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How to draw animes

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Do u like Squidoo? Or do u enjoy doodle-ing?

* Gentle warning: Mad long post with truckloads of images coming up, if you have a slow connection do make yourself a cup of tea before proceeding.*

Today, I'm going to do a tutorial on drawing! In fact, today we're drawing an anime character. This is really just how I learnt to draw and I think there isn't any 'correct' way of drawing. And yes, I'm not exactly drawing like a pro but I'm just sharing.

So if you're ready, let's begin!

What you need:

Now, Here's what you'll need.

1. Pencils

I'm using mechanical pencils today but really, it's up to you which type you want to use. Make sure you have two different shades though. One should have a lighter shade which we'll use to draw and the other with a darker shade for outlining when we're done.

2. Paper

I'm using a cartridge exercise book, what I like about it is that it's not huge like a drawing block but the papers in it is of the same texture as those in a drawing block. You can use either one as long as the paper is of drawing block texture.

3. Eraser

Trust me, you'll be needing plenty of this. Plenty.

4. Print out of your anime character

Search online for a picture of the anime character you want to draw. It is important to print it black and white especially if you're a beginner. Reason is that it makes it easier for you to see where all the shadows are and the shade of the shadows in each area. The printout do not have to be the same size as what you plan to draw. You're not tracing so any size will do.

I'll explain why we're printing this out later.

5. Open up the image on your computer for stand by

You must be wondering "Why on earth do I have to do that when I've already printed them out??", well the reason is that if you have a shitty printer (like I do) most often than not, the lines of the anime in certain area will not be clear (especially when there's a complicated inter-cross section). So having it on the computer will help you in deciding where goes where.

Time to draw!

Done. Now it's time to draw! Whooo!

The method I'm using is for beginners. Most of the time, we (beginners) cannot draw free hand. Right? And when we do, either the head is too big or the body is too big or one eye is bigger than the other. So to counter that problem, we'll use guidelines. Here's what we do.

I'm going to draw this anime character, Shana from shakugan no shana.

Now prepare your paper and draw a line in the middle like this. Do it horizontally and vertically.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Remember to use the pencil with a lighter shade and don't press too hard when you're drawing. This is because all this guidelines will be erased when we're done. Pressing too hard will make it really hard to erase and it'll look ugly with lines all around your masterpiece. You don't have to be very accurate with the 'middle' thing. Just gauge roughly will do as long as it's not too crooked or out of alignment.

Next, do the same to your print out.

If you noticed, most of the drawing will fall in the right half of the paper. Now, we do this step by step. Divide the top right box into more grids. What you do is really just draw a line in the middle over and over again until you're happy with the size. Do the same to your print out.

Here's what my printout look like.

Your drawing should look abit like this.

As you see, the guideline practically tells you how wide the curve should be and how straight the line should be, etc. Therefore, all you have to do is draw according to what you see in the printout. For example, 1st row 2nd box from the right in the print out should be the same as the 1st row 2nd box from the right in your drawing.

As and when you find that you need more guidelines, just continue dividing the boxes and do the same in your printout. The more boxes there are, the more proportionate and accurate your drawing will be.

Here's what I did.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

As you can see, I'm putting in more guidelines so that it makes it easier for me to draw. Of course, you dont have to be super accurate with the lines, gauge roughly and have fun.

Step 5:

Step 6:

Step 7:

Shojo Fashion Manga Art School: How to Draw Cool Looks and Characters [Paperback]

Shojo Fashion Manga Art School: How to Draw Cool Looks and Characters

by: Irene Flores

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 05/26/2012)

This is an excellent book from the beginner to the advanced. I was surprised that it turned out to be as excellent as it was. While this book does assume you have some experience drawing (That you have attempted to draw people before, even if they turned out awful). It gives you pointers and things to keep in mind when attempting to draw them. Don't skimp on the practicing, as it does work!

Step 8:

When drawing the eyes, do spend more time on them. Make sure they're proportionate because anime do focus on their eyes after all.

Step 9:

Step 10:

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Finally, all done. Now you'll need to clean up the drawing. Time to erase all the guidelines and darken the outlines of the drawing.

Drawing Manga Animals, Chibis, and Other Adorable Creatures [Paperback]

Drawing Manga Animals, Chibis, and Other Adorable Creatures

by: J.C. Amberlyn

Amazon Price: $10.96 (as of 05/27/2012)

This book offers the basic steps for creating the applicable faces/bodies of Manga and Chibis and even has steps for tweaking your art in photoshop programs and info on creating your own page full of creatures for the use in comics!

Erasing the Guidelines....

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

And you're done for now. Yay!!

Now fill in the eyes and you'll get this:

Dont panic if your drawing looks abit weird. I know mine does. But the reason is.. you have not done the shading yet! So do on and shade in the shadows. For this part, you can use guidelines to help you if the shadows are big and nicely cut but otherwise you'll have to rely on freehand shading (is there such a term?). Once the shadings is in, it'll look perfect.

I dont have a picture of my drawing with the shadings because I was too *cough* lazy *cough*.. I mean busy.

