Illustration Studio: Drawing Manga Heroines and Heroes

An interactive guide to drawing anime characters, props, and scenes step by step

Sonia Leong

• Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781633228054
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

Learn to draw your favorite manga and anime characters, and create your own, with Illustration Studio: Drawing Manga Heroines and Heroes! In this exciting extension of the interactive Illustration Studio series, learn how to illustrate a range of manga heroes, heroines, and characters —from male and female warriors and fighters to schoolgirls and boys, knights, angels, cyborgs, interstellar idols, and more. The Illustration Studio series features interactive exercises, creative prompts, and step-by-step exercises to educate and excite beginning and aspiring artists working in a variety of media and techniques, from manga and anime to illustration done in ink. Illustration Studio: Manga Heroines and Heroes teaches aspiring and beginning manga artists the basics for creating a range of popular characters, props and scenes. No matter your skill level, the drawing and colorization tips, loads of techniques, and step-by-step projects are instructive and helpful, while creative prompts and exercises invite personalization and participation inside the pages of the book.. You'll be guided through every step as you not only learn how to draw but also familiarize yourself with the vernacular and story lines associated with this popular art genre.

MECHA PILOT

IN JAPAN, GIANT ROBOTS ARE FEATURED IN VIDEO GAMES, AS FIGURINES, AND OF COURSE, ACROSS MANGA SERIES. THESE STALWARTS OF JAPANESE SCI-FI REQUIRE SKILLED PILOTS, WHO ARE FREQUENTLY THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE GENRE.

Fit: Think about the flight suits worn by modern-day pilots of supersonic jets, as well as athletes’ skin suits. A mecha pilot’s suit must allow for freedom of movement to access the controls and to make a quick escape, so their clothing can be loose or skin tight.

Protection: Mecha pilots’ clothing should protect their bodies from extremes, so you can incorporate life-support systems, blood-pressure regulators, or light armor into your drawings.

Connections: Add technology to your drawing. How does the pilot control the mecha? Is there a brain or neural link in the suit or headset, or are there controls in the pilot’s seat?

CHARACTER SHOWCASE: LUMINA

Lumina’s planet is under siege from alien forces. Although young, she is one of the few who can naturally communicate with the soul stones used in the control system of her planet’s defensive robots, so she was trained as a pilot from an early age.

PRACTICE!

Lumina’s suit is designed to be worn in an enclosed cockpit. She controls her mecha through the glowing stones around key parts of her body. Can you design an alternative suit that does the same thing?

STEP-BY-STEP: MECHA PILOT

DRAW THE PILOT IN THE COCKPIT USING HER SEAT AND DIGITAL/HOLOGRAPHIC CONTROL SYSTEM. ADD DEPTH AND DRAMA BY INCLUDING ANOTHER ROBOT IN THE DISTANCE.

I drew the figure with mechanical and colored pencils; then I scanned and colored it digitally.

Sketch lightly with a bright colored pencil.

Using a black pencil with thin lead, go over your sketch with thin, precise lines. Then scan and filter out the colors by reducing the saturation levels and increasing the contrast.

Fill in the midtone colors as your base color layer underneath the lines.

Add shadows on another layer and use the “shade”/“linear burn” setting so the colors are saturated to suit the strange lighting in the cockpit. Add glowing effects to the character’s eyes and pink stones to show they’re active; then create floating displays at her fingertips and in front of her eyes....

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Tools & Materials
• Drawing Basics
• Inking Basics
• Shading
• Coloring
• Contemporary Characters
• Fantasy Characters
• Science-Fiction Characters
• About the Artist
• Copyright