How To Get Started in Manga

Guest post by Jane Evans

There is no doubt that manga drawing is one of the most popular and widely loved art styles ever created, and testament to that is the huge success that the manga industry has seen since the manga market began in Japan back in the 1950“s. Since then, it has gained huge international success with readers of all ages enjoying a broad range of manga styles and genres. For anyone that has ever been interested inÂ giving manga drawing a go, this guide will give you the tips and advice that you need to get started.

What you“ll need

The great thing is that there only a handful of basic materials that you need to get started, here they are;

Pencils/sharpeners
Pens
Rulers
Kneaded erasers
Regular eraser
Paper

It“s important to make sure that you get a pad with very sturdy drawing paper such as smooth Bristol, which can withstand a lot of rubbing out. You should have a variety of pens and pencils with a different level of thickness for all the different lines that you are going to need. You“ll also want a clear plastic ruler, so you can see your drawing underneath it, 15 inches will suffice. A kneaded eraser is good for erasing large areas in one go without leaving a mess, whereas a standard eraser is better for giving you more precision.

Precision is everything

The first and most important thing to be aware of is that precision is absolutely key when drawing manga. That is, the only way toÂ make a manga drawing look authenticÂ is to draw the lines inÂ exactlyÂ the right place. If you are out even slightly, then your drawing just won“t look right. Therefore, paying close attention to and following the different proportions and metrics that are used for manga drawing is essential. So just in case you were thinking thatÂ giving a character ”˜big shiny eyes“Â was enough, think again! There is an art to getting the balance right between the proportion of the eyes and the lines that make up the rest of the face. So investing in a good quality manga drawing guide to get you started is a must.

Creating a manga habit

Once you have familiarised yourself with the manga drawing metrics and have gained sufficient practice with this, you will find that the new motor skills that you have learnt and the muscle memory involved has been internalised. At this stage, while it may take a long time to reach, you will no longer need to follow a guide.Â Some interesting scientific researchÂ shows that it is actually possible to practice motor skills in our sleep that will result in real life improvements,Â particularly when lucid dreaming.

The more you practice and start to develop a habit out of something the more likely you are to start dreaming about it. Once you get into this cycle, you will find that your skills and ability for any creative pursuit will improve significantly, and in the case of manga drawing, it all starts with drawing just a few lines in the right place!