How to create your own anime or manga character.

Twitter user from Japan under the name Maruraba delights subscribers with his perseverance and perseverance, drawing anime characters in Excel program. To do this, he uses different forms, the number of which for one work can exceed a thousand. Maruraba's drawings are indistinguishable from those made in professional graphic editors.

Many people around the world simply love anime and are ready to practically tear anyone apart for it. . Lovers of this culture show their passion in different ways: someone, and someone simply draws their favorite characters.

But for one Twitter user named Maruraba ( Maruraba) draw on paper or in specialized program it would be too easy. Therefore, he chose for his work a spreadsheet program familiar to almost everyone - Microsoft Excel. And here's the picture he got in it.

You probably do not believe that it is possible to draw in Excel, which is used by most for spreadsheets and calculations. But Maruraba makes the impossible possible, although it takes him a huge amount of time.

Here is what the same drawing looks like, but still in work.

It is all made up of huge amount different shapes that the user adds, hand paints and rotates to create the pattern he wants.

This work can take several months. It all starts with a few lines and the most difficult thing is the eyes, on which the user, in his own words, spends hours.

The sketch above was made in November, but here is what the same work looked like already in January.

And finally, here is the final result.

It happens that in the drawings of Maruraba several heroes appear at once. The total number of forms on this one is 1,182, as the artist himself admitted.

And this is what he looked like at the end.

Maruraba has been drawing in Excel for a long time, so he has a lot of drawings. Distinguish them from works done in graphics editor is really difficult.

Every anime lover at least once, but wondered how his favorite anime films and series are still created. It only at first glance may seem that creating an anime is very simple. In fact, this whole laborious process can be conditionally divided into several stages.

The first and most important stage is the search for an idea and money for its implementation. Long before drawing the first frame, the creators come up with their own plot or take a certain manga or game as a basis. By the way, money plays a fundamental role in the production of anime, so the initiator of the creation of a series or film is, as a rule, a studio or a company that promotes its product. For example, it takes an average of 150-300 thousand dollars to create one episode lasting twenty-five minutes.

After the money for the creation of the anime has been found, the second stage begins - writing the script and working out all the details of the plot. The plot should be coherent and logical. The script is usually handled by either one screenwriter or whole team of people. If the source is taken as a basis (manga or game), then the opinion of its author has the greatest weight in solving all creative issues that arise in the process of work, such as the color of the main character's clothes or the twist of the storyline.

After a lengthy (or not so) discussion of the script and its approval, the specialists proceed to the storyboard. This is a rather long process, during which the anime is more like a manga. Main director or the director of a certain episode sequentially draws scenes on a regular A4 sheet as they will look directly in the anime. A storyboard is a rough sketch that focuses on the main characters, camera positions, and the main objects on the screen. It is noteworthy that each series can include three hundred or more scenes, the drawing of which takes about three weeks. By the way, this moment is very comically and clearly depicted in an anime called "White Box": when the team did not fit into the schedule, the director had to be locked in a cage so that he would draw storyboards for latest episodes series.

Before drawing a storyboard, it is very important to create characters suitable for animation. Therefore, designers face a non-trivial task: to preserve appearance characters depicted in the original, but to simplify it so that the animation of each frame does not turn into a real nightmare for the artist.

Once the design and storyboarding is done, the team starts drawing the layouts. A layout is an image of a certain scene taken from a storyboard, but already drawn on a large sheet of paper. Layout artists, supervised by directors, celebrate different colors places that are the background, and then focus on the animated parts of the picture, called "cels" (cels). As a rule, here the character is depicted on a transparent sheet of paper separately from the background. The artists then write the instructions for the camera movement and other nuances that the animators will need to complete their work. Finished drawings are scanned, and then one copy is given to the background artists and the other to the keyframe animators.

Keyframes are a kind of framework for the entire animation, which can subsequently be finalized and ultimately becomes exactly what the audience sees on the screen. This is the name of the main positions in which the characters and the objects around them are located during movement.

Keyframe animators drawing set quantity frames per second. The speed, as a rule, depends on the task and the scene itself. Drawing keyframes is quite difficult and really creative process. The quality of animation depends on these animators, because it is very important to show vivid emotions and correctly convey the dynamics of the characters' actions.

