Would anyone be willing to teach me how to draw anime?

[~Kitty~ 165]

Hey, guys! c: I was wondering if anybody would be willing to help me with my anime drawings. I'd call myself a beginner, and by far not the best, which is why I need help. Advice or suggestions would both be greatly appreciated, too! Thanks! c:

[SFyr 1,982]

Well, sadly the road to drawing anime well is a long one, as you may anticipate.  I know it's not what you want to hear, but the advice I've heard (and have been starting to see the wisdom of), is that even when you want to draw things that are abstract representations of reality (anime/cartoons/etc), you want to learn to draw from real life. Knowing the foundation helps with knowing how to distort and simplify it effectively, or mess with the proportions.

 

There's a lot of tutorials online in the meantime that you could take advantage of. And while I think the best results would come from studying drawing as a whole (real life drawings included), if you're not interested in making a full-on hobby of it, you may do well by studying anime/manga, looking at tutorials specifically aimed at that kind of style (good search should give you a decent starting point), and at least studying up a little bit on human proportions and anatomy (like, knowing joints, major muscle groups, skeletal structure, etc).

 

Also, if you do draw from real life, try to 'see' the 3d form of things and find a way to believably convey/transfer that on paper. Even when you peel away the full shading (and get anime and such), knowing how to convey 3d shape or depth/thickness with lines is important.

[~Kitty~ 165]

Thank you so much for the information! c: Yes, I am very well aware that learning to draw anime is a long journey that takes much dedication. But I still want to give it a go no matter how long it takes me to master

 

I've been planning on buying a how-to-draw-manga book. Mainly, I need to work more on anatomy and lighting affects.

 

"Also, if you do draw from real life, try to 'see' the 3d form of things and find a way to believably convey/transfer that on paper. Even when you peel away the full shading (and get anime and such), knowing how to convey 3d shape or depth/thickness with lines is important." -Thank you for this information, it was good to know c: I'll try to use this method in my drawings too

[Clover Heart 978]

My personal suggestion is to learn how to draw real life, first and foremost. It might not seem as fun as drawing anime, but it'll be worth it in the long run. If you can draw real life, you can use those principals to turn it into anything. Starting from cartoons, however, is like trying to put a roof on a house before you've put up the walls.

 

Take it from someone who started out drawing anime and only after 10 years of hitting a wall even attempted to learn -real- human anatomy. I really feel like I screwed myself over with that. I can't say I blame myself, really. There was nobody to tell me how to do things properly. I just liked to draw characters. But now, I feel like I'm constantly behind the curve. I've been drawing for, like, 15 years and I'm nowhere near pro, or even good for that matter. If I'd learned to draw realistically from the start, though, things might have been different.

 

However, if you really wanna start drawing anime right away, I suggest checking out Mark Crilley. He has a ton of videos on how to draw manga and has been drawing manga for many years. He also has his own series of how to draw manga books, so if you're looking to buy, maybe take a look and see if his stuff is something you'd be interested in purchasing.

 

Happy drawing!  

[Plume 922]

One of the easiest ways to learn is to copy. sounds harsh, but, as long as you don't try to sell it as your own, copying from the best can teach you a lot about proportions and style, as well as movement basics. You can get a lot about shape and form from studying a drawing. I personally started drawing with learning basics, and up to real people which has helped me grasp proportions and also develop my own style with distorting and simplifying, so I have to agree with @SFyr here - basics help build strong buildings. But if you want to get just quick learning and a decent outcome, I suggest studying, copying, and, in some cases, using those books - they can help. c: Best of luck! I myself have struggled a lot with anime - it's sort of weird, but I'm getting there. Practice makes perfect!.

[Allen 1,387]

I think using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator would be a good thing to draw an anime that you like, you have to seek in mastering with it first. 

[StrawberryKitty 382]

Anime is a lot different from real life imo. I learned drawing anime from reading manga, and looking at the pictures and trying to draw exactly what I saw. Eventually I could draw poses without looking at anime characters and began to draw freely. Of course when you first start it's never going to turn out perfect. My first few drawings I have still for some reason (when I was about 11 or 12) are absolutely awful looking hahaha. 

But practice makes perfect with everything regarding artwork. So don't get discouraged. You can pick up one of those "how to draw anime" books at Chapters or Coles or wherever you buy books from. They're usually around $20 so they're not too expensive. I picked up a couple when I was younger, but I didn't learn much from them. They did help my friend however so I gave them to her. It's all about how you learn.

 

My Deviantart: http://xkittyblue.deviantart.com/(You can see my progression over the years.)

My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/xStrawberryKitty(I upload speedpaints and progression videos, and a few tutorials)

 

If you need any help with anything you can send me a message! I've done digital and traditional artwork, and although I'm not the best in the universe I'd be happy to help [: