| try the creative corner |
| Manga is hard to draw. But with time and effort and alot of practice you can improve! I know because I too draw manga and after a about a year of drawing it I have seen a major improvement in my works! however I still have a fair bit to learn. Some of my recent stuff :) http://mintyeggnog.deviantart.com/art/Angel-Beats-Yui-188391677 http://mintyeggnog.deviantart.com/#/d36h1zt compared to when I first started at the beggining of the year... http://mintyeggnog.deviantart.com/gallery/26796300?offset=24#/d2mqvrz it just takes time :P |
| Hmm...well this is my thought on this matter: It's not talent IMO. It's learning/influences/experience/etc. Drawing characters requires a ton of knowledge/experience. The human figure is probably the most difficult thing to draw of all (mainly when it's moving around or from different camera angles). It's pretty obvious when someone lacks full understanding of forms/structure/shape/action. Manga/anime (a lot of manga has not-so-great art IMO) is deceivingly simple because a lot of the hints of anatomy are subtle. Signs of artistic weakness are usually noticeable from some things I've noticed: 1. Same pose every time - usually 3/4th or frontal standing 2. See above - but rendered to death to impress people 3. Cropped out to show only face/upper torso or something. That's not to say cropping itself is bad. In fact I believe people who are completely confident drawing anything will crop out whatever they need to drive home the overall comp. They'll cut out the face if they need to, even if they can draw the best faces in the world. 4. Stiff or unnatural-looking - just lack of experience with the figure 5. Anatomy doesn't look "right" - it doesn't have to be perfect...even animators have inconsistencies in their drawings...but it should "feel" right 6. Draw sameface and same shapes every time - no variation = not comfortable with drawing other things...unable to adapt and draw "everything" etc. It should be obvious who did his/her homework. 2017 edit: Well since this thread has been revived, all I have to say now is that drawing is really just simplifying stuff (into forms, mainly). So yeah you just have to know the structure of whatever want to draw (anatomy, features, animals, whatever) by studying it and breaking it down so you can draw it it any position. Of course you should have a basic grasp of perspective so...yeah, solid foundations are key. Style is useless without foundation. Style changes over time anyway - what's popular and aesthetic, and your own tastes, too, but anatomy knowledge won't go anywhere...humans will be the same structurally your entire life. Anyway, there's plenty of tutorials online for ideas on how to do this. |
FuiFeb 7, 2017 1:26 AM
| I could draw ones, but sadly I forgot somehow. |
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| What? |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| Agree with what Fui said. Manga is just the manipulation of the human anatomy, so once you gain a better understanding of proportions and the basic shape of body parts you'll slowly get better at it. Also I agree with artistic weakness thing and how people will usually stick to what they know, I sort of do that but have slowly grown out of it, "art is 99% hard work and 1% talent" |
Lightyear8684 said: You need a talent for drawing, or you will be practicing about a year and still draw funny stuff like person above :D no offense not funny.... at all... -.- |
EthrilJan 27, 2011 8:59 PM
Ethril said: Lightyear8684 said: You need a talent for drawing, or you will be practicing about a year and still draw funny stuff like person above :D no offense not funny.... at all... -.- I like your drawings, they're cute. I love the miku metal one hehe :D And Shady It just takes lots and lots of practise, just like everything else in the world requires if you want to be good at it. Don't give up! If you put in the time, it will show. :) |
| Pretty much, yes, hard work is needed, and I would add that you must be a keen observer as well, to get that something just right... But in the meantime, while you learn, you could try creating a manga with this software: (though the English version isn't out yet, but there are plans for it) |
I like your drawings, they're cute. I love the miku metal one hehe :D And Shady It just takes lots and lots of practise, just like everything else in the world requires if you want to be good at it. Don't give up! If you put in the time, it will show. :) Thank you :) And fully agree with what you said! lots of work and effort and you too can be a pro! I too have a lot of stuff I still to learn hehe... like being able to draw legs O3O |
EthrilJan 28, 2011 5:30 AM
Ethril said: I like your drawings, they're cute. I love the miku metal one hehe :D And Shady It just takes lots and lots of practise, just like everything else in the world requires if you want to be good at it. Don't give up! If you put in the time, it will show. :) Thank you :) And fully agree with what you said! lots of work and effort and you too can be a pro! I too have a lot of stuff I still to learn hehe... like being able to draw legs O3O Your welcome ;D. Ahh yes haha legs are pretty difficult to draw. I still struggle a bit too ^^". That and hands ><. |