Most often, not one, but several key animators are involved in the work. Therefore, there may be a risk of discrepancy between the drawings and their inconsistency with each other. The solution to this problem, as a rule, is handled by animation directors. They check the drawings of all key animators and may even redraw some fragments.

The finished animation and drawn backgrounds are scanned and colored in special program on the computer. After that, animated frames are superimposed on the background. The management team of the studio reviews the finished material and either sends it for revision, or approves it, and then sits down to work on the next scene. When all the scenes of the series are ready, the material is transferred to recording studio where characters get their votes.

After the work done, the anime is ready!

Japan is a highly developed country whose technology is ahead of its time. calling card Japan, in addition to reliable cars and advanced technology, is anime. This type of animation is popular in Asia and other regions of the planet. It is not surprising that many are interested in how to learn how to draw anime from scratch.

If you want to learn this lesson, pay attention to my article. In it you will find helpful tips and step-by-step recommendations to make it easier to create anime-style drawings. If you haven't visited art school, showing perseverance and patience, master this technique.

• Pick up a tool. We are talking about leads and pencils of various hardness. You will need three different leads, which are sold either in wood frames or in the form of rods designed for mechanical instruments.
• Alternatively, buy a set of graphite sticks coated with a special layer. With their help, make quick sketches and easily shade large surfaces.
• You can't do without a good eraser. Better soft model. Otherwise, during operation, the upper layers of the paper will be damaged and “injured”. To minimize the risk of such an event, it is recommended to draw contours with thin lines.
• Draw anime with sharpened pencils and leads. Be sure to buy a good sharpener. After gaining experience, learn how to sharpen a tool with a knife.
• Proper execution hatching involves the use of a hollow sharpened tool. This speeds up and makes the task easier. Honestly, don't focus too much on this one. A beginner is allowed to do what is convenient and easier.
• Mastering the arts start with drawing contour drawings. To start, do some work linearly, applying light shadows in certain places. Get a kind quick sketch. Over time, hand movements will become confident, and you will be able to pay more attention to the black and white elaboration of the drawing.
• Hatching is much more difficult to master. Draw the elements as best you can closer friend to friend. Otherwise, the integrity of the object will be violated and the impression of striping will appear. At first, you can rub the traces of a pencil with a soft piece of paper or a finger.
• In the process of hatching a drawing, be sure to ensure that the distance between individual strokes is minimal. You can not use lines crossed at a large angle.
• Newbies make mistakes. Fortunately, the pencil is easily erased, only with extreme care. Otherwise, the paper will be severely damaged or certain area work will be blurry. Remember, putting a new layer of graphite on a damaged surface is difficult.
• If you want to remove a large amount of shading or slightly weaken the tone, use a special mass that resembles plasticine. It is characterized by the ability to easily absorb excess graphite. If it is not at hand, take a lump of bread.

You got the first idea how to learn how to draw anime from scratch. If you really like to draw, the lesson will become a hobby. Experts advise starting learning with simple projects, gradually increasing the complexity. Varieties of plot play minor role.

Beginners are not recommended to use complex motifs consisting of a large number elements. To get started, practice simple items and compositions. We are talking about fruits, vegetables and objects of a simple form. Watch the video below for a visual representation.

Video training and step by step lessons

Over time, switch to more complex plots and learn how to draw animals, buildings and machinery. Lastly, start drawing people. draw human face not easy, and the image of human emotions is completely difficult task.

Secrets of drawing anime with a pencil

Japanese cartoons, whose popularity can hardly be overestimated, have always been famous good plot, active development of events and bright heroes. After watching such an animated film, many people have a desire to master the art of drawing.

In this part of the article I will tell you how to learn how to draw anime with a pencil. Following my algorithm, draw beautiful drawings with a sheet of paper and a few pencils handy. As an example, I will give a technique for drawing a boy, consisting of several stages.

Before we consider step by step instructions, I note that japanese drawings have certain technical details. In particular, anime drawing is characterized by a technique that differs from other genres in drawing the face, eyes, nose and mouth. Since the outlines of the face have an approximate shape and are complemented big eyes It's easy to draw them.

