Manga Anime Tutorials and Gaming News

LazyNezumi

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:08:00 +0000

I want to introduce a small software I found a while back and it's perfect for people who don't have a drawing tablet. It's called LazyNezumi, it allows mouse users to be able to draw smooth strokes and curves.

Mouse


Mouse with LazyNezumi

Here's s short video to see it in action.

You can download LazyNezumi on it's official site

Here

How To Draw Manga And Anime: Walkthrough 4

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:46:00 +0000

Hello, long time no see. I apologize for not updating for a long while, I just got back from an injured thumb. I'll be doing updates again several times a week. Anyway, here's another walkthrough for you guys.

This is the finished product, you can view the walkthrough here.

You can download the images and the ORA file for MyPaint here: http://www.fileserve.com/file/YAJYR6B

Pencil: Free 2D Animation Software

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:25:00 +0000

I'm sorry for not updating the last few days, I got busy at home and I'm planning to start posting video games information and gameplay videos, mostly indie games because my computer probably won't be able to run the most of the latest pc games.

Anyway enough of that, it's time to introduce to you a great software I found a while back, it's called Pencil.

If you want to learn how to draw anime, then at some point in time you might want to learn how to animate your drawings. This is the perfect application to get your hands on. Pencil is a free 2d animation software. It's very bare bone and perfect for beginners. The user interface is very easy to use and everything you need to animate is already laid out.

I actually use this software a lot, even though I'm still a beginner I try to familiarize myself with the process of animation. Pencil has both bitmap and vector layers meaning you can do vector animations and traditional hand drawn animations.

As you can see, the interface is very straight forward. I made a simple bouncing ball animation which is a good way practice. Pencil has onion skin functions which allows you to see what's in between the frame you're working on. Go ahead and try it out, it's free and it has a great community. You can find a lot of guides and tutorials in the official forum.

You can download it on the official site.

Here.

How To Draw Manga and Anime: Walkthrough 3

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Here I am again with another walkthrough on how to draw manga and anime. I've been looking all over the web for different manga and anime tutorials and I'm always surprised by just how many ways there are of drawing manga and anime. Just when I'm thinking I've seen them all I'll find a unique style I'm not aware of. I advise you too keep looking for more tutorials and more references to help you, keep absorbing all the things you learn and improve your skills.

This is the finished product, it's just a rough work but I prefer rough looking artworks like these. As you can see, I didn't even clean up the line art. I lack the patience to create full colored renders majority of the time. Check out how made this using NekoPaint.

Part 1

Here I drew the basic head shape tilting slightly. I used NekoPaint's symmetry tool to make the basic body shape. Even though the character I have in mind is not standing upright, I drew this body shape as a reminder of the body proportion and measurements. Say for example I want to dress it with body fitting clothes, I'll know the contours of the body and draw clothes properly.

Part 2

I already had a hairstyle in mind so this part is fairly straight forward. Again when it comes to drawing manga and anime hair, just go wild and keep experimenting.

Part 3

Here I started on overlaying the clothes. I got the idea for the clothes and the pose from an image I saw a while back. It was a picture of a Japanese school girl and it kind of got stuck in my memory.

Part 4

Here I finished the clothes for the upper body along with the bag. Notice that I ended up with thick outlines, that sometimes happen when I'm experimenting with a look or when I'm having trouble with a certain part. I would keep drawing multiple strokes to find the right look. I don't think there's anything wrong with having dirty looking outlines, I happen to like it.

Part 5

Here we finish with the skirt and the legs even though here it looks like she's wearing jeans because of the overlay.

Part 6

Here I erased the body overlay to clean it up a little. I used the circular gradient tool to color the hair. I first used the selection tool to isolate the hair and then used the gradient tool like the one on the side.

Part 7

I did the same thing for the clothes. I usually use a gradient as a base instead of a solid color. I usually use just three layers of color, the base, shadows, and highlights. Very rarely do I make fully colored renders with multiple color shades.

Part 8

Here I finished adding color to the bag and skirt still using gradient.

Part 9

This is the last part. Here I added some basic shadows on the legs, face etc. I forgot to add highlights but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you find this post useful.

