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DRAWING MANGA
The Characters
Contents
Drawing Male Lead Characters…………………………………………………………………3 The androgynous student………………………………………………………………………..3 The varsity team captain…………………………………………………………………………4 Army Special Forces rookie………………………………………………………………………5 Drawing Female Lead Characters………………………………………………………………..6 The daydreamer…………………………………………………………………………………….6 Martial arts warrior…………………………………………………………………………………7 Hi-tech girl………………………………………………………………………………… ………….8 Drawing Male Sidekick Characters……………………………………………………………….9 Hustle with Mr. Muscle…………………………………………………………………………….9 The loyal little brother…………………………………………………………………………..10 The intellectual veteran…………………………………………………………………… ……11 Drawing Female Sidekick Characters………………………………………………………….11 The nurturing and caring soul…………………………………………………………………12 The Dreaded Villains…………………………………………………………………… …………..12 The Handsome yet Icy-Cold Villain………………………………………………………….12 The Awesome Warrior………………………………………………………………….. ……….13 The Military Vixen…………………………………………………………………………………14 Enter the Grandmasters…………………………………………………………………………..15 The thin grandmaster……………………………………………………………………………15
Drawing Male Lead Characters
In this section, I show you how to draw popular male lead characters. These archetypes are always expanding and changing, just like every form of popular entertainment, but you should at least recognize the common trend that has flooded the popular manga market for the past several decades.
The androgynous student
The androgynous student is usually absent-minded and quiet at first. However, deep inside, hes packing a secret: He has some kind of mystical power that he cant divulge for some reason. An androgynous quality is likely to physically appeal to both male and female readers, regardless of age. This quality paints an image that most readers can relate to — this guy is the innocent, naïve underdog whos ready to conquer the great obstacles that lay before him. Readers anticipate the radical transformation hes about to experience that will change the flow of the entire story. Here are some traits or patterns that the androgynous student often possesses: _ Shyness: At least from the outside. _ An androgynous face: His face isnt too cute; maybe his eyes have some flare. _ Hidden powers: Hes just figuring things out as the story progresses. _ A lean (but not wimpy) build: When he goes through transformation, his body changes into something more athletic, but nothing too drastic. _ Long, jagged hair: Youre going for that dishevelled yaoi (androgynous) look. _ The high school uniform: He should always be wearing it, and the top buttons should come down when his darker side awakens. Keeping these traits in mind, follow these steps to create the androgynous student: 1. Draw the wire figure with narrow shoulders and teenage proportions — approximately 6 heads tall Keep the pose simple and strong. For example, position him with one hand on his hips and the other open as if hes sensing danger around him and preparing for battle. 2. Define the body, so that it looks more human. I lightly draw the geometric shapes (knowing that I will erase them in the final draft). Because my character is still a teenager, I keep the width of his shoulders and waist the same (the shoulder width grows wider as a male matures). I define the basic body muscle structure, so that the figure looks more realistic and believable. Because teenagers have yet to fully develop their muscles, I keep them toned down. At this stage, Im pretty sure that his school uniform will cover up his body. I keep the body lines light and fairly rough so that I can easily erase them. 3. Draw the head shape and facial features, and lightly draw the undershirt, pants, and shoes I draw the yaoi hairstyle that has smoother edges in addition to the large eyes, small nose, and tiny mouth. Keep his mouth small, because this archetype is very cool and rarely displays extreme emotions by opening up to scream, laugh, or cry. To add drama to the overall feel of the pose, I keep the clothing shapes loose to give the illusion that wind and energy are blowing all around him. Keeping the lines light is still important at this stage (you want to make sure that you can make changes to the lines without too much trouble). 4. Refine the head and facial features, finish the school uniform, and add some cool effects I shade in the detail of his hair and render in the eyes. To show the smooth and loose quality of his hair, I leave large portions unshaded for highlights. I also draw some loose strands of hair crossing over his forehead and eyes. I draw the school uniform jacket with exaggerated folds. Characters who you want to portray as tough or strong should have the front of their school uniform jacket open. This trick makes the shoulders look wider and exposes the pectoralis (chest muscles), which are associated with Adding tattered bits of leaves or debris blowing around the character creates a cool effect of unseen energy flowing around him.
The varsity team captain
The most popular varsity sports in manga are tennis, soccer, baseball, and martial arts. Varsity team captain characters sport the same yaoi hairstyle as the androgynous student (see the previous section), but they have fuller proportions. Theyre passionate about what they do and arent afraid to bleed in order to win. Following are some common traits of the varsity team captain character: _ Focus: Hes all about hardcore training. _ An underdog mentality: Of course, he