parts off the the side like I did below. Use these lines as a guide to draw
your character from the front
A big part of developing a character is knowing what kind of body language they use. A big mistake
beginners make when drawing pin-ups of their characters is ignoring the personality of the character they
are doodling. I often see pics posted by others that have a character standing with a weapon like they are
sitting in a Sears studio for family photos...NO! Try and avoid a using the normal stance. Think about your
character..think about what it is your character does..what effect would that have on the way they carried
themselves. Are they graceful? Are they clumsy? Do they laugh, skip, play or mope, drag and cry. Picture
this in your head before you put the pencil to paper. Check these examples to help you along your way.
As you can see. you can say a lot with just a stick figure. Get your stick figure exactly right before you flesh
in your character. A good foundation is important if you want your piece to have the right impact.
A good amount of people watching will help you discover new poses and postures. Grab you sketchbook and
head out to the park, airport, mall...wherever. Look around..sketch quick.
Secretive Combative Lovestruck
Hopefully, this wet your appetite and now you have some food for thought...but now you want to put some
details on it..."how can I use anime/manga features to convey the personality of my Character?" you ask...
Eyes and shape of the face goes a long way to portray the personality of your character...you may recognize
some of the cast of "Cowboy Bebop" below...I'll use my quick sketches of them to illustrate my point.
Kinda get the idea? These rules aren't set in stone..I just want to give you the idea of what to shoot for when
you are making characters. You have to really close your eyes and imagine your character in action. How
there face needs to look when saying the lines you will give them.
"I'll cut you face off" rolls much easier off of the left characters tongue than the character on the right
whereas, "Gee, what's that?" works better for the character on the right than on the left. "I've had enough of
both of you..I'm going home" works just fine for the center character.
GOOD PUNCH:
This is MUCH better. The force of the punch is shown
in the shape of an arrow. The horizontal line coming
BAD PUNCH: from the attacker and the lines of the targets body
It's not horrible, it just lacks a certain force. Even though the form is bending at the point of impact. Making the fist a "blur"
good on both characters there's something that needs to be done of lines helps give a sense of speed and power to the
to show this punch packed a wallop. punch.
Kicking
GOOD KICK:
Now THAT had to hurt! Again..the horizontal line of
BAD KICK:
force crumples the targets body around the point of
Same deal here. with the target being stick as a board it tells us
impact. He probably won't be getting up for a while.
this kick was nothing special. the attacker appears to be merely
Also the attacker's body is much more a part of this
raising her foot at the target
kick. all the balance is thrown into it giving the
impression of a mighty delivery.
Adding Details:
When you get to the stage of cleaning up your
work and adding in details be sure and
incorporate lines that translate the action taking
place. The edges of her fist and arms are quick
strokes following the direction her arm is
travelling. his head is knocked back from the
point of impact. His hair and spit show the
continuance of the force of the punch. I put
curved lines on his check to show an
indentation where her fist connected.
Bad Angle
Better
This is much better in the sense that
you can really tell the target has been
thrown. The composition is more
pleasing and leaves room for
backgrounds, sound effects or speech
balloons....but still it could be better. I'd
use this angle if the target was going to
hit something important or was going
to get out of the damage by landing on
his feet.
Best
Booooom! Choosing an angle that shows the moment of impact really pulls this action
together..in one frame you can see that the target was thrown...travelled a long distance..and
landed hard. Arms and legs akimbo! Again..curved motion lines along the trajectory of the
throw parlay the action.
Draw a circle. The circle is the foundation of the head for any
veiwpoint. It doesn't need to be a perfect circle like this. A basic
ovoid shape will do nicely.
Front View : Step 2- the chin
Add the chin. Manga faces, espescially femal ones, are heart-
shaped. Imagine cutting off the top round parts of a valentine heart
shape and attaching the lower part to a sphere...That's how we got
what you see to the left.
Split the face shape in half vertically and horizontally. These axis
lines are the Nose line (vertical) and the eyeline (horizontal).
Divide the lower portion in half again horizontally. This line is the
bottom of the ear and nose line.
Divide the lowest portion into 3rds. 1/3 down from the horizontal
noseline is the mouthline.
The ears should be placed on the same line that the bottom of the
nose is on. Ears span from the lower noseline to just above the
eyeline.
I place the corners of the eyes on the horizontal eyeline. The eyes
should be apporxmately 1 "eye" length apart from each other and
half an eye length in from the edge of the face.
Profiles are a bit easier than frontview and way easier than 3/4 view. Set up still starts with a ball and a
cone.
