Well, choice B won over in the last poll. So today’s topic? Great sources of artistic reference material and learning resources for the Anime and Manga style artist.
Now, I want to emphasize a few things before I get started listing what I personally think are some great pieces of reference material.
1. I am completely self taught with the aid of nothing more than books (several of which I will list here), my own flubs, and the occasional advice from one of our readers or colleagues. I am by no means an authority on the Anime and Manga style, nor do I want to be considered as such.
2. There is absolutely no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to draw. Art is art. What looks like crap to one person looks heavenly to another. Keep that in mind for future reference
3. If you think you’re so good that you have absolutely nothing to learn from a book or other individual, you have no right calling yourself an artist. Put away your pencil, burn your papers, and kindly go jump off a cliff…or join the rest of us poor souls and go back to playing GTA and Portal. Damn my 360…
4. No, you cannot have my gamertag. =P
Alright, here we go!
1. The Dummies Series. I know a lot of people who steer far, far away from these books. But if you’ve ever given any dummies book a shot, you’d know they are usually not only wonderful learning aides, but they are typically very entertaining reads. I highly recommend using these books particularly to learn computer programs. I didn’t really grasp what Photoshop could do until I picked one of these up ages ago. ("durrr, what're layers?") I’m also impressed with the “Manga Studio for Dummies” book by Doug Hills. I’m still learning the program, but damn if this book doesn’t make my life a hell of a lot easier, even if the artist in me wishes there were more pretty, pretty pictures to look at.
2. The How to Draw Manga series. Love 'em or hate 'em, the How to Draw Manga series is in my opinion one of the best sources for American based Anime and Manga style artists. I mean, come on folks. You’ve got to love a series that covers not only perspective and anatomy, but also shows you how to clearly draw a girl roundhouse kicking some fat dude, complete with lacey pretty panty shot. In all seriousness though, I think the problem with the negative feedback on these books has to do with what I like to call the idiot factor. If you think you can pick up one of these books, look at the pretty pictures, and instantly be an awesome artist who understands everything, you’re an idiot. Drawing is like anything else; you have to practice it and (GASP!) read the book! And if you haven’t checked out the newer ‘sketching Manga-style’ books from this series, you really should give them a chance. I’m rather addicted to the first volume and have found some wonderful planning techniques, as well as anatomy improvement suggestions and some great ideas on how to create a total composition instead of just doodling a chick giving the 'v' sign. Great stuff.
3. DMP’s How To series. I’ll admit it, I initially only picked up the ‘yaoi’ book in this series by Botan Yamada because I’ve had a ton of commission requests involving shounen-ai and tons of pretty boys, and I liked the style of the artist. Turns out that a simple purchase based on a whim turned me on to a whole new series of books…no pun intended there, you pervs. In all honesty, I really like the DMP series for two main reasons. One, they cover things that I haven’t seen covered in several other book series for the Anime and Manga style artist. Two, the artwork in most of these books is stellar, with very easy to follow suggestions and outlines. They actually make anatomy almost simple to understand if you’re a newbie, and believe me, that’s a good chunk of your battle out there. I also like that they cover some different subjects in these books than the norm. Kudos to them.
4. The Comic Artist’s Photo Reference, People and Poses by Buddy Scalera. My husband found this book on a random trip to our local book store one day, and he just had to get it for me. After ten minutes with this book, I understood why. First off, the book comes with a cd-rom set that contains over 1,000 images with pose references. Hell-OOO! You have got to love that. Second, the poses are all photographs with real human models, and trust me when I say it doesn’t get any better than having a book chock full of the real deal to help you along when you're struggling. I love to pick up this book and flip through it when I’m having a particularly difficult time coming up with a creative pose for a piece. The book also contains several image sets with weaponry, including katana, guns, and medieval style swords, as well as people wearing capes and doing casual things like smoking. Awesome book, and it’s only about $25. Not to mention it contains artwork from Greg Land (of X-men fame), Paul Chadwick (Deadpool), and Sean Chen (Iron Man). Long live geek source material!
5. The Nude Female Figure, a Visual Reference for the Artist, by Mark Edward Smith. This one is great if you need a reference piece for female characters. What I really dig about this book is that it’s got perfect representations of every body type you can imagine. There are thin girls, thick ones, girls with long hair, short hair, long fingers, tiny feet, huge chests or none at all. It’s not only a wonderful portrayal of femininity on an artistic level, but it’s an irreplaceable piece of reference if you draw a lot of female characters. I’ve used it on several occasions and believe me, the fluidity of the poses in this book is stellar and really makes wonderful reference material.