You can download the images and the PSD file for NekoPaint here: http://www.fileserve.com/file/quVNwnB

Pixia and Phierha: Free Drawing Software

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:28:00 +0000

Here are two free software perfect for drawing manga and anime. They are called Pixia and Phierha, both are free and both are feature rich. Check them out.

Pixia and Phierha are sibling software, they come from the same family and are quite similar.

They both have tablet support and very customizable brushes. They lack the professional look of other applications like SAI or OpenCanvas and they are are not as feature rich. They are however, just are good for drawing manga and anime and you can make beautiful artworks with them.

They have very limited photo editing properties but they are not really design for that purpose. They are built for drawing manga and anime and they do a great job.

You can download them on the official site.

Here

Paint.NET Free Photo Editing Software

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 00:04:00 +0000

Here's another free software for you guys to try your hands on. It's called Paint.NET and it's a free photo editing software similar to something like Gimp or Photoshop.

Paint.NET is perfect for someone who wants to edit photos or create digital arts but don't have the budget to buy Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. It's also a great alternative to using Gimp. On it's own, it has less features than Gimp, but the community provides a lot of plug-ins that makes it comparable to Gimp. That's not to say Gimp lacks plug-ins, it's has one of the most active community of developers and contributors of any software. One advantage Paint.NET has over Gimp, for me at least is it has a more user friendly interface. So go ahead and try it out and have fun.

You can download it on it's official site.

Here

Sketching Heads Using NekoPaint #2

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 04:44:00 +0000

Another video walkthrough of me rough sketching using nekopaint. This time it's a speed paint, at about 1.5x the normal speed. Hope you guys find it useful.

Sketching Heads Using NekoPaint

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:12:00 +0000

Another video of me sketching anime heads, this time using NekoPaint. The symmetry tool is perfect for sketching when you're trying out different ideas and during character creation. Again all in real time. I hope you guys learn something from it.

Join Me On MyLot

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:11:00 +0000

myLot User Profile

Gintama 1-Page Fanart

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:56:00 +0000

Gintama is one of my most favorite manga of all time. If you haven't seen it, go a check it out. There's also an anime adoptation which is probably the funniest anime you'll ever come across. This is just a short 1-page starring my two favorite characters from the series.

If you know who these characters are, I'm sure you'll understand the situation lol.

Video Walkthrough: Sketching Heads Using MyPaint

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:08:00 +0000

This is just me sketching some basic head shapes. These are just a few ways of sketching manga and anime heads and I'll be posting a lot of these kinds of videos. The beauty with drawing manga and anime is there's an infinite amount of ways to do it, but that's also what makes it hard to make tutorials for it. What you see on manga and anime tutorials shouldn't be the basis of how you draw. Rather, use what you learn to further improve your own style.

Video quality is still bad since I'm still learning how to edit videos. I'll be doing video sketches like this for different areas like the hair, face, body, arms, legs etc.

Video Walkthrough Using NekoPaint, First try

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:45:00 +0000

I finally tried making a video walkthrough, it's harder than I thought. There's this added pressure when you're actually recording.

Anyway, this is the finished product made using NekoPaint. Be warned that this is my first time making a video walkthrough. I had no idea what I was doing and I was slow, the video is about 12 minutes long. Check it out.

There is no audio lol and the quality is poor. I still have to find myself a mic and learn to add some music. Mind you that this is all in real time and the character was not premeditated. I kind of just went with the flow but I liked how it turned out.

NekoPaint Drawing Software

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:04:00 +0000

When it comes to drawing, I always try different applications and find new ones I haven't. I came across an interesting little software called NekoPaint, it's a Japanese product that's perfect for drawing manga and anime. Here's a short overview.

NekoPaint is a small application, just under 5 megabytes but it has all the basic features one might need and some features that you won't find on most applications. There's not a lot of brush types but don't be deceived, NekoPaint has a very powerful brush engine. You can manipulate pretty much any brush property to fit your needs. NekoPaint is strictly a drawing and painting software, it doesn't have any photo manipulating features except for the very basics like re-size and rotate. It does however possess a very rare feature that is only found on a few applications, it's called a Symmetry tool. It's basically an effect that mirrors anything you do all in real time.

