Drawing specific character : Picolo (DBZ)

Front View Step 1: We'll begin with sketching the basic shape of the face. Draw a large, slightly elongated circle as shown. When drawing the lower half of his face, notice that the lines drawn in red are about the same distance from each other. It is important to place the guidelines correctly, because they'll come in handy later on. Make sure to draw your lines very lightly until you get to the final draft so that the guidelines are easy to erase later on.

Step 2: Next, sketch in the eye, nose and mouth (drawn in red) levels, and add the ears. Make sure that the nose and mouth lines are very close together.

Step 3: Erase some of the unnecessary guidelines and start filling in the details of the face. The pupils of his eyes are so small that, unlike most anime characters, they don't have any light glares or shiny parts. Start the nose almost directly below the eyes. Also remember not to draw in the entire nose, because when you see a character straight on, most of the time you'll only see its shadow. The mouth is almost directly below the nose; keep it small, for now. It shouldn't be too much wider than the nose. Also, draw his neck and the details in his ears. His neck is rather thick, and should be directly below his ears.

Step 4: Add extra shading under his eyes and mouth. Draw in his clothing and turban/hat thing (I'm not sure what its called...^_^). Try to make the fabric look like it overlaps and folds so that it doesn't look like its just plastered onto his head.

Step 5: Here is the final picture, colored in Adobe Photoshop. You may wish to use different mediums, though; I know that a lot of people prefer traditional mediums, so click here for a pencil version. Whichever medium you choose, make sure you properly shade your picture.

3/4 View Step 1: Next I'm going to go over how to draw Piccolo's face from a 3/4 angle, and without the turban/hat. ^_^ There are less steps for this one, because I personally think its easier than the front view. Start off with a large circle (the head is not so egg shaped without the turban/hat), and draw in the guidelines as shown. Note that there are less guidelines than in the first drawing; I just omitted the very top line because it is unnecesary. Make sure the top horizontal line (drawn in red) is angled slightly, since that is going to be the guideline for the eyes. Go ahead and draw the ears, as well.

Step 2: Draw in the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth. This time, draw the outline of the nose, not just the shadow. The eyebrows should be thick enough that the right one overlaps the left. The pupils are very small and lack any sort of light glares. The mouth is directly below the nose. Make sure that all the features are lined up along the central guideline that runs from the top of the head to the chin. Fill in the detail on the ears, as well.

Step 3: Next, gently erase the guidelines. Draw the antennae, making them relatively low on the head and distanced wide apart. Add the wrinkles under the eyes and mouth. Draw the upper half portion of his body; as with in the previous picture, the neck starts immediatly below the ears. Clean up your finished sketch as much as you can, and you're almost done. ^_^

Step 4: Here is the finished version, colored in Adobe Photoshop. Click here for a pencil version. You can make several variations on these two poses, depending upon what type of expression you would like. Try different eye and mouth sizes to express different emotions.

Drawing specific character : Vegeta (DBZ)

Front View Step 1: Most Dragonball Z characters can be drawn using these basic shapes and proportions. Dragonball Z characters all have similarly constructed faces: they have large foreheads, slanted, triangular eyes, and small lower faces. Once you see how the basic face is proportioned, it should be easier to draw whichever character you like. Begin by drawing a large, slightly elongated circle for the forehead. Draw the lower half of the face and divide it up with lightly drawn guidelines as shown. Notice that the lower half of his face can be divided up into equal sections; the main horizontal guidelines are equidistant from each other. He has a very large head, yet a relatively small face, so the circle should be much larger than the lower half of the face. Draw the slanted guidelines for the eyes, and sketch the position of the mouth (which should be directly below the guideline for the nose). Make sure all the guidelines are drawn lightly, because you are going to erase them later on.

Step 2: Draw the outline of the eyes, which are just blocky, angled trapezoids. Make sure the bottom and tops of the eyes line up with the slanted guideline you drew in earlier. Draw the nose and mouth, making them very small and close together. The nose should be sort of like a curved, blocky 'L' or wedge. Draw the ears, as well; they should be pretty big. Note the marks on the sides of his head just above the eyes; these are part of his eyebrow ridge, which is rather prominent since he has such a high hairline. To draw these, just make the sides of the face curve out slightly at the point where the lower half of the face meets the circle.