Psst: To increase my credibility that this method can work, here's a few of my drawings done in the past.

Here's rukia from bleach.

Kisuke Urahara from Bleach.

And dizzy from gulity gear X.

Yes! Mad long post is finally done. Alright, have fun drawing! Outta here, bye!

Pro Art 18-Piece Sketch/Draw Pencil Set

Amazon Price: $5.07 (as of 05/27/2012)

For those who do not know about drawing pencils. There are different numbers and letters at the bottom of the pencils. I use the 2H for light sketching and to draw from the object to the vanishing point because the pencil is light on the paper and it erases easy.

Darice 80-Piece Deluxe Art Set

Amazon Price: $14.97 (as of 05/27/2012)

Studio 71 deluxe art set overflows with color and creativity. For the serious artist. Set includes 24 color pencils, 24 oil pastels, 24 watercolor cakes, 2 paint brushes, 2 drawing pencils, pencil sharpener, kneaded eraser and sanding blocks. Provides an artist with a wide range of materials in a compact, portable wood case with handle. Small parts, not for children under 3 years.

How do u find my drawing skills?

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Creative Doodling & Beyond

Inspiring exercises, prompts, and projects for turning simple doodles into beautiful works of art

Creative Doodling & Beyond: Inspiring exercises, prompts, and projects for turning simple doodles into beautiful works of art

by: Stephanie Corfee

Amazon Price: $11.74 (as of 05/27/2012)

Who among us doesn't simply love to doodle-or, at the very least, doodle to pass the time during long meetings or classes? Now you can learn the fine art of doodling while exercising your creativity at the same time. Creative Doodling & Beyond features a fun variety of projects, prompts, exercises, and ideas to get your doodling juices flowing, while also providing inspiration for how to use your doodles creatively. Artists will begin with some warm-up exercises and basic drawing instruction. From there, they'll embark on creating projects with doodles that get progressively more advanced through the book, starting with a gift tag and ending with elaborate doodling projects on wood and fabric.

Do u like using pencils or coloured pencils/crayons to draw?

I like to draw ....

just using pencils

Centavo says:

Actually, I am not a good person to ask as I am terrible at drawing. But I really do like pencil sketches.

simon says:

pencils its just easier

goku says:

pencil is light easy to erase

hanjee says:

I use pencil to draw. :)

Latias san says:

Pencil are the best, Infinite black and white can be achived by a sole pencil alone

hayateandnagi says:

eto...eto,,,,

Liquorice&otaku says:

I usually can't find a pencil, and so I am really good at drawing with a pen.....

kittykatty5566 says:

everything its cool to experiment

masie says:

pencils

Violet Thorn says:

Just use the pencils..it's alot easier and it already has an eraser built into it.

Loopis says:

; -;

using COLOURED pencils/crayons and others

LilMonkey says:

I love to sketch and use pencils and colored pencils both. I have to try an anime character.

D. Gray-girl says:

i first use pencils(HB2) then ink pens, than possibly use photoshop. i also use colored pencils and water color pencils in between. copic markers are amazing and i use them as well

EditorDave says:

My answer? Yes. But since you didn't give that option, I'll go with "coloured" pencils (because *black* *IS* a colour!). :-)

theraggededge says:

Pens, watercolour, pastels, crayons and pencils.

aquariann says:

I like to sketch with pencils, ink the lines and then finish with colored pencils. Vibrant colors make me happy.

Great, 5 star lens, btw. I've never had the patience to use a grid, but it's a very interesting technique to seen done! Thanks for following me on twitter, too. :D

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Shana no Shakugan Wall Scroll

Other Lenses by milkcananime

Special thanks!

A special thanks to my sis Jasmne for making this wonderful lens.
Yup, Jasmne being spelled without an "i". Uniquely talented individual! :)

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LilMonkey May 9, 2012 @ 11:16 pm | delete

Great step by step visual instructions that everyone can follow.

Reply

LilMonkey May 9, 2012 @ 11:16 pm | delete

Great step by step visual instructions that everyone can follow.

Reply

Centavo May 8, 2012 @ 2:27 pm | delete

Great lens on drawing. I have seen this method before and so I am sure it works. I am terrible at drawing and really do need to give this a try. Maybe if I succeed it will help with my drawing self-esteem. Thanks again for a great lens.

Reply

milkcananime Aug 11, 2011 @ 12:43 am | delete

Thanks hanjee. I like that too! :)

Reply

hanjee Aug 10, 2011 @ 1:55 pm | delete

I like your sister's Kisuke Urahara from Bleach drawing. SO neat.

Reply

deyani Feb 11, 2011 @ 5:18 am | delete

A very detailed tutorial on how to draw anime. This lens deserved an angel blessing --- Blessed ---

Reply

EditorDave Dec 31, 2010 @ 1:22 am | delete

NIce lens! My daughter loves to draw anime. I'll refer her to this lens!

Reply

Aug 30, 2010 @ 9:16 am | delete

Thumbs up!
Great lens... very informative. Thanks for the good read.
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