Creating your own

[boojitsu21]

I've thought of a concept and some ideas but i'm pretty bad at drawing my own characters (i'm REALLY good at drawing other people's stuff though)... so basically i'm good at imitation but not creation. I was hping to make a manga, so does anyone have any tips on character design or any good links that provide good ideas? thanks in advance !

-Boojitsu21

 

[Balko]

REALLY good at drawing people's stuff can mean two things. One, you can copy a picture onto another by hand just looking at it or two, you can really draw whatever you want, but you just can't make up clothes, faces and hair. If one, you are one of the many people who believe they are really good at drawing, but ignorant to the fact that a 10 year old can accomplish if he's enough of a perfectionist(I drew a picture of Samus, folds in her armor, and gun details and all) and that its really easy for a lot of people.

Sorry, I'm a bit harsh on people like that, but this one guy was like that and full of himself, and it turned out he sucked when drawing on his own. However, if you're type number two, then congrats. It really means taking inspirations from designs you like, and coming up with something new. There are a lot of people that you can study from like places in deviant art.

ex: osy057.deviantart.com
ps: I'm not allowed to post links yet, so I left the www part off.

 

[ScarletWitch]

i have no problem making up my own characters but the clothes and poses are what give me a hard time.

 

[Aaya]

You'll need a main character a new guy that has awesome hidden talent, or is just really good at fighting or whatever but isn't good at handling a group of people (his fighting buddies) Or a totally innocent guy like Son Goku. But the reason most people start the main character out stupid is because then the character has to be taught so then the readers can figure out what's going on.
also you need a bad guy that turns good for one reason or another, or a shadowy guy (gothic) sorta demonic or something. a ditsy blond girl all the guys can drool all over the pages about... you know, the works.

 

[Balko]

Hmm, for poses, I do the skeleton approach. Or stick figure. Draw a basic shape and then replace with the actual character figure.

Clothes are a bit tough, though. You should look at different things and mix them together. Most original clothing have been influenced one way or another by different styles.

when I get the time, I'll probably post some examples as to what I'm talking about.