Volume I: Anime & Manga

Sketchbook Saga - Volume I: Anime & Manga

A Little Background

Manga Art--Deriving from Japan, is a form of drawn Anime, showcasing modern western cartoon styles. Modern Manga gained some traction in the 19th century, becoming widely popular as a form of affordable entertainment after World War II (1945–1960s).

Osamu Tezuka, known as the "God of Manga" revolutionized the medium, creating addicting stories and relatable characters, drawn in by the emotional depth within the adaptations. Many works like Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) and Princess Knight (Ribon no Kishi) have shaped a major cultural force. 

In attempting to learn a style of drawing like Manga, I studied the origins and also the new--more contemporary--adaptations of manga. I have noticed the style consists of certain exaggerated features and understated features. Many times, the chins of the character are very short and sharp like in Osamu Tezuka's. Other times the nose is very large and rounded, while the eyes remain large for many characters and contain large, dilated pupils with glimmers of reflection.

The lines used are very sharp/defined and straight. There are also times where normal human biology is ignored. For example, hair will be behind the eyes rather than in front, insisting that the eyes are always shown. Shading in manga is often shown as close, repetitive, straight lines--the more condensed the lines are in an area, the darker the area is: called hatching.

Day One:

When experimenting during the first week, I started off by drawing from memory. I wanted to draw Astro Boy's head, but this didn't go well, so I grabbed a reference image and fixed it up a little bit. for the rest of day one I used reference images and/or guidelines.

Day Two:

Day two I wanted to try out some different perspectives. I created a bald character that reminded me of One Punch Man. I created this without a reference and there was no intent of draw One Punch Man. I drew a few different angles, and they went okay. Along with the perspectives, I wanted to work on the proportions and structure of the face. 

Day Three:

Day three was a little different. The goal was to draw Naruto, a very popular anime character. As per usual, I started off by pulling up a reference image and began to work on the first one (top drawing). It started off very rough which led the end product to look wrong. Because I was drawing with pen I couldn't back track on my mistakes. 

I learned from this in my next drawing and switched back to pencil, which I stayed away from on day one. 

I made many mistakes, but finally created something I was happy with, so I took out the pen and traced it out--erasing the underneath. The second drawing of day three went really well and I think it is a good mid-way point for the week.

Day Four:

Day four, I experimented with perspective some more. It was an interesting piece because the character is leaning away from the frame, meaning his body is going to look disproportionate: his calves are the same size, if not larger than his thighs and the bottom half of his body is double the size of his upper. 

Day Five - Conclusion:

The final day... I began day five looking for a difficult piece to draw that would showcase the knowledge I have gained over the week. I came up empty in my search.

I decided to create a piece of my own. The character I created uses a front facing perspective, showcasing his head and most of his torso. I gave him large eyes that I learned on day one, while adhering to many traditional styles in the rest of the face development. Continuing the correct structure of the face and anatomy of the body that I focused on during day two. I gave him a simple design which many anime characters tend to have. Also, deciding to give him a mix of realistic shading and hatching. 

I can say through this process I have learned a style of art that will extend into my own. I enjoy the hatching shading style, as well as the aspect of exaggerating different features to convey a message or feeling. I have learned a lot about the structure of a person's face, creating consistency within my future drawings. I look forward to what the next week will teach me.