Ok..You got yer ball for the head. you got your cone for
the chin. You know the eyes get located on the middle
horizontal bisecting line....so what's new?
Whoa! That's a bad gif. I'll have to rescan it. Sorry for
the mess....but you still get to see the basic underlying
structure used to get here.
Profile : Step 1- the oval
Draw a circle. The circle is the foundation of the head for any
veiwpoint. It doesn't need to be a perfect circle like this. A basic
ovoid shape will do nicely.
Add the chin. The chin will come down from the center point of the
outside edge of the circle to about half that length below the
bottom edge of the circle. The Jawline should come back towards
the center of the bottom edge of the circle as shown here.
Split the face shape in half vertically and horizontally. These axis
lines are the ear line (vertical) and the eyeline (horizontal).
Divide the space between the eyeline and the chin in half. This is
the "Bottom of the Ear and Nose" line. Divide the space below the
noseline into 3rds. the upper 3rd is the Mouth line.
Notice the ear sits in the verticle axis toward the back of the head
and rest between the nose line and the brow line.
Profile : Step 2- the eye
Divide the space between the front of the head and the vertical
earline axis. This is where we place the eye on the eyeline. The
outside corner of the eye should hit this new division line and the
inside corner should be just inside of the outer edge of the mouth.
Draw a circle. The circle is the foundation of the head for any
veiwpoint. It doesn't need to be a perfect circle like this. A basic
ovoid shape will do nicely.
3/4 View : Step 2- the chin
Add the chin. Manga faces, espescially femal ones, are heart-
shaped. A little gues work is involved here as far as were to bow
the cheek curve in at the eyeline and how sharp an angle to do the
Jawline. Little adjustments will have to be made over the course of
the drawing.
Split the face shape in half vertically and horizontally. These axis
lines are the Nose line (vertical) and the eyeline (horizontal). The
Noseline should extend in a curved line from the top of the head to
the point of the chin.
The top of the ear should extend just above the Eyeline. The top of
the ear indicates the "Brow" line.
NEXT
The Female Body
ARMS
2 and a half heads down is where we
locate the belly button. This is also
where the elbow goes if the arm is
hanging naturally at her sides. The arm
starts at the shoulder and ends with the
hands around mid-thigh.
LEGS
In ANIME, the legs are slightly longer
than the upper half of the body. The
Knees are located halfway between the
top of the hip and the bottom of the
foot.
TORSO
The female torso can be defined in
casual, sexy stance by slatning the
shoulders and hips in different
directions.
NEXT
The Female Body
Sketch figure stage 1:
NEXT
The Female Body
Sketch figure stage 2:
NEXT
The Female Body
Final Figure:
Back to Tutorials!
The eyes are the big deal. If you ask anyone about the style of anime/manga they always comment
on the eyes. I put this tutorial together as a primer. There are literally thousands of styles of "Manga
Eyes" so there is no set rules for drawing them..just a few consistant traits. Below is an approach to
a broadly used generic style. Adapt it to suit your own needs.
(eye side view tutorial to follow)
Step 1: Ball
Step 2: Lids
Here's where most budding artist go wrong. The Lids wrap around
the contour of the orb. Imagine streching a sheet of rubber over a
cue ball. The Eyelid hugs the curvature of the eye.
The eye in a relaxed state hides some of the pupil and iris behind
the lids. Notice how the iris takes up most of the surface area of
the orb. This occurs only in Anime/Manga and a few black velvet
posters from the 60's.
Up until now the eye was kinda "Blah". Flesh out the eyelids with
some heavy duty, fluttering lashes. This adds weight to the eye so
it's not ust floating around on the face. It also draws the viewers
attention. The thickness of the lashes will depend on a character.
Obviously Male characters won't have this trait and younger
females should also have a thinner line. This eye is more for the
sexy adult female
Stroke Order:
Understand the Shape
The mouth has a "Bow" shape to it. The upper lip is like those
seagulls you used to draw when you were a kid. The lower lip is
more like a Bow from a bow and arrow set.
Now that you now the difference between the top and bottom lip
we can begin to apply that to our traditiona anime mouth.
Start to work in that Seagull shape to the top lip. Begin to visualize
this as a 3D object. I have made a few centerlines here to help me
define the correct angle of the lips for the next step.
Detailing
Work in the lips as shown here and in the first 2 pics. Add some
teeth and darken the interior of the mouth (if visible) to give it
some depth.
If you are coloring the piece..it's best define the lips through color
shading. Upper lip should be darker than the lower lip.