| My 2 cents pretty much fall in line with fui, although I would not be so critical of mangaka. In general, I think criticism is a good and a bad thing. Your worst critics can help you create some of your best work. I don't think any artist can develop without the ability to cope with the harsh criticism that comes with the territory. You have to have a good attitude about it. But, I respect most artists who are at the level that their work is commissioned (They get paid). Many artists have a style that conflicts or doesn't quite capture your ideal visions, but keep in mind that they have paid their dues while most of us are still struggling prima donnas. I think its necessary to develop a sense of style and taste for art that coincides with our own ideals, but you should also be careful not to crap on stuff that doesn't quite meet your expectations. Art inherently requires you to have an open mind. Hell, amateurs can teach you "what the hell can go wrong" if you look at it that way. fui said: Manga/anime (a lot of manga has not-so-great art IMO) is deceivingly simple because a lot of the hints of anatomy are subtle. I really love this statement here, it succinctly answers the OP's question. Those "how to draw manga" books aren't going to teach you what you really need to know to make good manga. They aren't a bad place to start, but you need a lifetime's worth of experience to learn how to draw. Drawing is a form of visual communication. For instance, how do you draw someone who is running, or eating, or playing? You have to build a vocabulary of these images (gestures) in your head, because we can't draw something we don't know anything about. And when we draw, just like when you write a paragraph or a sentence and you can visualize the text on the page before you write it... you'll get to the point where you can see your drawings on the paper in the same way. Spend a lot of your time drawing from life and studying other artists. The most essential skill of any artist is the ability to communicate the idea behind the subject or the action. You don't waste your time rendering and coloring art that doesn't do this. There is also a lot of background that these books often times gloss over such as perspective. All drawings need to relate to a particular eye level, otherwise they don't make sense visually to us. Perspective is the study of how we "see" things. You have to understand how 3 dimensional objects in space are seen by our eyes. And you have to understand how they can be projected onto a 2 dimensional plane. Are we above or below the figure? Is it turned away from us or head on? Anatomy is also a subject that you need to spend a lot of time on. As fui mentioned, there is a lot of small visual queues from anatomy in this type of art. But again it's deceptively simple when you look at it. What it really comes down to is that you really need to know the stuff to understand how you can use and abuse it at will. Cartooning in general is not about making photo-realistic art, but you still have to know where bones and muscles attach to in the body to make convincing forms which lend to the overall gesture and idea you are trying to communicate. You also can't really get rendering to look correct if you don't understand the forms of the body. Rendering in anime/manga is also deceptively simple because you use a variety of flat solid shapes to convey a 3rd dimension. You must completely understand the form in order to do this correctly. Other topics you need to be well aware of are Multiple types of rendering, composition, color theory, force and motion, and a plethora of outside world knowledge. Its about being a well read individual. Given all of this, you can probably now understand why those books will never suffice. |
| I didn't mean to downplay mangaka. There are a lot of extremely skilled/experienced ones, and what Perspective said about art is entirely true. They're just not required to be as knowledgeable since the product is produced on their own, so sometimes I think they end up sticking to a style (naturally) and what they know (their comfort zone), which can potentially be dangerous if you're solely trying to learn drawing. |
| I think the thing some people don't actually realise about mangaka is that they're drawing nearly every hour on the hour every day, mostly to reach deadlines. While it isn't thought about, being able to draw really comes down to practice and isn't always about this thing that your parents call a 'gift'. Anybody can draw. Everybody has their own style, but you need to put effort into it. |
| It is very hard in the beginning isnt it? Trust me, if you put in hard work & dedication to it AND keep practicing you will be just as good as a professinal. I've been very moved by alot of the arts here in Japan, so I bought a book that teaches you how to draw anime & I got better from practicing & studying, so you can do the same! GoodLuck. ^^ |
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| it takes time to become a better artist son. Like for any other art form you are attempting to get. |
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shintai88 said: I find tracing helps you to develop stillness and control for lines. You can also practice just drawing out the shapes for the head arms legs and torso, before actually designing a character. Tracing doesn't really help you learn anything. To learn how to use your pencil (achieve that stillness, control), "skate" the page. It's a drawing exercise that loosens the hand and the mind. Take your pencil and start doodling without trying to draw anything. This really works, trust me. As for learning how to draw characters--study anatomy, and study style. The two are not exclusive nor inclusive. Recognize that a good style is uniform. Lastly, DRAW DRAW DRAW DRAW all the time. My advice for the day. *dons Mister Rogers sweater and walks away* |
