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[venatorinc]

Hey you guys, haven't been on this forum for quite a time, so I decided to post some art again

So last week I started trying to make some art which would be anime-like.
Hope you like it
I've only tried drawing girls yet, but that's okay. Made the girls really girly, like pink background  




__EDIT__:
I've changed the title, I'm just gonna post all the stuff I wanna show, not just manga/anime

Greets,
Lorenzo

[Hempuli‽]

First of all, the usual one: manga-like, not anime-like.

Anyway, I suggest that in future you post your art pieces to the 'Art' -thread, unless you plan to do some bigger series of pictures. It is often considered better to use existing threads than creating new.

For the art, I personally detest the way people want to draw 'manga', because that often leads to them learning a style that isn't their own, and for me it feels a shame because in my opinion the most important thing in drawing is your own style. Sure, drawing 'manga' can give you great lessons on anatomy and perspective, but usually people seem to think of it as a shortcut that allows you to draw well without learning anything, especially when it's about chibi.

My personal ramblings aside, you've got a nice start but there sure are many places you could improve. I think the place requiring most improvement would be the face/head proportions. The ears are very small, and their location s a bit strange compared to the eyes. Also the eyes are placed a bit far away from each other in the first pic, which makes the girl look a bit awkward. The forehead and hairline is always a problem, but you got it much better in the second picture - in the first one there's practically no forehead at all.

There'd be much more to say, but it'd be a bit stupid to list all the nitpicks and good things - overall I suggest that you should just draw as much as possible, and for sure take a look at an anatomy book. You know, drawing is a thing you learn just by studying it hard and drawing a lot. When it comes to this 'manga' subject, I usually tend to end up sounding rude, but I said all this as advice; your works are a lot better than most of the art that people post in "I drawed ANIME AWSUM" -threads!

[Bree]

Greetings Lorenzo. I'd honestly recommend that you post your work in the Art thread next time, but this is fine for now. The clothing also needs work. The first drawing has the shirt on the same line as the body, as if it were painted on the body. This can work as a deliberate style choice, but you seem to be leaning towards a more realistic look. One thing I'd recommend is doing more life drawing and anatomy- even if you're wanting to do less realistic work, it's important to understand how people are put together. The better you can understand reality, the better you can distort it entirely. Try drawing yourself in the mirror, or your friends, or even use models from places like Posemaniacs.com.

As for the anime/manga-drawing style: Everyone has to start somewhere. Hell, I used to draw like that for several years. This is not a bad thing. It is not a bad thing to draw in an anime/manga style, in the same way that tracing drawings is not a bad thing; it is a crutch in both positive and negative terms. Emulating your favorite artists is a great way to get started, but you have to eventually branch out and try to define your own style. Try combining different elements of artists you like- no matter what the Internet says, not every Japanese comic is drawn the same way. Mix and match parts that you like, and try to pull from a variety of sources. Just like there's no shame in referencing Japanese artists, there is no shame in referencing American artists. Checking out different styles of the fine arts wouldn't be a bad idea, either- who knows, you might end up making a Cubist-Anime hybrid comic?

Hope all this helps- I wish you the best of luck!

[BlueSweatshirt]

If it helps you at all, I find that my manga turns out better when I'm trying to make it look as real as possible, rather than as manga or anime-like(referencing to the actual art styles used in anime shows, since that's where most people get a lot of their inspiration for drawing anime.) as possible.

[P-Flute]

Hempuli and Theo gave some great advice.  I can tell you're putting effort into these, and that's vital; keep pushing ahead like this.

If it helps you at all, I find that my manga turns out better when I'm trying to make it look as real as possible, rather than as manga or anime-like(referencing to the actual art styles used in anime shows, since that's where most people get a lot of their inspiration for drawing anime.) as possible.

This, majorly.

My advice would mainly be summed up in two points;

1. Draw.  A lot.  Practice is your absolute best tool.

2. Practice smart.  Drawing your favorite anime characters over and over will net you some improvement, sure, but if you really want to jump up in skill levels you've got to focus in laser-sharp and know what to work on. 

Draw from life/actual people!  Any mangaka worth his or her salt has done the same, and just copying them won't get you anywhere.  Illustrated characters of all make and manner get their charm and weight from their relations to real, relatable anatomy.  (Just like Theo said!)

Practicing has nothing to do with making presentable art!  This is the one you have to look in the mirror and drill in: NOTHING.  You're practicing to learn, not to impress.  No matter how hard you fail you have to keep pushing forward; letting yourself fail over and over and reflecting on those failures is a road to success.  Stopping every other sketch halfway through because it's not pretty enough is not.

Secret Step 3.   Stay healthy, stay motivated.  If you get sick of anatomy practice and just want to take a break and do IDK, Naruto fanart or something, whatever, go ahead.  It's important to keep your energy and focus up.  Enjoy your drawing.