Keeping it "Anime"
Check out Adam Warren's stuff too. He tends to draw lips on his
characters as well ..a little too big sometimes but it still looks good.
Chibi Art (a.k.a Super Deformed): "Chibi" is a Japanese term for "small". Chibi art is used a lot to
convey humour or cuteness (kawaii mono). It's a deceptively simple process I'll take you through
now.
Now that you know how little space you have to make the body
sketch in some cute little pose. Use similar techniques to
construct this body as you do a regular sized body. Build a
mannequin out of basic shapes. The arms and legs taper to a
rounded point.
Step 3a: Hands - do's and dont's
DO: make a small, well formed hand like a baby's hand. Chubby
forearms tapering into dainty little fingers.
DO: Taper the leg down to a tiny nub. You don't really need to
define the knees. Make a small line to separate the foot from the
leg. Like a tiny balerina foot. awwwwww.. dats so cute.
From here it's pretty easy. Slap on some clothes and start
adding details. The mouth is like the letter "D" turned on it's side.
The nose is not defined as a strong line. It's best to leave it out
all together or define iy with shading if you decide to color it in.
Step 5: Cleaning up:
Use a kneaded eraser (see Materials) and blot away your lighter
support lines while darkening in the lines you wish to keep. Voila
ARMS
2 and a half heads down is where we
locate the belly button.(mouse over the
image to see the guides)This is also
where the elbow goes if the arm is
hanging naturally at his sides. The arm
starts at the shoulder and ends with the
hands around mid-thigh.
LEGS
In ANIME, the legs are slightly longer
than the upper half of the body. The
Knees are located halfway between the
top of the hip and the bottom of the foot.
The Male Body
Sketch figure stage 1:
I was looking at some books and going through some basic animation reviews when I saw an old trick
on doing cartoon character bodies using the "Flour Sack" method. I modified it a bit to fit in with a more
realistic look. I call it the "Bean" method...there may already be a bean method but I'm unaware of it.
Here's my take:
Draw a bean
Balloon animals
A new view
Imagine now that it's your old school G.I.Joe doll with the
head,legs and arms popped off. See how we'll attach the
limbs?
A finished work
The fact that I used a bean shape to make this torso would
be all but unoticable if I hadn't greyed it in. It was quick,
easy and I didn't spend an hour working on the upper torso
and waist as seperate entities. The work has a more fluid
feel to it. Try this method out if your finished art is looking
too blocky.
Draw a circle. The circle is the foundation of the head for any veiwpoint. It
doesn't need to be a perfect circle like this. A basic ovoid shape will do nicely.
Measure out the face by figuring the top of the head..the bottom of the chin
and the eyeline about halfway between.
Add the chin and Jawline. Male faces aren't as round and heart-shaped as
female faces. It seems there are more variations available for the male face
than the female face. I'll stick with a standard type here. Make the angles
sharper and the chin square..don't come to a point.
Here I decide the facial planes. It helps me keep the features together and
tight.
Here I lightly figure where the feeatures go using the same rules you learned
in my other head tutorials. Eyes approximately 1 eye-width apart. the bottom
of the nose sits on a line halfway between the eyeline and the chin. The mouth
about 1/3 the way down from that. The ear is placed vertically between the
browline and the noseline.
The Cheekbones and Jawline is what really helps differentiate your character
from other male characters you will create. It also helps define your character
as distictly male if your having problems with you males looking to "feminine"
(Or maybe you draw bishoujo style..in which case, nevermind).
Now you can start to erase your support lines and concentrate on detailing the
features. Male eyes aren't as large and sparkly as female eyes. They are more
rectangular than almond shaped and the lash lines arent as heavy. Make the
eyebrows strong and dark. The nose should not be tipped up like on female
faces. Make them more "Wedge" shaped.
Here's what I came up with for a final version (granted a messy one). I made
the halftone in photoshop to give it that "manga" feel
Action: ok, so you've mastered the typical standing figure and now you want them to actualy fight
and move. The key here is the stick figure and the line of motion. Lot's of artist (myself included
once) got all caught up in the clothes and muscles and details waaaaay to early in the drawing. The
key to a good action pose is a strong foundation and the stick figure will help us with that.
Pre-Step: Stick Figure Hero!
The first thing I draw (and I shoulda shown this first) is the Line of
motion. This line is a smooth curve that goes from the top of the
characters head, through the body via the spine and out . I build the
stick figure on this line.
In my 2 prior tutorials I show you how to draw body parts using balls,
cones and cylinders. I just posted another tutorial on
Foreshortening..check those out for help on this step.
