Manga Character Design Suggestions

[Guest artisticpoet07]

My brother and I are trying to get a Manga going, but I was wondering something. How should I draw the first draft of my characters? Do I just draw every chance I get and try to get some ideas how the characters are going to be developed in my head. I usually just draw fan art but I need a picture to do them and I was wondering if that is somewhat of a hindrance in my creation of my Manga characters? Any feedback or suggestion would really help me out. Thanks in Advance! :animesmil

[Retribution]

[size=1]Hey artisticpoet, I'm going to move this to the Manga Workshop where you'll be more likely to receive help. In the future, though, post these kinds of things there. Thanks![/size]

[eleanor]

[color=dimgray] You should only use other pictures/artwork for reference when you're just learning to draw, or if you're just using one for an occasional inspiration or specific reference. Drawing fanart all your life will only hinder your own style, which is something that forms as you draw independently.

Just think about what you enjoy drawing in a character. The major problem with original characters is when artists fail to create a unique and fresh design and instead make a generic, good-looking person. I mean, unless the character has an amazing background and personality, the best character designs are ones that are unique but lovable. (I'll surpress my urge to bring up Disney characters since you're making a manga character); the best character design I've come across in anime/manga recently is Ed from FMA. Obviously, the shortness and braid might be a call back to Duo, but Ed became a character design in his own right. I also like Sanji and Luffy's character design from One Piece, and Naruto's whisker marks are sort of ingenius to me. Most of the things I love about these characters are just small additions, like the whiskers or Luffy's straw hat and eye design, Sanji's eyebrows/cigarette, etc. I mean, L from Death Note's dark eyelids was such a great and appropriate part of his design.

Ok, I could ramble on forever. Sorry this post is so long, I just have a thing for good character design, it's probably one of the hardest/most important things an animator can tackle.[/color]

[Guest artisticpoet07]

Thanks Lunox. I think I will do as you advised, and I agree with the examples you gave. They are unique characters in their own way, especially Ed, haha. Im going to try to envision the characters faces. The problem is that I just have a lot of trouble with the face, expressions and so forth. It's going to take time, but I will eventually get something down. For now, I will just practice random eyes, noses, mouths, etc. To see what I can get. Thanks again!

[Chikara Kokoro]

It might be helpful to imagine the character's personality before figuring out what they look like. Knowing your character on the inside will help you on imagining what they make themselves look like (ie hairstyle, clothing, and makeup) as well as what facial expressions they're most likely to make. For example: a female "tomboy" type character would most likely avoid having long, flowing hair and wearing nothing other than dresses. It's my belief that characters seem more realistic if their personalities are created before their physical appearance.

In terms of learning how to draw, I highly recommend watching lots of animation (I prefer Disney and Miyazaki films) and reading books on traditional drawing. It may seem harder (mostly because it is ^^; ), but learning how to draw the anatomy of real people will save you a lot of time later on.