1. Initial contours . Correctly place the contours of the picture, and only then draw the main contours little boy. To facilitate the stage, make the primary contour from rectangular shapes. The main thing is that they correspond to the size of body parts.
2. Head. Draw a rectangle for the head, and below that draw another rectangle for the neck. Starting from the neck, draw two arcs representing the shoulders. Then draw lines for the hands and place circles in their center, which are destined to become elbows. Hands are easier to draw with rectangles and lines.
3. Draw an oval face . In the anime genre, it resembles a regular rectangle connected to a triangle. These geometric figures draw together, and then delete the connecting line. The result is a face made in Japanese style, which is characterized by a narrow and sharp chin. It remains to add a few elements of a fashionable suit.
4. Elements. The next step involves adding various elements to the drawing. Use the eraser to remove unnecessary contours and lines and start detailing the picture. Give the face its final shape using the initial lines. Above your head, apply an arcuate visor along with the base for the cap. Also draw the contours of the hair and ears.
5. Get started with your hands . Using initial contours, hands carefully outline. Then draw the collar and outline the legs. If within this stage you can achieve the correct proportions, then you were able to successfully complete this difficult process.
6. Main details . As part of the final stage, pay special attention to the main details of the drawing. It's about the eyes and the face. Eyes should be positioned large sizes and large resin pupils. Add a small nose and a small mouth resembling an inverted triangle.
7. clothing. Pay attention to the boy's clothes, providing them with buttons and pockets. Further work on the T-shirt, draw the gloves and finish the triangular hair.
8. Coloring . At the end, color the drawing, making it bright and contrasting. Since we are drawing anime with a pencil, it is enough to shade the drawing by adding bright shadows.

If you want to draw anime comics with a pencil and build a career in this industry, my instructions will help you get started. If you track the news and learn by mastering various techniques take your skills to the next level.

Draw anime eyes - step by step instructions

People enjoy watching Japanese cartoons with great pleasure. Some people have a desire to draw something similar, plans and ideas appear. They draw their favorite characters, dedicating to the lesson free time, but in most cases the quality of the drawings remains low.

The hardest thing to draw is the eyes. Therefore, the question of how to learn how to draw anime eyes, I will pay special attention. I hope that with the help of my tips you will draw beautiful and expressive eyes, which will allow, for example, to prepare for the New Year by creating interesting gifts.

• Anime eyes come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Draw the arches of the eyelids, and then draw two guide lines, which must intersect without fail. It is better to make the guide lines slightly curved and as thin as possible.
• In most cases, the iris occupies a large part of the eye. Instead of a circle, feel free to draw an oval. When designating the pupil, remember that the size determines the feelings of the hero. If the pupil is small, the hero is scared. As part of the stage, it is not worth highlighting the pupil strongly. We will do this after drawing the highlights.
• Most often, one flare is depicted. Alternatively, paint a few small highlights, placing them along different parties. Only after drawing the highlights, make the pupil bright.
• In the anime, the number of eyelashes is small and in most cases does not exceed the mark of 7 pieces. Most often they are depicted with an arrow, be sure to highlight the line of the upper eyelid, due to which the eyes become voluminous and bulging.
• Eyebrows do not draw in detail. However, they must be present without fail. Otherwise, you will not make the eyes of your cartoon character expressive.
• Many beginners have questions regarding the shape of the eyes. In most cases, this is a semicircle. The upper part of the eye is represented by an almost straight line, and the lower part is a perfect semicircle.
• Draw eyelashes with a common arrow, bending up or down. The direction of the bend determines the shape of the eye. If you depict several cilia, place large ones on the upper eyelid, and small ones, respectively, on the lower one.

To make anime eyes lively and expressive, you can use oval highlights by placing them at the edges. You can use vertical or horizontal highlights.

Video lesson

To emphasize the main highlight, use a triangular highlight with a corner extended to the center of the eye. Round highlights are often used, which are drawn as main or auxiliary ones. It depends on the style and preferences of the author.

Draw an anime body

Continuing the conversation about Japanese animation, let's figure out how to draw an anime body at home. At first glance, it seems that this is a difficult task. In reality, everything is different.

Japanese animation differs from cartoons created in other countries. It is aimed at both teenagers and adults. For this reason cartoons quickly gaining popularity, which has long been comparable to the popularity of the best New Year's films.

