Manga Drawing

Inspiration & Exploration

Manga is a Japanese comic style with decades of distinct visual vocabulary — big expressive eyes, dynamic action lines, dramatic panel layouts, and emotions conveyed through exaggerated faces. Start by reading. Borrow titles from the **Salt Lake City Public Library**, which has a solid manga collection: try **"My Hero Academia"**, **"Fullmetal Alchemist"**, or **"Yotsuba&!"** (simpler art style, great for studying). Watch **Marc Brunet** and **Proko** on YouTube for drawing fundamentals that apply directly to manga. Browse r/manga and r/mangadrawing on Reddit. Notice which artists' work makes you stop scrolling — eyes? action poses? panel composition? You're ready for the next step when you can name two manga series whose art style excites you and describe three specific visual things you love about each.

Tools & Techniques

You can draw manga with just a pencil and paper — but knowing your full toolbox helps. Traditional: mechanical pencil (0.5mm), inking pens like **Micron Pigma** or **Copic Multiliner**, and manga-specific screen tone sheets. Digital: **Clip Studio Paint** is the industry standard and is around $50 one-time on sale (free trial available); it has manga-specific tools built in. Watch **Medi Banga** and **Nadiaxel** on YouTube for tool-specific tutorials. The free website **MangaMaterials.com** explains screen tones and panel layout basics. If you're going digital, a basic drawing tablet like a **Wacom Intuus Small** gets you started affordably. You're ready for the next step when you've chosen your medium (traditional or digital) and have the basic tools ready to use.

First Creations

Draw your first manga character from scratch — don't copy, but do use reference heavily. Start with the head: manga faces are built on a circle with a chin line and cross guides for eye placement. Watch **LavenderTowne's** character design tutorials for approachable, encouraging guidance. Practice drawing the same face showing five different emotions — surprise, anger, joy, sadness, and determination. Then try a full body in a simple standing pose. Don't skip hands — they're hard but they're everywhere in manga. Post your practice sheets to r/mangadrawing for feedback. You're ready for the next step when you can draw a manga-style face with correct proportions in three different emotional expressions without using a guide.

Style Development

Now find your own manga voice. Do you love the clean, simple lines of slice-of-life? The dynamic speed lines and explosive poses of shonen action? The delicate linework of shojo romance? Study artists in your preferred genre closely — break down one page you love and sketch each panel to understand how it was constructed. Learn the basics of manga panel layout: how pacing works, when to use a full-page splash, and how to lead the reader's eye. Watch **Adam Duff's** YouTube series on visual storytelling. Try drawing a 4-panel (yonkoma) comic strip about something that happened to you this week. Post it to r/mangadrawing. You're ready for the next step when you've completed a 4-panel comic that tells a clear mini-story with a beginning, middle, and punchline.

Refine Your Craft

Leveling up now means studying the things you've been avoiding. If your backgrounds are weak, spend a week drawing nothing but environments — use **Scott Robertson's** perspective tutorials on YouTube. If your action poses feel stiff, study **"How to Draw Manga: Dynamic Poses"** (available via interlibrary loan at SLC Public Library) and practice gesture drawing at **line.sketchdaily.net** for 20 minutes a day. Learn to ink cleanly — confident line weight variation separates amateur from polished work. Study how professional manga artists use black fills (called "blacks") to create dramatic contrast. Post a fully inked page (not just sketches) to r/mangadrawing and ask for critique. You're ready for the next step when you complete a fully inked page with confident line weights, readable composition, and at least one background.

Portfolio Piece

Create a polished 8–12 page manga short story — a complete mini-chapter with a beginning, rising action, and resolution. Script it first (just bullet points per panel is fine), then thumbnail all pages, then pencil, then ink. If you're doing this digitally in Clip Studio, add screen tones and panel borders for the full manga look. Post it to **Webtoon Canvas** (free to publish) or **MangaDex** as a fan work, or share the whole PDF to r/mangadrawing for community feedback. Submit it to the **Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Table** showcase or a local zine fest. You're ready for the next step when your short story is publicly posted and you've received and responded to at least three pieces of reader or community feedback.