6. Draw Manga: How to Draw Manga in Your Own Unique Style, by Bruce Lewis. If you’ve never met Bruce, you’re missing out on meeting a wonderfully talented and kind individual. I’ve only chatted with him a couple of times, but even before that I was impressed with this book. What I really enjoyed about this one is that he breaks everything down in a practical way that you can really utilize. Nothing like learning straight from the source.
Other sources of reference, on a more personal basis:
The works of Kazuya Minekura. If you’ve never looked at Saiyuki, lord are you missing out. Minekura actually got her start as a portrait artist (from what I understand), and trust me when I say that her work shows it. Her style is stunning, and no, not just for the pretty, pretty boys. She has a raw, edgy style, blocky and almost too masculine at times. But you can see the real world influence in her work. If you’d like a sample, try to get your hands on any volume of Saiyuki, Bus Gamer, Wild Adapter, or find any of her Backgammon or numerous other artbooks. They are inspiring, and may just give you some great ideas of your own. Not to mention they're funny as hell. The woman is wonderful with kooky poses and humorous shots.
Google Image Search. Alright, I almost hate to recommend this, but it does come in handy. Say you need to draw a specific type of sneaker on a character for a commission, or you need an example of Victorian hair styles or picket fences, and you need it right the hell away. This is an awesome way to have quick access to reference material of all sorts, from architectural shots to clothing ideas.
Fashion Magazines. This is an old favorite of mine. I’ve had a ton of students ask me over the years how to draw effective, realistic looking clothing. Honestly, what I love to do is grab a fashion magazine and try to draw what I see on paper with a slightly different pose. It really gives you great ideas as to how fabric moves and hangs on different body types. If you're not into fashion zines though, I also suggest using...
A Friend. I can't count the number of times I've made my husband or best friend pose for me or swish around in a goofy cloak so I can get a shot right. "Here, hold this sword...no, more...over your head...yeah. Good. Now hold it." If they love you, and sometimes if you offer them liquor for their trouble, they will give you a hand.
Megumi Magazine. I almost hate to admit this, but a friend gave me a stack of this popular Japanese magazine, which I’ve affectionately dubbed 'moe monthly’ a while back. It was like Christmas when I opened that box, and I was one very good, happy girl who got her red rider gun she'd been asking for all year...okay, that was lame. Whatever. You get the point. This magazine is loaded with awesome pose ideas, great colors that you can use as inspiration for your own pieces, and some really kooky but fun anatomy and perspective shots. Great source of reference material!
Manga. Yup, all Manga. If you really like a specific artist, the best source of reference material in the world is the series that you love. Personally, I take a lot of influence from Takahashi, Murikami, Oh!Great, and tons of others. I also find that watching an anime or reading a series in the style of what I want to draw does in fact help get me in the mood to draw in that particular style.
Online Tutorials. There are several awesome online tutorials that cover everything from the basics to coloring digitally. Here are a few of my personal favorites, and a couple I’ve thrown together myself
My basics of eyes and face tutorials:
http://guardiansun.deviantart.com/art/BASIC-ANIME-EYE-TUTORIAL-1-76199832
and part 2
http://guardiansun.deviantart.com/art/Basic-Anime-Eye-Tutorial-2-77098423
Drawspace.com, an awesome site to check out for all sorts of tutorials.
http://www.drawspace.com/
Jim Zubkavich’s digital painting tutorial.
http://drawn.ca/2008/03/04/jim-zubkavichs-digital-painting-tutorial/
Human Anatomy Pictures for Artists.
http://www.fineart.sk/
Julie Dillon’s old digital painting tutorial and the Manga University tutorial archives.
http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial.html
edit: Also, check out Art of Otaku, referred by none other than the webmaster of this lovely shindig we call TheOtaku.com. Actually this looks to be an excellent source as well! Thanks Adam =) http://www.artofotaku.com/thebook/
The trick is to be as creative as you want to be with your reference material, and don't be afraid to try new things. Remember that while Anime and Manga style is a very specific and easily identified art form, it is based in one way or another on realistic human anatomy. The stronger the foundation you have in the basics like anatomy, perspective, and figure drawing, the better your art will look in the long run. Remember that practice really does make perfect. I may suck at basketball, but if I tried to play it every day for five months, I like to think I’d get infinitely better at the game than I am now.
Happy hunting, folks! Hope this helped.
Now, poll time! What would you like the next article to be about?
1. My review of Crisis Core, because I am a big thumping nerd.
2. Tools of the trade.
3. Webcomic stuff.
See you soon!