Step 3: Erase any unnecessary guidelines and sketch the outline of his hair. The hair is very large and spiky. He has a very high hairline, so make sure you don't draw the hair too low on the face. Add more detail to his eyes, and the shading under the mouth. When drawing his eyebrows, make sure that they rest directly above his eyes.

Step 4: Next, erase all the guidelines. Add the shading under his eyes and add detail to his ears, and draw the neck. DBZ necks are usually pretty wide, so make sure the neck starts just beneath the ears. Make sure to add some lines above his eyebrows to further develop the eyebrow ridge. Erase any unwanted lines and clean up your sketch.

Step 5: Take your final sketch and color or shade it however you like. Notice that the shading on his hair is very subtle (you can barely see it), but gives the otherwise flat spikes a little more dimension.

3/4 View Step 1: Next, we'll draw the 3/4 view. These proportions will work for other DBZ characters, too. Draw a large circle, then add the lower half of the face and divide the shapes up with guidelines. These are pretty much the same shapes as in the front view, except they have been rotated downwards and to the side. The 3/4 view has less guidelines than the front view, but that's only because adding them would be unneccesary at this angle. We'll only be using the guidelines for the eyes, nose, and the central guideline that runs from the forehead to the chin./font>

Step 2: Next, use the upper horizontal guideline to draw in the eyes. Draw the nose and mouth, making sure to draw the mouth very close to the nose. The features of the face should have very sharp angles. Notice that while on the front view his nose looks small, on the 3/4 view it is much longer and pointed. Draw his ear, too, which should be very large.

Step 3: Erase all the unnecessary guidelines. Draw the basic shape of his hair, making it very thick and pointy. Make sure you make his hairline very high. Add his pupils, eyebrows, and neck.

Step 4: Erase all unnecessary lines. Add the detail in his ears, and draw in the eyebrow ridges above his eyes. Again, his neck muscles are very large, so start them just below the ear. Clean up your sketch and prepare it for the final draft.

Step 5: Now that you have drawn his face, you can shade and color it however you like.

Super Saiyajin FormVegeta, like several other characters on DBZ, can transform into a Super Saiyan. To draw Vegeta (or anyone, for that matter) in Super Saiyajin form, you'll have to make a few adjustments to his face, as well as his hair. His head and body should be wider, while the face itself is smaller. The features are more slanted and grouped closer together. The lines of his face will be much more sharp and slanted, and his eyes will be much more narrow. These adjustments can be used on any Super Saiyajin. For the hair, basically just draw a series of sharply angled, pointed spikes that extrude from his scalp (make sure to draw his high hairline). It helps to draw the outline of his head, as shown in this picture, so you can tell where the hair should go. It's easy to make it too big or too small if you don't know where to position it. Even though it's spiky, make the hair full and rounded, rather than just using straight spikes. All the spikes should curve inward, not just stick straight.

Here's what the hair should look like when the guideline for the back of the head has been removed and the hair has been shaded. I did a sloppy job of coloring the hair, though; the shading should be much less rounded than it is in this particular picture. You can look at other pictures of him on the internet or elsewhere for further reference.

Drawing specific character : Goku (DBZ)

Front View Step 1: Most Dragonball Z characters can be drawn using these basic shapes and proportions. Dragonball Z characters all have similarly constructed faces: they have large foreheads, slanted, triangular eyes, and small lower faces. Once you see how the basic face is proportioned, it should be easier to draw whichever character you like. Begin by drawing a large, slightly elongated circle for the forehead. Draw the lower half of the face and divide it up with lightly drawn guidelines as shown. Notice that the lower half of his face can be divided up into equal sections; the main horizontal guidelines are equidistant from each other. Draw the slanted guidelines for the eyes, and sketch the position of the mouth (which should be directly below the guideline for the nose). Make sure all the guidelines are drawn lightly, because you are going to erase them later on.

Step 2: Erase some of the unnecessary guidelines. Draw the outline of the eyes, which are just blocky, angled trapezoids. Make sure the bottom of the eyes line up with the slanted guideline you drew in earlier.

Step 3: Next, sketch the outline of his hair. The hair is very large and spiky; notice how it smooths out slightly on the right side (our right, not his) of his head, though. Add more detail to his eyes and ears. When drawing his eyebrows, make sure that they rest directly above his eyes. Draw the nose and mouth next, making them very small and close together. The nose should be sort of like a blocky 'L' or wedge.