The drawing of anime characters and the background on which events unfold are very different from cartoons in other countries. In most cases, anime is a multi-part television movie distributed through optical drives. AT recent times Japanese cartoons began to appear more often on widescreen screens.

After watching Japanese cartoon many people have a desire to master drawing anime. We have considered the main points regarding art. It's time to talk about drawing the body.

1. To achieve the goal, first of all, study the proportions of the body and familiarize yourself with the process of drawing it in the Japanese style. The Japanese like to distort proportions. A striking proof are many cartoon characters in which certain parts of the body are disproportionate.
2. female figure anime masters depict elongated, complementing thin legs and wasp waist. male figure characterized by broad shoulders. However, the size of the head does not always correspond to the size of the body. Perhaps this is the secret of the attractiveness of the images.
3. Mark the human figure with two dots connected by a vertical line that marks the center. Draw the bottom and top line, and vertically divide the central one into eight equal parts. This is easy to do with a ruler.
4. Then draw an oval body, round pelvis, head and legs with arms. To enliven the drawing, place the parts of the body on a slightly curved arc. This will demonstrate that the character you are portraying is moving.

Only with time will it be possible to master the technique of drawing various parts body, which is used by Japanese animators.

Video instruction

If you're working on creating your own character, and even if you just want to write fanfiction for your favorite anime, or you want to create a character that's interesting and makes people read your story (without becoming a Mary Sue!) WikiHow can teach you how to create interesting characters as well as teaching you how to draw them! Start with Step 1 below or check the Table of Contents above for more detailed help.

Steps

Part 1

Determine your blood type. Blood type is regarded as a general indicator of personality in Japan. You can use this to determine what your character will be. Blood types and associated personality traits:

• O - confident, optimistic and strong-willed, but at the same time self-centered, unpredictable
• A - creative, restrained, responsible, but at the same time stubborn and intense
• B - active and passionate, but also selfish and irresponsible
• AB - adaptive and rational, but also distracted and critical

1. Select your date of birth. To determine individuality, you can use both Western and Eastern Zodiac. You can use this to determine a character's age or date of birth.

   Use the Mayer-Brigg indicator. If you are really passionate about creating full portrait your character, you can take the Mayer-Brigg test. Personality types based on the study of psychology can come in handy to fully portray your character.

   Use the personality balancer. You will also want your character's personalities to be balanced. Creating a compelling, believable image requires a balance of positive and negative qualities. Count the bad ones and good traits your character and try to make less negative qualities. At the end of your story, the hero develops and gets rid of a couple of bad qualities. Examples of negatives:

   • Manipulator
   • Often lying
   • Disappoints others
   • Doesn't care about relationships
   • Focuses only on own goals
   • Poor control of emotions
   • Often touchy, even to petty or casual grievances
   • Often incautious and impulsive

2. Give the hero a great name. Many people believe that a name can influence personality. Studies have shown that people with an incompatible name often get sick and suffer from personality disorders as a result of these diseases. Some even believe that the name can completely define the whole essence of a person. True or not, this will help you identify the name.

   • Try to avoid using unusual names that are incompatible with reality. This makes your hero irrelevant.

   Part 2

   Creation interesting history

   1. Determine the final goal of your hero. Where do you want to end the story with your character? What lesson emerges from this story? What would you like to teach the hero, what to change? You can show in comparison your hero at the end and at the beginning of the story.

      Think about how it all started. Knowing how it all ended, you need to determine how it all began. This should be the logical start for the result at the end. If you want to show a character who learns to value others, you should accordingly show at the beginning of the story how he does not value others.

      Decide how the hero came to change. Think about when you want to start and end the story. In particular, what contributed to such changes in the character of the hero? It is in these reflections that you can find a great idea for your story, because what led to changes in the character's character can become a great plot or even an entire storyline.

      Avoid stamps. His girlfriend was killed. He has been an orphan since childhood. He grows up as an immortal boy. All these stamps will skip the stage of the beginning of character development. And since these are stamps, they will only interfere. Try to avoid them. The originality of your work lies precisely in the development of your character. This is what will interest people more in your character and make them want to do the same as the hero of your story.

   Part 3

   Draw a hero

   Part 4

   Embodying your skills

   Study human anatomy. Creating a character that looks great starts with basic knowledge of anatomy. You wouldn't want your character to have too many or too few muscles, too many or too few joints, a disproportionate body, etc. Take a good anatomy book and study the position of the bones and muscles, where they bend and unbend.

