hey (MOD EdIT: need anime/manga drawing tips)

[LadyMedusa]

I think I can give you some tips or links to some tutorials, but what exactly are you looking for?
What problem do you have?

[killermachine]

my character's are coming out good but my weak point is shading.i dont no how to do that exact cell shade that wil give the right impact.my shading always show the char soft....

[LadyMedusa]

I wrote a little guide once about cell shadin way long back, lets see... Forgive me if this is too much text, or if it doesn't help.. I made it for a noob, but I'm not sure if it really is that dummy safe if you get me. There are probably way better tutorials out there, but hope this will do for now ^^;;

::Tutorial removed so people wont have to scroll that much::

[killermachine]

thnx for the tutorial but u didnt get my problem.hav u seen those anime video's or stills l8tly.those sharp shades an light are my problem.i'm weak in its judgement lik i don no how do its lighting,where to start where to end if u get me

[Kaivoo]

Main theory for Anime and manga is Line art. If your Line perfect , you can imagine Shades correctly.

You can check the picture is good or bad by ripping a colour out . and see only a Line.
Colour and shade is just for Decoration.


If you want to learn Anime & manga drawing ,you must learning Japanease language togather. Because it come form a root of Hiragana writting , Bushu system teach you how to define the Main Line and Child Line.

[LadyMedusa]

Could you show an example of how your things look?
Maybe it would be a little eaier to help.

I agree whit Kavioo when he/she says that the line art is the most important, but I don't thing you could say colors are just decoration, but I love colors, heh <.<"

[killermachine]

i do not hav the art work of the caliber dat is postd on this site but i hav some rough's.hope thry serve the purpose...

[Stahlberg]

You may not like my advice, but I think what you should do is look in the Art Tutorials, Theories, and Book Recommendations sticky thread at the top of this forum:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=226083

If there's a lot of stuff in there that you're not quite familiar with, and/or feel quite comfortable with, you will probably benefit greatly by studying and then practising it. In fact every artist can benefit from such practise.

Now judging from your first post you probably think the info there doesn't really apply to what you want to know here. But that would be a mistake. It's the basis of all art, including manga and anime. The artists you admire all know this stuff like the back of their hands, and that's why they have no problem judging exactly where to place the line between light and shadow.
There's no secret trick to it. It's knowing the exact shape of the object you're drawing (practise anatomy, perspective, drawing clothing), the exact direction of the light-rays (more practise drawing objects, simple at first, complex later), the characteristics of different materials under different light conditions etc... THEN knowing how to simplify and stylize all this. You can't short-cut the process and jump straight into the stylizing stage withouth knowing the rest of the issues I mentioned, it would be like me wanting to skip all the years of training to become a doctor, for instance. :)

[Lunatique]

Colour and shade is just for Decoration.


If you want to learn Anime & manga drawing ,you must learning Japanease language togather. Because it come form a root of Hiragana writting , Bushu system teach you how to define the Main Line and Child Line.

Color and shade are definitely not just for decoration. Both anime and manga's use of shading and colors are very important aspects to the collective style (more so with anime than manga). The use of cellshading in anime and the use of screentones in manga are extremely important to that visual style.

You do not need to know a word of Japanese to learn to draw anime and manga. The two have nothing to do with each other. I don't know where you got that from but it's completely wrong.

killermachine - I completely agree with Stahlberg. What you need are the basic foundations of art, not shortcuts to a national style. Stylization will only work if you have a solid foundation to go with it, or else you'll end up with stuff that looks like some of the bad artworks on Deviant Art or Elfwood.

[Peddy]

Stylization will only work if you have a solid foundation to go with it, or else you'll end up with stuff that looks like some of the bad artworks on Deviant Art or Elfwood.


ouch. a harsh but true look at elfwood and deviant art.

[killermachine]

first of al thnx mr. steve and mr.chang for ur interest in my problem.it's an honour that looked into my thread.i'v seen lotsa work of yours mr.steve.i completly agree with u and other ppl who hav given their opinion (except the learninn japanese 1).i do study from buks and tutorials.i had jus asked so that i can no if there are any tips and tricks any1 can share with me.i hope an anime club starts here soon too.peace...

[Kaivoo]

@_@ um... my english is not good. sorry if i use a wrong word.

I say from my exp , not from any book.

For example, counting your stroke numbers per 1 word.

In Japanease , 1 word come from group of single strokes.
In english , 1 word come from group of geometry symbols (continuos strokes).

Most of english users Define 1 Head of character equal 1 geometry object . that's what you see in Dextor Labo , or others in Cartoon Networks.

But Japanease user define 1 head of character equal a group of lines.

It's easy to Lost in transLation. You may miss something if you study Manga and Anime with out learning Japanease.


Shading , Colouring is not important for starter. Most of Starters go to the dead-end. becuz they does not earnest what the Line telling.

You still need to define Shading & Specular by "Line" before start colouring an anime cell. (* plz note You need to colouring 10,800 of cells per 1 chapter )

Line is everything.