Step 4: Next, erase all the guidelines. Add the shading under his eyes and mouth, and add detail to his ears. Next, draw the neck, muscles, and clothing. DBZ necks are usually pretty wide, so make sure the neck starts just beneath the ears. Erase any unwanted lines and clean up your sketch.

Step 5: Take your final sketch and color or shade it however you like. Notice that the shading on his hair is very subtle, and gives the otherwise flat spikes more dimension, so you know his hair doesn't just go straight back like Ryoko's (from Tenchi Muyo), it kind of sticks out in all directions. ^_^

3/4 View Step 1: Next, we'll draw the 3/4 view. These proportions will work for other DBZ characters, too. Draw a large circle, then add the lower half of the face and divide the shapes up with guidelines. These are pretty much the same shapes as in the front view, except they have been rotated downwards and to the side. The 3/4 view has less guidelines than the front view, but that's only because adding them would be unneccesary at this angle. We'll only be using the guidelines for the eyes, nose, and the central guideline that runs from the forehead to the chin.

Step 2: Next, use the upper horizontal guideline to draw in the eyes and eyebrows. Draw the nose and mouth, making sure to draw the mouth very close to the nose. The features of the face should have very sharp angles. Notice that while on the front view his nose looks small, on the 3/4 view it is much longer and pointed.

Step 3: Erase all the guidelines. Draw the basic shape of his hair, making it very thick and rounded. Notice again that the hair flattens and rounds out on the right side of his head. Add his pupils, draw in the eyebrow ridges above his eyes, and shade beneath his mouth.

Step 4: Erase all unnecessary lines. Add the detail in his ears, and add shading to his eyes. I added a few light glares to his pupils out of habit, even though DBZ characters almost never have such details on the eyes. You can leave them out if you like, but I think they look fine. Again, his neck muscles are very large, so start them just below the ear. Add the rest of his muscles and clothes, then clean up your sketch and prepare it for the final draft.

Step 5: Now that you have drawn his face, you can shade and color it however you like. Notice again that the subtle shading on the hair shows that it sticks out in various directions rather than just going straight back. Make sure to try to include this if you shade your picture.

Super Saiyajin FormGoku, like several other characters on DBZ, can transform into a Super Saiyajin (yes, that is an accepted spelling, so stop bugging me about it). From what I could discern from the internet, he has at least three or four different forms, but I really don't have the patience to go through each of them. The differences are slight, anyway, and if you know which features to exaggerate, its not that much of a problem. To draw Goku (or anyone, for that matter) in Super Saiyajin form, you'll have to make a few adjustments to his face, as well as his hair. His head and body should be wider, while the face itself is smaller. The features are more slanted and grouped closer together. The lines of his face will be much more sharp and slanted, and his eyes will be much more narrow. The chest and arm muscles are increasingly larger and rounder for every further transformation. These adjustments can be used on any Super Saiyajin. For the hair, basically just draw a series of sharply angled, pointed spikes that extrude from his scalp. It helps to draw the outline of his head, as shown in this picture, so you can tell where the hair should go. It's easy to make it too big or too small if you don't know where to position it. Even though it's spiky, make the hair full and rounded, rather than just using straight spikes. All the spikes should curve inward, not just stick straight.

Here's what the hair should look like when the guideline for the back of the head has been removed and the hair has been shaded. I did a sloppy job of coloring the hair, though; the shading should be much less rounded than it is in this particular picture. You can look at other pictures of him on the internet or elsewhere for further reference.

Basic clothes fold

The most important thing to consider whenever you are drawing clothing or any type of fabric is the direction the fabric is going to be pulled in. Folds are caused wherever the fabric is being stretched or pulled; figure out how exactly you want the fabric to move, and the rest is pretty easy. Always remember to consider the figure beneath the clothing; the cloth should reveal the shape of the figure beneath. I'll go into more detail on this later. At the left are some examples of basic types of folds. Notice the movement of each example shown; the fabric flows downward on the top left two, for they are being pulled down by gravity. This type of fold would be on something that hangs loosely, such as a cape or long shirt. On the lower left and upper right examples, the fabric is not only pulled by gravity, but stretched to the left (probably by an arm that is underneath the clothing). The folds become more horizontal than vertical the further it is stretched. Also notice how sometimes the folds are nested within one another. This will often occur at joints or areas in which loose clothing is bunched up. The lower right picture is a slightly more complex example of a more inert piece of cloth being pulled in a viarety of directions. Notice how the folds follow the direction that the cloth is being pulled in.

