Q&A for How to Draw Yourself As a Manga Person

In anime, usually, the characters don't have detailed or completed mouths. The thing that makes manga special is that they put most of the details in the eyes, not the rest of the characteristics.

No, you should make sure the picture is how you would want it to permanently look if you were to, though. Using pen usually makes it stand out and look better; however, it can also make the image seem more unrealistic, because you don't see people in real life with black outlines.

There are lots of helpful online tutorials on how to do this. It also helps to just look in the mirror at your hair. See how some of it is in sections? And there there are stray hairs. Also make sure your hair isn't just lines -- it should look naturual and normal hair has volume, too.

You can just draw them as lines. Study other manga work to get ideas that might better match your own.

No, just make sure you can see it so you can use it as a reference. These steps can be followed without printing the photograph.

Try drawing stick figures of the body proportions, or you can try drawing shapes of the body parts.

You can, but that will take away from the manga look as it would be inaccurate.

Yes! Just be careful not to let the water bleed outside of your lines or you may lose the manga look.

You can use an image of an oval on the internet, print it out and trace it or you can use an oval shaped item and trace around it.

You could use a regular pencil, but I recommend a drawing pencil. It gives more texture.

You can just use lots of shaded lines close together in a pattern.

Yes, you can add anything to your drawing that you want, including makeup!

You have to familiarize yourself with anatomy and light/shade. Get yourself a few books on the topic or take a life drawing class.

Look in a mirror while wearing a hat. Try to see the size and shape at different angles. Once you know what it looks like, you can start sketching, using guidelines to help with proportions. You can check back in a mirror to make sure that you are drawing your hat correctly.

Yes, you can draw a background. After all, it's your drawing!

Normally you would since big eyes make the image more cartoonish. They also make your portrait cuter to many people. You don't have to though -- this should be your drawing, not a copy of other drawings you've seen.

Use colored pencils.

Try doing your sketch lightly with a hard pencil. Use a good quality soft eraser.

Follow the same steps as here, but give him masculine qualities, like a more chiseled jawline.

Draw the structure of the wavy hair to start. Then, add the lines and small curls as details. Start with light sketches so you can adjust the lines as needed.

Just keep practicing and you will get better with time.

Lightly sketch first in case you have to erase. You can always go back and make your lines darker after you are finished.

You draw a circle and then draw a line running down the middle, which will form the chin. To make the chin for an oval face, draw two lines down from the sides of the face that meet at the point when your line stops.

In manga, boys usually have thicker necks than girls. It might be because their mouths are a bit wider. However, they usually align with the mouths. For the clothing, make a sketch of the body and then add the clothing outline on top. Erase the body hidden by the clothing and add details.

Use wavy lines and a lot of loose strokes. Aim for something not too flat, but also not super puffy.

This article might be a good place to start: How to Draw Curly Hair .

There are some good tips in Draw a Realistic Manga Eye .

Consult Draw a Realistic Manga Eye ; perfection will take lots of practice.

It depends on what the shadow is being created by. If there are bangs or strands of hair falling over the face, just shade a little, but make sure the details in the eyes are still visible. However, if you’re going for a mysterious look with a hood concealing the eyes, use a dark graphite pencil or a dark gray color to shade. Only let the shine of the eyes show up so that the eyes look like they’re glittering.