[killermachine]

kaivoo i appriciate ur idea and i agree with it too.i know that jap and chinese calligraphy are one of the most difficult arts to practise.i heard that sword can b written in NINE ways!! (phew..) an its not that i dont want to learn im very much eager for that to but the problem is in india no1 teaches it except the embassy an they don hav eve courses and i cant miss my coll in mornin.... i really do knew very precisely what u wanted to say in ur first post only as i'v tried my hand on some word's .......peace^_^

[Kaivoo]

try this.........learning Japanease writting system is enough.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b366/RyokiShiki/Jap001.jpg

[killermachine]

thnx bro.now plzz bro plzz tell me wat do they mean so dat i no what am i practising on..

[fuss]

Hmm, all right, I don't understand it. I am practicing drawing as well (although not specifically Manga) and coincidentally I am also learning Japanese and indeed know how to write and read Hiragana. However, I don't understand how it should improve one's drawing style? Do you mean, it changes your way of thinking about basic shapes/strokes of which Manga figures are made of, or what? I am more than just a bit confused here... Could you try to explain this to me a little more?

EDIT:

@killermachine:

Try the following link for the start.

http://japanese.about.com/blhira.htm

However, I have my doubts learning this will make you a better Manga artist, but maybe I am just an ignorant westerner... ? Unless somebody really explains me the Hiragana-Manga relationship, of course...

[Kaivoo]

Do you mean, it changes your way of thinking about basic shapes/strokes of which Manga figures are made of


that is what i mean. - -" sorry for my poor english again.

[Integrator]

Could someone explain me, what's the relationship between manga and hiragana? I see, that's the only way to use hiragana symbols in manga artworks - that's some kind of overscripts on finished picture. And what for? It should look better? Each native Japan dweller will look on your artwork with contempt smile. I don't think that hiragana symbols look like manga style shapes drawing lines. And it doesn't look exotic as kanji does. But then, if you want to write on something on kanji...
Well, I'm learning Japanese for one-one half year (studying hardly every day, writing and practising for about two hours daily). I write freely on hiragana and katakana, know about three-four hundreds kanji symbols but still can't understand 60% of Japanese newspapers text and other scripts. Further for than standart sentences compositing my skill isn't so high. So to write over something good-looking you have to practice Japanese grammar and kanji symbols for many years. I think, the best choice for you will forget about Hiragana learning and just practice in manga drawing. And then just ask someone like me to explain, how to write required text on your artwork.
I don't think, that Hiragana will help you to understand better manga drawing style. Just someone of "Hiragana-masters" tryed to show their smartness in so exotic and hard language. (couldn't tell, that it's as hard as my native russian, but it's not from easy ones)

[Lunatique]

PLEASE stop with the "learning hiragana/katagana/Japanese language helps you draw better manga/anime" talk. It is absolutely not true, except for whatever reason, Kaivoo personally feels that it's helped him. That's his personal view, and it has nothing to do with any established drawing/painting skills related to anime/manga. Never in my life have I heard or seen anything like it--not in established artschools, published books, or any professional artists both in Japan or elsewhere. I'm not trying to be harsh towards Kaivoo, it's just that I don't want beginners reading this thread to get confused. The only benefit I could see from learning to write Chinese or Japanese characters would be from the amount of practice you get out of writing caligraphy--which requires similar hand/wrist/arm control as when inking. But that's like saying playing tennis helps you improve your sword-fighting skills, as both requires controlled movements of your body. But if you're going to improve your sword-fighting, you sword-fight, not go and play tennis. Same thing with anime/manga. You learn to draw and paint, not write Japanese characters. There are plenty of amazing artists working in the anime/manga style who can't read or write a word of Japanese, and there are millions of Japanese people who are native Japanese speakers who can read and write Japanese but can't draw anything to save their lives.

To get better at drawing ANY style--be it Japanese, European comics, American comics, or anything else under the sun, the ONLY way to improve is to study and practice the foundations of art--composition, anatomy, values, lighting, color theory, rendering technique, line quality..etc. That's it. There is no shortcut or magic bullet or unspoken secrets to uncover. Hard work and observational skill is all it takes.

[Kaivoo]

May be my english can't clear it.

So, start Manga drawing. And answer by your self.

[killermachine]

i must say my little thread has sparked quite a debate ,huh..... well mr. chang i'm not a complete beginner but yes any c and c wud b higly appriciated until its very harsh:D i wud start putting my artwork as soon as i get my tablet so that i can improve furthr by ur help.thnx again every1

[NOTORIOUS-ro]

I've been waiting quite some time for a thread this hot on anime/manga. I don't agree on the fact of learning japanese would help you draw anything BUT I do think that their national talent has a little to do with the fact that their caligrhaphy is a big plus in having a steady hand. Good practice as a kid. As for shortcuts... what can I say... BENKYO! BENKYO! the thing with shades is a lot of observing and practice. I do belive there are more eficient ways of learning one thing or another (in this case coloring) but there are definnetly no shortcuts. Now some question of my own if nobody minds: Is there any way to get rid of the anoying speculars on 3D cell shaded models? You know...the not so artistic speculars that actualy make it look 3D.

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