[venatorinc]

Woww, lot of comments when I was gone. And every single one of them is awesome Normally people are saying dumb stuff that doesn't help out, but these critics are awesome. Thanks.

At first:
Isn't it manga when it's drawn on paper, and anime when it's digital or animated?

Second:
Haha, I know practice is the best way to get better. Of course it is. I've been drawing for over 4 years.
I know it's best to keep your own style. I just wanted to learn how to draw manga/anime , because I think it looks awesome. So I tried, but it's not completely manga/anime: I kept my own style aswell. That's the nice part, whatever I do, no matter how hard I try: I never lose my style. Sometimes that's negative, but mostly positive

The funny thing is, my teacher wants the class to draw selfportraits on paper for next tuesday. So I actually WILL be drawing myself , also to practice :O :D

@P-Flute:

Whenever I lose my motivation, I usually just quit XD But I'll be trying to keep practicing, no matter how long it takes

And no, I DON'T draw to impress people: I mostly just want to impress myself. Drawing is a hobby of mine, so I just draw for fun, I just really like it.
But, when people DO get impressed, it's just nice to hear: it keeps my motivation up


So thanks guys, keep posting great comments like this.

Greets,
Lorenzo

PS: I didn't post this in an existing tread on purpose: I WILL be posting more pics here, It won't stay with these 2.

[biomechanic]

manga = comics (in Japan)
manga = Japanese comics (elsewhere)
anime = animation (in Japan)
anime = Japanese animation (elsewhere)

If what you mean is that your characters are visually reminiscent of manga/anime stereotype then it doesn't really matter wheteher you call your stuff anime- or manga-like.

[pogo]

Actually anime isn't just japanese cartoons. Anime is french for animation.

[Bree]

Anime is short for the Engrish version of animation, but regardless...

Good to hear that you're doing life drawing! I hope you'll post it later so that we can see how it looks. I'm kind of curious, though- which artists are you drawing inspiration from? It's not a big deal, I'm just curious. I like hearing who artists are influenced by. Second, are you wanting to do straight-up illustration, or are you wanting to do comics as well? If so, I might be able to offer you some extra advice- I'm still a bit of a noob, but I can at least give you a few resources to get started.

[venatorinc]

How you mean "which artist im drawing inspiration from"? U mean what artist's work I'm looking at to learn this?
None :D Well, I have read one tutorial, just to see what the difference between normal drawings and anime/manga drawings are.but that's pretty much it

http://crysa.deviantart.com/art/Drawing-Anime-Faces-Tutorial-27409024
This girl, she's really good. Learned manga/anime thanks to her.

Well, at the moment I'm just doing straight-up illustrations, but it would be awesome to do comics aswell.
Problem is: I'm not good at storylines. No, in fact, I suck at storylines 

So, if someone could help with the storyline, I will make comics.
Make sure to keep the story short at first, so it could be a 1-page comic first, just to see how it turns out.

Greets,
Lorenzo

[Bree]

Ahhh, I see. Well, if you're interested in drawing more of a shoujo style, I'd suggest reading comics like Fruits Basket and Ouran Host Club. I'd also recommend picking up a magazine like Yen+ or Shonen Jump to get an idea of the variety of styles you can find within the base manga style. If you don't mind, do you have links to any of your non-anime illustrations?

[venatorinc]

Hmm, now you mention it, I really don't :S Well, I guess I have some non-anime drawings, but they're drawn with hand, and most of them are from when I was the age of 11 or 12, when I just started

But most of my drawing-books got lost, so I can't really find my drawings anymore.

By the way, I also got some hand-drawn manga girls, you'd want me to scan them in or is this forum only for digital-illustrations..?

PS: The drawing I'll have to do for school will be realistic, so it won't be manga. I will show that around tuesday, okay?

[BlueSweatshirt]

Shonen Jump is really good. 
Sometimes I go through and study/sketch some of the poses and expressions of the characters I see, it's great practice.

It's fine to post art made in any medium here, don't worry! 

[venatorinc]

Changed topic title, im just gonna post all kinds of art, not just manga/anime.

But for now, I still got 2 hand-drawn manga drawings:



And my first fully filled paper(filled with random stuff XD but I think it looks awesome):

[J. R. Hill]

An entire game done with grafitti aesthetics would be awesome.

[venatorinc]

how you mean? A game which's drawings have the style of the last drawing?

[J. R. Hill]

Yeah, though I'm not sure how to implement it at all, haha.

[Renton]

Go study some anatomy. NOW.

[CosmicMaher]

Yeah, though I'm not sure how to implement it at all, haha.

the world ends with you?

[J. R. Hill]

I mean like the entire world is graffiti.  Not games like The World Ends with You or the Jet Grind series that include it in a more realistic world.