   Draw from life. Creating a manga character provides basic knowledge about the structure of the human body. The easier it is for you to draw a person, the easier it will be to draw manga. So start by drawing (for experience) your friends and even yourself while sitting in front of a mirror.

   Use different, dynamic poses. In order to draw your character in a specific pose, take a photo of yourself in that pose and try to draw your character as well. You can also use the PoseManiacs help site.

   • As you draw these poses, try to keep a picture of the anatomy in mind. You don't want your character to end up looking like Rob Liefeld's drawings.

   1. Keep training! The more practice you have, the better you get.

   • Try to draw your character over and over again to understand what works and what doesn't. The more you get used to drawing a character, the easier it will be for you to portray him in a given situation. It will even improve your artistic ability over time, so don't worry if the character looks a little awkward or weird at first. Also try to draw your character from different angles.
   • If the hero seems too insipid - that's all right! Get some criticism from experts or people who are also interested in this. If you create a public character - get feedback from the target audience.
   • When creating an image, do not overdo it with special effects. You don't want to see 3 cool belts, 5 attractive bracelets and 8 machine guns on the hero! Be simple. Remember that a small person must first go a long way!
   • Check these blood types and values:
     • O - cheerful, open, caring energetic
     • A - balanced, cool, caring, positive attitude
     • B - balanced, cool, negative attitude with rare manifestations of joy
     • AB - exaggerated, funny, positive thinking, cool, great personality!
   • Hue can make your character more likeable. Shadows should be applied so that it is clear where the light comes from. Shadows under the hair, between the strands, at the bottom of the neck and in clothes. Lighten the shadows on the inner recesses and darker on the outer elements. Don't go overboard with shadows either.
     • Here's how to draw an eye - draw a circle and then make two curved lines - one above, covering a small part of the circle, and the other similarly below. Add a small circle in the center of the circle and draw a couple of bubbles in the big circle. Make small lines coming out of the small circle. The length of the lines is half the distance between the smaller and larger circles. Add shadows and you're done.
   • You can make your character special by adding signs or scars to it.
   • If you're having a hard time coming up with something new, think back to something you've seen in anime/manga before. Then connect or select traits for your hero.
   • Watch people around. You can take someone as the basis of the character.
   • Practice drawing as much as you can. You will be rewarded for this later in compliments to your drawings.

   Warnings

   • Be careful not to plagiarize another anime or manga.
   • Sketch lines lightly, otherwise you won't be able to erase them.
   • Don't make their weapons huge! You don't want your hero to carry a 1.5 meter sword! Simplify. Just make the sword big enough for the hero to defend himself.
   • Don't draw too big eyes.
   • We plunge into the world of fantasy, as a rule, in order to get away from problems in real life and away from real social interaction. If you decide to contribute to the anime or manga world, try to join the club to make sure you still keep in touch with reality.

How to make anime? Many teenagers dream of starting to create personal cartoons or at least manga. The style is unique in several ways at once: beautiful appearance, flexibility in terms of use and limitless possibilities. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to immediately understand how to make an anime, as you will need long years training, if, of course, you want to become professional artist. As for simpler possibilities, you can master the process of drawing art and simple pictures. There are plenty of features in this direction, so at first you should pay attention to the style itself.

Universal art style

How to make anime? As a rule, it will not be possible to get an answer to such a question right away, since this direction depends on creative inspiration. If you pay attention to Japanese artists who draw manga, you can notice some features in each of them. Some people try to draw detailed environments, others create simple sketches, etc. The drawing style does not have a specific pattern and creative person, which is engaged in this, personally determines for itself the form and methods of creating such graphic content. But this does not mean that there are no ways to learn the process of using anime style.

The main ways to master the style

Now let's figure out where to start and whether it is generally advisable to realize your dream. To understand how to make anime art or just master the first steps in this style, just use the following options:

Options to master such an unusual and beautiful style there is plenty of drawing, it remains only to evaluate personal capabilities and desires. Remember to become a good artist in this direction, more than five years of training may be required.

Now it remains only to find free time and start practicing. The learning process is quite complicated, but the result will surely please you. You just need to gather your thoughts and start taking the first steps.