Keep the integrity of the stickfigure and lightly work in the body
shapes.Keep fast and loose..don't press to hard with the pencil here.
Step 4: Finishing up:
Use a kneaded eraser (see Materials) and blot away your lighter
support lines while darkening in the lines you wish to keep. Voila
The first thing I draw (and I shoulda shown this first) is the Line of
motion. This line is a smooth curve that goes from the top of the
characters head, through the body via the spine and out . I build the
stick figure on this line.
In my 2 prior tutorials I show you how to draw body parts using balls,
cones and cylinders. I just posted another tutorial on
Foreshortening..check those out for help on this step.
Keep the integrity of the stickfigure and lightly work in the body
shapes.Keep fast and loose..don't press to hard with the pencil
here.
Step 4: Finishing up:
Use a kneaded eraser (see Materials) and blot away your lighter
support lines while darkening in the lines you wish to keep. Voila
Here I got a spy type set-up. The character is sneaking into the
headquarters of GloboChem to steal the plans for the experimental
biotoxin. I just concentrate on making the gesture believable and
dynamic.
The first thing I draw (and I shoulda shown this first) is the Line of
motion. This line is a smooth curve that goes from the top of the
characters head, through the body via the spine and out . I build the
stick figure on this line.
In my 2 prior tutorials I show you how to draw body parts using balls,
cones and cylinders. I just posted another tutorial on
Foreshortening..check those out for help on this step.
Keep the integrity of the stickfigure and lightly work in the body
shapes.Keep fast and loose..don't press to hard with the pencil here.
Step 4: Finishing up:
Use a kneaded eraser (see Materials) and blot away your lighter
support lines while darkening in the lines you wish to keep. Voila
Final Note: Nothing helps with out action drawing like good reference material. Get your friends to pose for
you or clip pictures from action movie magazines. Anytime you see a pose you like GRAB IT! You never
know when you might need it. After a while you'll be able to draw right out of your own head.
Ok..so here's my first tutorial I'm doing under protest. I'm not really a great mecha artist so I feel a bit
uncomfortable showing others how to draw one. I'll try to explain some of my philosophy on
designing one which may spark an idea or two for you. Hopefully this will be worth the effort.
I was asked to put together a tutorial on clothing. I figured my goal shouldn't be to show you how
to draw clothes. There's too many styles. So I thought it would be more useful to show you how
clothes behave on the body. That way you can at least get the physics right and design whatever
you want.
Step 1: Draw a basic
figure
Snaps are pretty straight forward and you don't really get
to see the 2 halves together unless the jacket is open.
Again, good for detail in a close up. Show the one
docking end smaller and rounded on the lip.
DISCLAIMER: Guns and Youths are a controversial topic today and I realize many of my readers are young
adults. My intent is only to show you how to draw guns for comic book purposes. If you are under 18, please
check with your parents before visiting the handgun websites or continuing with this tutorial. Please, Help
keep Rosie O'Donnell off my back.
Basic Shapes
The esthetics
A little Detail
Reloading
Detailing:
Page1
.
PolyKarbon
StoryBoards
Page2
.
PolyKarbon
Date:07-00
.
PolyKarbon: Karmon Stroud Character sheet
10-2000
Stroud is, for all intents and purposes, Poly's personal assistant. He hacks systems for her, supplies weapons and ammo, reminds her
of critical jobs..ect. Only he kinda sucks at his job. She'd get rid of him but he's a relative of her employers and has no choice but to
put up with his ineptitude. He's cocky, sleezy and basically untrustworthy. He does have skills...he just too lazy to bother with details
sometimes.
PolyKarbon: Hohner Character sheet
10-2000
Hohner was born with Down's Syndrome. A wetware prosthetic compensates for his condition..however, Hohner
sometimes has trouble dealing with the stark contrast in the way he used to view the world versus the way he sees it
now through the "SmartJack". He works as Poly's extra muscle, confidant and moral center. He spends most of his
time trying to keep Poly honest and restraining himself from killing Stroud.
PolyKarbon: The Manga
09-2000
Here's the first page in extremely rough form. I usually just toss it out onto the paper so I can get
it out of my head and start tweaking it to look better. From these roughs I'll relay everything out
nice and clean and maybe shift things around so I can fit dialog in better. You can kinda see
where I drew text boxes in.
PolyKarbon: The Manga
09-2000
Here's the second page in extremely rough form. Notice, even though it's rough Itry to get a feel for
the camera angles and balances between light and shadow.
BackGround
Date:010-00
I made this for the purpose of adding action over the top of it like in animation. Mostly it was an
exercise in perspective and colors.