Here are a few more examples of basic fold shapes. On the left, the cloth is being pulled downwards by gravity and to the right by wind or motion. One the left, the long strip of cloth is bunched up near the top. Remember to use shading to give your subjects more form. Generally, you shade along a fold line, or on any places that you think a shadow would be cast. This takes some getting used to. It helps to look at actual folds sometimes to see where to shade. Sometimes, I'll sketch the drapes or a towel hung over a chair just to practice and get a better feel for how clothing is shaded.

Here are a few more random examples, of a bow and some sleeves. The most important thing to note here is the shape of the folds at the joint of the sleeve in the middle.

These are some more complex, overlapping and nested folds. The more detail you put into it the folds, the more interesting it will look. On the left, notice how the fabric bunches up where it is tied together; the weight of the fabric pulls it down and causes extra creases and folds to form where it is gathered together. The tie itself is drawn with lots of detail, and the cloth beneath it blows loosely in the wind. The fabric is shaded around the folds and in the crevasses formed by the cloth. On the picture to the right, a length of fabric is draped upon the floor; notice how the folds nest in one another and overlap, creating an interesting effect.

Another thing I want to point out is the thickness of the fabric in question. The fabric on the top example appears thinner than the fabric in the lower example. Take note of both collars. On the top, the circular rim of the collar connects directly to the rest of the collar, while on the bottom, there is a space between the circular rim and the vertical part. The same applies to the edges of the cape. While on the top example, the edge is crisp and thin, on the bottom example there is extra space between the rim and the rest of the cape. This extra space makes the clothing look more thick and heavy.

Basic hair drawing

Depending on the style, anime hair can be very complex. However, if you break it down into its basic components, the process of drawing anime hair becomes a little simpler. Like real hair, anime hair is composed of many strands. However, rather than drawing each individual strand, the hair is often drawn in various sized/shaped clumps, as shown here. These are some of the simplest forms of each hair style. Notice that in most cases, the outline is more curvy on the bottom of the hair clump. This is especially apparent on the top leftmost example; the lower line is curvier than the top line, giving the hair more depth and more of that anime-ish look. Sometimes this is highly exaggerated, and other times it is hardly noticable, but for most anime hair styles, each individual strand of hair will have this basic shape.

Once you know how to draw each strand/clump of hair, you can start putting them together to form more something that more resembles anime hair. Look at each example here (well, exept maybe for that one on the lower left; I'm not sure why I left that in), and notice how the basic strands from the first step are used. The same similar shapes generally persist throughout many different hairstyles. Making one line curve out more than the other on each strand can really help to flesh it out. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can make the hair as detailed as you like; just keep adding more strands. I'll go over this more shortly. ^_^

Now, we are getting into some slightly more complex shapes. Notice how varying the size and shape of each strand gives the hair different character; the strands can be long and thin, thick and curvy, or sharp and spiky. Again, notice that you can either make the hair very detailed, or very simple, depending on how many individual strands you draw.

Digital

Digital:

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Manga Studio
3.0 Debut

Manga Studio 3.0 Debut is quickly becoming the standard for beginners and experts alike that want to creat manga digitally. The software allows you to scan in artwork you've already drawn, or create art work directly in the program, then add tones, layout, dialoge balloons, special effects and more.

The software comes pre-loaded with a variety of different manga elements, and you can of course use a pen-tablet to easily create anything you can imagine within the software. Both the Macintosh and the Windows version are available right here at Manga University!

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Manga Studio
3.0 Debut

If you've been looking for an easy way to make your own manga, look no further! Tokyopop Manga Creator combines a powerful but simple drag-and-drop software application with authentic Tokyopop art and manga-ka tools, to give you everything you need to create your own manga!

If you're an aspiring artist, simply create a storyline, drag and drop Tokyopop art and manga-ka tools like speed lines and manga facial expressions into over 100 templates, add your own words, and your manga is finished!

If you're already a manga artist, simply point the software to the folder that contains your digital art. Your workspace will quickly be populated with thumbnails of your images. Then, drag and drop them into the panels on each page, for a manga only you could create!

Coloring

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Copic Sets

Coloring: For coloring manga artwork we have a variety of Copic marker sets available. Copic markers are double-tipped, professional quality markers intended for coloring in manga illustrations that are available in hundreds of colors, and blend very cleanly with minimal bleeding and streaking. Don't be gouged by retailers selling these markers for almost 6 dollars a-piece, it's a ridiculous mark-up for such a small item.