Look at the top left portion of the screen, there you can see that the symmetry tool is enabled. This image was created using the symmetry tool. I only drew the right side of the face and it was mirrored on the opposite side enabling me to created a perfectly symmetrical face.

You can also set the amount of mirrors you want. As you can see, u can use it to make some very interesting effects. I love the symmetry tool, it can cut your process time in half. Go ahead and try it for yourself and you might just like it.

You can get the original here.

You can get an English version here.

How To Draw Manga and Anime: Walkthrough 2

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:04:00 +0000

Hello, it's me again. This time we'll try out a different style.

This is the finished product. I used MyPaint, check out my review page to find out more. I had an easier time with this one than on my first walkthrough. Check it out.

Part 1

This is just another one of the many different ways you can draw manga and anime. As you can see, I drew the head outline, kind of like a silhouette. I drew a straight line as a measurement for the shoulders. By doing this early on, I'll have an idea on what thickness I want the body to have. It'll also help be visualize what kind of position the character will be at. On this example, I wanted to character to be leaning a little so I made the shoulder line uneven.

Part 2

I immediately drew a rough sketch of the face because I already had an idea on my mind and I might forget it later on. I also drew a hairline guide.

Part 3

The look I was going for was a little more mature and I decided on this hairstyle. My inspiration for the hair was Mitsuru from Persona 3 (google if you don't know.)

Part 4

I started on drawing the clothes but I had know idea what to make, so I decided on high collars. I love them high collars, they're my fallback clothes whenever I can't think of something else.

Part 5

Now comes the body. Do you see the curve in the middle? I used that as a guide for the body shape. Since I wanted the character's body to be arching a little, I first made a curved line to represent that. More on that when I post my tutorial on how to draw manga and anime bodies. I also drew a box to represent the chest.

Part 6

The next step is drawing the clothes. Start with basic shapes and work your way up. I also sketched the hand, just enough to give it form and make it recognizable. I'm really bad at drawing hands by the way. We're almost finished.

Part 7

Big leap from the last part. What I did was first clean the line art, and while doing that I realized that the hands were wrong so I made some changes. I have a habit of overdoing folds on clothes and it's not always a good thing. Too much detail can actually destroy a design.

And there we go, the finished product. Hopefully you picked up some pointers that will help you. Thank you for visiting my blog and be sure to come back from time to time.

You can download the images and the ORA file for MyPaint here: http://www.fileserve.com/file/zjTEw87

Suggestion Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:12:00 +0000

I'm thinking of making video walkthroughs and tutorials. I already have CamStudio, but I'll need a video editing software, do you guys have any suggestions? It'd be nice if it's cheap, free ones will be even better. Anything except windows movie maker, even if just for simple editing.

It'll be a while though before I actually make one. Right now I'm just focusing on writing walkthroughs all the while learning from watching other people's works. I made another sketch, just to make it worth the while. Check it out.

Somehow I feel like there's something wrong with this one, but I just can't put my finger on it.

Sketch: Beach Girl and Free Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:47:00 +0000

Whenever I watch the jdorama Beach Boys, it always makes me want to go to the beach. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend you do. Mind you that it's a pretty old series but it's definitely one of the best jdorama shows I've watched. Now you might ask, what does it have to do with drawing manga. The answer is, the beach!!! I made a simple rough sketch of an anime girl carrying a beach ball. When I started it, I didn't really have any kind of setting in mind. If you just keep on drawing and sketching, sometimes an idea will pop up. This is just a rough sketch, I have no idea if I'll finish it or just leave it like that. I have tons of artwork saved on my computer and 99% of those are sketches.

Update: One more just for fun.

I found an old unfinished artwork I was doing for a friend.

You get a free cookie if you can guess who these manga characters are^^

How To Draw Manga and Anime: Walkthrough 1

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:31:00 +0000

I labeled this as a walkthrough because I can't really call it a tutorial. We'll get to the manga tutorials on future posts, but right now I'll just walk you through my design process as I drew a simple character design. Like I mentioned before, we'll start with the very basic. This walkthrough is for beginners only but everyone is welcome to check it out. Hopefully after viewing this, you can be on your way to learning how to draw manga.

