Tao of Guerra

I remember back in the day when I picked up my first “How to Draw Manga” book. I flipped through it and was amazed by how much I was learning, even though it was written in Japanese (published by Graph-Sha) and I couldn’t read a word of it! As I kept buying more volumes in the series I saw a profound difference improvement in my work, especially when they started to publish them in English the next year. I highly recommend these, not just to learn the manga style (that might not be your thing), but for movement, clothing, fight scenes, backgrounds, objects, animals, you name it. The series is very thorough and you can pick up specific books that appeal to you.

The flip side of success is imitation - bad imitation. There are so many books out there that jumped on the bandwagon and claimed to teach manga, but most were awful. They’re just trying to make a quick buck and think slapping big eyes on every character is enough. Oh, how little they know! There are so many styles of manga. Do we say that the illustrations in kids books are indicative of all graphic novels? Is Dr. Seuss the same as “The Dark Knight Returns”? Is “Pokemon” the same as “Deathnote”? Of course not.

Due to the proliferation of bad instructional books, people who are curious should not confuse knock offs with the original books from Japan (How to Draw Manga, Let's Draw Manga, etc). There’s so much that they break down so it’s easy to understand, they provide a fantastic resource. The series covers a wide range of subjects and skill levels, from beginner techniques to advanced. I find I often go back to books on mechanical objects like robots, cars, gun, tanks, even zombies. You name it, and they’ve already done a book on it.

Here are some volumes from the “How to Draw Manga” and the “Let’s Draw Manga” series that I found helpful for reference and inspiration when I was stuck for ideas. They’re mostly for an intermediate skill level, but anyone can learn from them. All I can say is that I keep going back to them again and again. I’ve seen a marked improvement in my work, and I’ve gained more of a polished professional look. They help me with anything I draw and any style I draw in, and if you’ve seen my work you know I draw in whatever style I feel like at the time. The lessons apply across the board.

“Manga Matrix: Create Unique Characters Using the Japanese Matrix System” by Hiroyoshi Tsukamoto
This is one of my favorite reference books for inspiration on creating unique characters. I think this book deserves a post of it’s own. It uses a Japanese system, where you can plot and cross-section elements on a matrix diagram to create an infinite number of original characters, creatures, beasts, angels, demons, dragons, monsters, and robots. For example, why not break the laws of nature and create a bird attacking fish? Just combine a swordfish x flying fish x marine bird, transform the gills into wings, and transform a crustacean’s skin into a beak. How a rock x bulldog x gorilla + tulip for a tail + horns? This book helps give your imagination a starting point so you don’t have to stare at a blank page.

“How to Draw Manga (volume 28): Couples” by Hiraku Hayashi
This is the only book I’ve come across that teaches how to work two figures into a shot. It has pages of effective poses that you can use as reference. Drawing two bodies together can be one of the more difficult things you can draw, and this book helps to break it down into manageable pieces. It even references differences in male and female arm lengths when they wrap around each other. It’s not a beginner book, so you need some basic anatomy and drawing skills going in, but we all need to keep working on the basics.

“How to Draw Manga (volume 29): Putting Things into Perspective” by K’s Art
This book is invaluable! It doesn’t just cover 1st, 2nd, and 3rd point perspective, but it also teaches you how to draw slopes (up & down). It uses indoor and outdoor examples from real life so your backgrounds are solid. It also covers everything from basic standing, to multiple characters with varying heights so they don’t look like they’re above or below the perspective plane. It even gets into complicated shots like a fish bowl lens. Again, this isn’t a beginner book.

“How to draw Manga (volume 32): Mech. Drawing” by Katsuya Yamakami
When I need to do any mechanical drawing, I pull out this book. It covers everything: bicycles, robots, androids and space stations, using just 4 elements (metal, glass, rubber, plastic). It helps you lay down a solid knowledge base from which you can draw whatever mechanical monstrosity you can think or fantastic marvel you can think of. It breaks down the process so you can take what’s in your mind and put it down on paper.

“Let's Draw Manga: Transforming Robots” by Yasuhiro Nitta
This takes you through the transformation process using Gobots and Power Rangers robots so it’s easy to understand. And why not? PLEX dseigned those toys, so they’re a great reference for how to draw them. It takes everyday vehicles and folds them into robots with proper proportions.

“How To Draw Manga (volume 6): Martial Arts & Combat Sports” by Hikaru Hayashi and Kunichika Harada
This book helps you get away from the typical haymaker style fight you see in most comics. It covers a variety of fighting styles, including judo, karate, kendo, boxing etc., and street fights. It also covers both men and women, which is a big plus. I was trained in martial arts and it helped me break down the movements like nothing else I’ve come across. Depicting a fight is a lot different than being in one. It teaches how to draw kicks, punches, throws, grappling, etc. It even covers martial uniforms for both sexes, in case you want your characters to wear the appropriate clothes. It doesn’t cover facial expressions very much, but there are other books in the series to help you with that. This is straight up martial arts and fighting.

“How to Draw Manga (volume 23): Illustrating Battles” by Hikaru Hayashi
This book covers Chinese martial arts, pro-wrestling techniques, Akido and other fighting arts. It focuses on the dramatic side of a fight, not so much the technical poses and body movements. This helps you give your scenes a strong emotional impact. It also offers you great tips on how to add details that add a sense of reality to your drawings. For example, there are comments on almost every page with tips on things like like how to add bruises (from slight to someone call a doctor!), how give clothes that battle worn look, how to make a face look swollen, and other types of physical damage. It covers straight up punches and kicks to how characters scramble to their feet after being hit. There’s even a catfight that goes into the movement of clothes and fabric (in school girl uniforms – of course).

“How to Draw Manga (volume 24): Occult & Horror” by Hikaru Hayashi
Great reference for anyone drawing horror, fantasy, or magic based work. It offers many ideas and techniques, like how to make the insides of a zombie fall out of their mid-sections in just the right way, or how to draw a severed limb. It also shows you how to draw moody and dark backgrounds. Gory and gorgeous stuff!

“How To Draw Manga (volume 38): Ninja & Samurai Portrayal” by Team Esaka and “Let's Draw Manga: Ninja and Samurai” by Hidefumi Okuma

These book provide historical reference for characters. They cover period costumes, hairstyles, assorted faces, props, armor, and weapons for various types of ninja clans (both sexes) and samurai. They also review motion, fabric movement, poses, how to hold and use the different types of weapons, how to wield a sword, how to strike, stances, where the characters feet should be, etc. They not only cover the costumes, but the undergarments and who they were worn.


“How to Draw Anime & Game Characters” series by Tadashi Ozawa
This series starts with “Basics for Beginner” which covers manga and anime style drawing, but also video game design. It has step-by-set instructions on drawing male and female characters, from young to old, how to add expression to the face and body movements, clothing, and accessories. The rest of the series goes into detail on expressing emotions, everyday mannerisms, body language, and character design.

“Let's Draw Manga: Fantasy” by Noriko Tsubota and Big Mouth Factory
I use this as resources to help me sort of think and be inspired or sometimes straight out reference. For example in the monster book it teaches you as system on how to create different looking monsters. Every once in a while when I feel that every monster I’m drawing looks the same I turn to that book.

Post by Miguel & Suzy