We sell our copic sets without cases in order to lower our shipping costs and then pass that discount to you-the customer. In fact buying a Copic set from us will save you almost $150 off of the retail price.

Tone

Tones: Black and white manga art that isn't done digitally are shaded with plastic adhesive sheets called "screen tones." These sheets are laid on top of the original art and then cut out to fit the artwork. Manga University students like to train with our tone-kits, which contain a set of four sheets, a knife and cutting mat. The workbooks contain several liscence-free background pictures drawn by professional Japanese artists that anyone can use in their manga. Each background comes in both toned and un-toned, so you can practice adding tone on it yourself, or add different tones to suit your scene!

Art supplies : Pen

Pens: There are two kinds of pens manga artists tend to use, the traditional nib-and-holder inkwell pen, and an all in one cartridge pen that doesn't need to be dipped in an ink bottle, but has a similarly styled nib.

We have three pen sets that cover these products available:
Depending on your experience the Tachikawa all-in-one pen may be the best choice because it is simple, clean, and easy for beginners. It works just like an inkwell pen, but the ink is inside a cartridge -- so there's no dipping, no spills and no fus. Even pros pick up this pen because you get the look and feel of a regular pen, with the portability and ease of a marker. Even a seasoned pro wouldn't use a bottle of ink on an airplane, they'd take their trusty tachikawa all-in-one.

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the MU Pen Set

Choosing the right supplies for your drawing in a traditional inkwell pen can be confusing. Manga artists tend to use different kinds of nibs, pen holders, and ink, many of which are hard to find outside of Japan -- but Manga University makes it easy! The MU Pen Set is an all new inkwell pen set put together by us with three of the most common manga-pen nibs (the G-pen nib, the school nib, and the round nib) a pen holder, and a bottle of ink at an unbeatable price. It's all you need to get started drawing manga the professional way.

Drawing Female Manga body.

 All right, now that we've gone over the major areas in detail, lets put them all together and make a full body pose. :) When drawing your subject, you can either begin with the prelimiary ovals and circles, or you can go straight to the final draft, whichever you are most comforable with. If you are using circles and ovals, then you will notice that the main body (torso and pelvis) are composed of two basic shapes, both of which curve inwards towards the stomach. I'm not going to go over these a lot, because they have been well documented in other figure drawing tutorials. ^_^ Make sure that both of these shapes, as well as the head, are aligned along a central guidline (as shown). This guidline is pretty much the spine of the character, and will determine the pose she is going to be in. Notice here that the center line curves to the left a little on the pelvis; this is because her weight is shifted and her left hip sticks out slightly (which makes the pose a little more interesting than if her weight is evenly balanced). The body can be equally divided in half as shown to by the red guidlines. You can use that as a general reference when determing how long the legs should be in proportion to the rest of the body, but often times in anime the length of the legs is exaggerated, for both males and females, and it looks just fine.
When drawing the midsection, remember to try to keep the hourglass figure shape. Female anime characters will generally have thin shoulders, a thin stomach, and a somewhat round waist. Be careful to make the curves look natural, unless you are really good at figure drawing and can exaggerate the proportions.


 Here is a similar pose, this time shown at a side angle. I have found side views to be difficult, since I had a hard time finding decent reference pictures. ^_^ Notice that the body is composed of the same basic shapes, except the shapes have been rotated around. One of the things you need to consider when drawing from this angle is the shape of the upper torso. It isn't shown very well here, but as you come straight down from the neck, the chest will stick out slightly at a sharp angle as you come to the collarbone. After that point, the torso is drawn at a smooth diagonal until you reach the hemisphere shape of the breasts (remember that they are half spheres; don't draw them like beach balls!) Beneath that, the torso continues to protrude outwards slightly until reach the bottom of what would be the ribcage (its a little over one headlength down from the shoulders). After the ribcage, curve back inwards a little for the stomach. Other things to look out for are the shape of the legs (the thighs round out in front, and are flatter in back, while the lower legs are just the opposite) and the subject's behind (make sure you don't exaggerate it too much). 


 

Drawing Manga

I think I am not really in this topic but I likes to draw a Manga. So I only know something about how to draw manga and some of the technique of Drawing Manga.