On this walkthrough, I used a free drawing software called MyPaint. If you want to find out more about this application, check out my reviews. This is the finished product. Find out how I made it.

First let me remind you again that this is not a tutorial, I'll be posting those on future updates. Now its time to begin the How To Draw Manga and Anime: Walkthrough 1.

Part 1


Guess what this is

Believe it or not, that is actually the chin and jaw. This is how I would normally draw face. There are infinite ways to draw and it's important that you find the one you're most comfortable with. I like starting with the chin and jaw because they are a great indicator of the angle and direction of the head. More on that when I post my tutorial on how to draw manga and anime heads.

Part 2


My handwriting sucks, especially while using a graphics tablet

Why does it look like a box? Maybe because I find it easy to associate manga and anime faces with a box. The guide that you'll use should be entirely up to you because you're the only who'll know what works for you. Take the guide that I used for example, I use that as I make my sketch just to remind me of the basic shape of the head. It'll remind me where I'll place the ears, where the hairline is and gives me an idea as to how the finished product will look. These lines are my references and it works for me. As you learn how to draw, you'll develop your own ways to guide yourself, that's the reason why we sketch.

Part 3

I apologize for those who can't understand my handwriting

Now if you've seen other tutorials you might be familiar with the cross on the face. I personally don't use these but I can see why it's a great idea. If you're just starting out, I definitely recommend that you use them especially if you want to be consistent. They serve a lot of purpose. Most important is you'll know where the center of the face is. With that as a reference you'll know where to place the other parts of the face.

Part 4

This part is very straight-forward. Just draw the basic shape of the eyes, mouth etc. This is to know whether you're getting the look that you want without taking a lot of time making a full render. For example, do I like the placement of the eyes, are they too big? Whether they're aligned right or if they match the look that I'm going for. The same goes for the nose and mouth.

Part 5

These lines are normally just imaginary. It's not required to draw them but it's a good idea if you want to be consistent. Say for example you're making a character for your manga or comics. The shape of the head is entirely up to your style. They can be more round or more elongated depending on the look you're going for or the genre you're working with.

Part 6

I finally used a proper text tool

Because I used the head outline as a reference, I know immediately where and how I'll place the hair. On this example I used a very generic hairstyle. There's nothing wrong with that, you can go as plain or as wild as you like.

Part 7

I chose a very cutesy style for the eyes and I changed the shape of the mouth. I'm quite happy with how it turned out because I have no experience with drawing with this style, kind of a typical shoujo character. My preferred character style is more akin to what you'll see on shounen and seinen genres.

Part 8

This is the finished line art, it changed slightly from how it looked on my sketch. I used hard lines on this example, it's not necessary and should depend on you. Very rarely do I make colored character designs, I also prefer rough looking and very organic styles. I usually don't clean my line art, I like it that way.

Part 9

This is a basic color tone. I start with the neutral color then darken for shadows and lighten for highlights.

Part 10

And we're finally done. Thank you for visiting my blog and be sure to come back from time to time for more walkthroughs and tutorials on how to draw manga and anime.

You can download the images and the ORA file for MyPaint here: http://www.fileserve.com/file/VSX9G7p

Sample Work

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:12:00 +0000

Here are some of my early work, they are fairly simple each taking about an hour or so to finish. The applications I used are MyPaint for sketching and initial outline, and GIMP for coloring. If you're not familiar with Mypaint, please check out my review. On future posts, I'll walk you through my process and show you how to draw something like these. If you work hard enough, you can definitely make something even better. I'm a beginner just like you so let's learn together.

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Welcome to Game Manga Beat and thank you for visiting. On this blog, I will post beginner tutorials on how to draw manga and anime as I learn them. You see, I too want to learn how to draw and as I learn new techniques, I'll post step by step tutorials and walk you through my process. I can't guarantee that you'll learn from me, but I feel that sometimes it's easier to learn from a fellow beginner than from a professional. Like how sometimes you would understand a lesson better by asking a fellow student rather than from a teacher. We'll start from the very basic and work our way up. I'll also use different drawing software at different times and hopefully you'll find your favorite.

I'll post news and reviews about computer games and hardware that interests me. I'll also show you video clips that I watch online. Do check out my blog from time to time to see updates. Thank you.