jordydragon said: I heard having autism will help too. Is that true or not? You should know better than anyone. |
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| How do you people find these threads to necro? And wow.. OP is asking why they can't draw.. And I thought we had stupid threads now.. |
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jordydragon said: Maor said: jordydragon said: I heard having autism will help too. Is that true or not? You should know better than anyone. Excuse me...? Don't need to be rude. I just wanted someone who is experienced to answer the question cause i heard people with autism have more/better fantasy I don't know about autism- I knew quite a few autistic anime fans that just could not draw but thought they could. I hope this knowledge isn't coming from that pet show- Sakuraso pet no kanjo or whatever it's called. I'm not saying this isn't possible, but I went to art school for 6 years and never saw proof of this or even a single example of this. What I HAVE seen though is that people with ADD tend to draw pretty well. Another tip I would like to add in- If you want to become a professional artist, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT start learning to draw by drawing manga/anime. It will affect your drawing style significantly and be VERY HARD to stamp out of your style which, if you do pursue as a career, you WILL eventually want to do because you'll realize that it is not the way to go professionally. You can always learn to draw manga later- It's really an incredibly easy and simple style that you can do just fine once you learn to actually draw. But one should NEVER start with anime/manga. I'll use myself as an example. I just can't draw people right anymore. If I do it from my head, they always have anime characteristics- ALWAYS- and it's really infuriating. As a result I can only really draw animals well and stylized because animal drawing was never affected by my anime style. |
| I only just started out myself, but one thing that I can say is that a good knowledge of human anatomy is very much key to drawing. Although people in manga do not necessarily follow the true forms of a human, understanding human anatomy and being able to draw it will give you the capability to bend it to your own will ;D |
| if you are going to listen to any advice, listen to this; don't try to draw manga, try to draw humans. when people forget the original purpose of stylizing, you end up with drawing that don't look quite right. Learn realism first, then style. That is the advice of myself and my ex-teacher/Disney Animator. |
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| Not only practice but I think it has to do with what style your going for too. I mean i used to draw abit of manga but it just never really flowed on to the paper (if you get me). Now my style has completely changed and it's far better than before because it's more natural to me, you have to find what works for you i guess is what I'm trying to say. Plus feedback from people is great, because it will help you to identify where you need to improve. |
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abandonedstreets said: Not only practice but I think it has to do with what style your going for too. I mean i used to draw abit of manga but it just never really flowed on to the paper (if you get me). Now my style has completely changed and it's far better than before because it's more natural to me, you have to find what works for you i guess is what I'm trying to say. Plus feedback from people is great, because it will help you to identify where you need to improve. ^This too. |
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| Learn Basic Human Anatomy First, thats all i can say. Thats what i did and what most artists i've talked to do. |
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ScrumYummy said: shintai88 said: I find tracing helps you to develop stillness and control for lines. You can also practice just drawing out the shapes for the head arms legs and torso, before actually designing a character. Tracing doesn't really help you learn anything. *and a bunch of stuff that, while is true, could have been said less pretentiously* I learned a lot from tracing, but not from tracing alone. I'd trace, then redraw with reference, then redraw from memory, then try to draw from a completely different angle. But I can safely say that if you trace then post to a forum and ask people to critique it, you won't get very far as an artist. |
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| ya gota master the fountain pen 1st and the scraper thing (for shadeing) |
| dont ask questions, just do answers |
| I've been drawing extensively since 3rd grade so i've gotten really good at it over the years takes practice |
| you can switch to hentai |
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nappy_ said: Learn Basic Human Anatomy First, thats all i can say. Thats what i did and what most artists i've talked to do. This guy gets it if you can't get anatomy right just stop drawing. |
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| talent is required for everything. you can polish shit all you want, but its still a piece of shit. an uncut unpolished diamond is still a diamond. there are no two ways about it. However, a shiny turd is far better than a blob of poop. |
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