Tutorial: How I Draw Anime Screenshots

I’m not very good at teaching how to draw, but here is the step-by-step process of my drawing of Masato. Some knowledge of Photoshop Layers are needed to understand this tutorial though… I hope many of you will understand!

• STEP 1: SKETCH - I used 2 layers for this sketch. The first was just to see how Masa’s pose would look, then the 2nd layer is for detailing his face. I flipped the image several times to check for errors.
• STEP 2: INKING - Because I intended to blur Masa’s hand, I only inked up to here in one layer, then used a second layer for the rest. I also changed the ink color of brown and set the layer on “Multiply”.
• STEP 3: FLAT COLORS - I used a reference for his clothing, so I just used the eye dropper tool for his colors. I use one layer for the hair, another for the skin, and a third for his clothes.
• STEP 4: SHADOW - Because the ink layer is set to multiply, some of the brown ink will turn black in darker areas, while others remain brown. I blurred the lines and colors/shadows on Masa’s arm at this point. I change the layer modes and use “Multiply” for skin, and “Linear Burn” for hair and clothing. In Linear Burn, I usually use gray colors for shadow, but for Masa’s jacket, I used pink / purple color.
• STEP 5: HIGHLIGHTS - Since this is meant to look like an anime screenshot, I only added highlights to Masa’s eyes and hair.
• STEP 6: EFFECTS - I made a new layer and used “Soft Brush” to add the light around Masa. Also added petals then used “Motion Blur” filter on PS to show
  movement, then added a subtitle and signature!

If you guys have any questions, feel free to let me know! I’ll do my best to explain~

How I Draw: Anatomy Tips on Drawing Arms

To be honest, I didn’t think there’d be a lot of people who’d be interested in learning how I draw, but I’ve received a lot of requests to continue giving tips on anatomy and drawing in general. Thank you so much! I’m so flattered! ヽ(；▽；)ノ

Well then, let’s continue where we left off! We’ve learned from the previous lesson that a person is generally 7 heads high (see point number 2), now let’s study drawing the arms! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

The elbows are actually aligned somewhere along the waistline when they are placed on either side of your body. You can check this yourself when you stand in front of a full-length mirror. And when I say waist, I mean your upper waistline, not where low-rise jeans usually sit on your torso! o(-`д´- ｡) Tori is wearing low-rise jeans in the diagram, but his elbows are above that point! (｡･ω･｡)

Similarly, when your arms are straight down on either side of your body, the tip of your open hand falls halfway of your upper thigh. Khyle’s right arm is closed in a loose fist so this might not be the best example, but I hope you can see what I mean! ( (ﾐ´ω`ﾐ))

This is of course, only a rough estimate, and since anime does not follow any set of rules regarding anatomy, your character may have shorter or longer arms. Either way, I use these tips so that the arms don’t end up looking too short or too long. ☆ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ

I hope this tutorial was helpful to you! ヾ(^ ^ゞ Feel free to post your questions in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer them! (*≧▽≦) Oh, and if you’d like to learn about anything specific, please do let me know! (*´・ｖ・)

How I Draw: Basic Structure

There have been some requests on my “lessons” from the Oh No! Manga Cosplay Camp 2012. (*ノ・ω・) I think there’s a possibility that we’ll be using the slides and artworks featured for the next convention, but I’ll give you guys the very basics on how I draw. (◕‿◕✿)

1. Stick Figure. Yes, for full body illustrations, I actually start by sketching a stick figure to make sure the character fits on the page. I don’t want to have to cut off any limbs just because I ran out of paper room. It’s a good way to get the pose right quickly or brainstorm something when I’m lacking inspiration.
2. Anatomy Check. The average person is about 7 heads high, but what does that really mean? (」ﾟヘﾟ)」Basically, you literally make an estimated measure of the character’s head, then double that measurement for the torso, upper leg, and lower leg. You don’t have to measure it with a ruler or anything crazy accurate like that! An estimate is all well and good.
3. Figure Drawing. This is where I draw all the curves and muscles. No clothing yet (ecchi!!! ヽ(-`д´-)ノ) because that’s the only way I’ll know how the clothes would fall to the body’s shape.
4. Inks. If I’m confident enough with how the whole thing looks, then I start inking. Nothing fancy with inking, just your basic black or brown lines.
5. Colors. I usually do flat colors first before adding light and shadow. ～(^з^)-☆

And that’s about it! If you have any questions, feel free to comment or like and share from my Facebook Page!

Oh, and please do let me know if you find this post interesting and if you’d like to see more tutorials? ヾ(｡･ω･｡) I might do more if there are requests and such~ Thank you~!

How I Prepared the Pages for Independent Printing

With any printer comes its own challenges. Mine? Well, it’s an HP1310 with a mind of its own. It decides to print pages off the center of the paper, either moving the content too high or too low, which means trouble for printing independent comics.

So how did I tackle this problem when I had 3 books to print?

I printed A4 sheets onto 8.5 x 13 inch paper and cut them down to A4 size. All 46+ of them. I don’t know if that’s what they call dedication or the beauty of a crazed mind.

And that, my friends, is a rusted, semi-sharp paper slicer from my gua kong. It may be old, but it helped me get through all of my and Renka-chan’s pages with near-flawless precision.

…that’s the second time gua kong has somehow helped me out of a bind, and I’ve never even met my mother’s father. Hmn…

There are many things I learned from making an independent manga, but the best rule that I can give to anyone is to not print the pages when you’re not sure about your page layout yet! >.>;;; You know me, I jump the gun whenever I get the chance to do it!

As a result? I had to cut up a few pages and paste them together. Literally. @_@;;;

But if you need to edit something and don’t have the printer ink to do it, then I suggest you only print what you need and use glue stick to put them together. It’s dry glue, so it won’t wrinkle your pages and is fairly easy to use… just makes sure your hands are clean when you starting gluing!

Ok, that’s it for my update! I just got off the phone with Pigtails creator, Jazmin Cruz. She reminded me to prepare a couple of things for my booth, and I asked her to bring some of her merchandise to sell in Komikon. We’ll see how everything goes this Saturday! :D