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How to draw anime

amazed_by_grace

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Hey! Need advice.. I'll be going to this massive and way cool comic book store like 300 miles away in a few weeks and I know they have a huge stock of anime related stuff... can anyone advise me as to which would be the best book to get if i want to learn to draw anime totally from scratch (as in im terrible at drawing and need to start at the VERY beginning!). I don't really know what they have apart from 'how to draw manga'.. is that good? Also, in terms of comics or just books what would be the best, cleanest (i don't want porn) anime to get? I'm really having trouble getting hold of any anime at all cause this place is the nearest stockist of any anime stuff within hundreds of miles! Any advice would really help! Thanks so much!
 

taboo

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The best way to learn how to draw anime would be to learn your basics first. Get good at perspective and anatomy and the world of drawing is your oyster. :3

Good anime:

Ruroni kenshin (more realistic-ish)
One piece (despite the cartoony look, the artist is AMAZING.)
naruto (good art, anatomy is great)
trigun (more violent)
 
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bellascratch

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i don't have access to all 'How to draw anime books' but even if you had them they wouldn't be much help unless you practised. However, i did find a lot of useful tutorials on the web by searching in google or the links section in artist's sites.
i practise a lot, but not only with anime style, you should look up human anatomy and things like that, it helps too.
 
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bobbichan

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I've found that the how to draw manga books tend to be a bit on the expensive side. I would rather spend my money on art supplies instead of buying a book that teaches you how to draw in a certian style. The most important things you should learn how to do are these:

- Learn how to draw people. You can look at books all day on drawing anime characters, but until you learn enough about people and how to draw them, your anime characters may not look believeable... unless you're drawing chibis. Usually the only thing that tends to differ in my anime art from lifelike/realistic people is the shape of the face, eyes, nose, mouth and hair. I spend more time trying to get my bodies to look believeable. I look a lot at reference pictures, and my own feet and hands while drawing.

- Learn the Key basics about anime style Once you learn how to draw certian key parts of anime, the rest will come easily. For me, it was always the eyes and nose and especially the hairthat took the most work. Anime is not much different than cartooning more realistically proportioned people. You're just changing features on the face.

- Develop your own style You can draw all of your Sailormoon fan art and make it all look exactly like Sailor Moon. You can draw all of your characters so they resemble DBZ in style. However, I've found that your art won't truly be appreciated until you're able to develop your own style. This is coming from a person who has been selling artwork at anime conventions for about two years. If you really want people to take notice, you have to make your art stand out from the rest.

- Expand your Horizons Instead of just drawing anime all the time, expand your horizons by attempting different media, and even different forms of art all together. Try fantasy or sci-fi art. Try pure realisim. Try abstract art. In the end, it will help to improve your anime art as you become a better artist. Also, I've heard of people who have gone to art college in recent years for the sole purpose of wanting to be manga-ka (manga artists). Well, I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but that isn't very profitable. Everyone wants to be another MegaTokyo (an american manga). You must realize that anime art is just another style of cartooning. If you want to be a real artist, you have to experiment and find other mediums. I've been drawing anime since 2000, but I only see it as a hobby. I enjoy it, but I know I won't ever make a real living from it. You must be realisticly minded when it comes to this.

All in all, you don't really need a book to tell you how to draw in this style. There are so many excellent tutorials online for free. I'll link a few of them for you. =)

http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial/tutorial.html
http://www.rydia.net/kathy/home.html
http://www.bakaneko.com/
http://members.tripod.com/~digityze/howto/index.html
http://omu.kuiki.net/

I've also found that studying other people's art and the way they draw and shade certian parts is very helpful. I don't copy anyone's art, but it's useful for both inspiration and help when I'm stuck on ceritan things (like making eyes look right)
 
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anaidnotrevo

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There are tons of websites...just search on google ( www.google.com )!!!

Here is a tutorial on drawing characters fighting:
http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/fighting/fight.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/7946/crock3.html

General:
http://www.bakaneko.com/howto/
http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial/tutorial.html
http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/
http://eclipseunleashed.com/tut/body/

The best advice I can give you is to get some manga and find out for yourself how to do it though. Sure the tutorials can be a lot of help, but in the end you're going to have to find your own way of doing it. (You could get some at the library, buy them at the book store, or go to the book store and just look at them there.)
 
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lightningprophetess

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lol yeah! I like the stinkoman StrongBad episode too!!

---
but on the subject of clean drawing books to get...even though some of the How to Draw Manga books can be sketchy, go for the Christopher Hart books---> Manga Mania. There are a few volumes depending on your tastes. The basic book is Manga Mania. Other ones in that series are: Anime Mania, Mecha Mania., Manga Mania: Fantasy Worlds, Manga Mania Shoujo, and Manga Mania Villiains. The good thing about the C. Hart books is that it is more simplified than the How to Draw Manga ones. Those to me for those who start out are kind of advanced. I own the last 3 in and Manga Mania. But they also good for character designs as well which again How to Draw Manga is more advanced.

Even though those are good books...some of the How to Draw Manga Books are sketchy (i.e. Couples, Pretty Girls and Bishoujo, and maids and miko) are a few of the sketchy titles. Now they have a good anatomy book and a perspective book as well. But for you starting out get the How to Draw Manga--> Getting Started book. Like the C. Hart books, this one is a good foundational one.

Happy searching at the Anime Store ^^
 
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