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markcrilley β What to Put in a How-To-Draw-Manga Book?
Published: 2012-02-24 13:56:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 26531; Favourites: 217; Downloads: 497
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Description
If you want a quick overview of what's in Mastering Manga so as to know what I did and didn't cover in it, watch this video, which covers the main sections pretty thoroughly:[link]
Thanks for leaving your comments-- I look forward to reading them!
If you would like to order Mastering Manga, it is available right now:
At bn.com: [link]
And Amazon: [link]
And other online stores as well, of course. It is due in actual bookstores March 8th. Thanks so much for your support!
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Comments: 534
If youre still reading these, i would love to see some tips on drawing arms and legs. Also hair. Not just page full of hairstyles, but more like how is manga hair constructed? How to curveΒ those spikes whenΒ creating your own hairstyles? and stuff like that. Basically TL DR: more explaining, less pages full of references
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Lots of tips on drawing hair (I suck at drawing hair >.<)Something about backgrounds?
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maybe some coloring tips... more tips on backgrounds... or maybe some tips about publishing and things..?
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Hey, I have your first book and i'm excited for a second. I don't have any suggestions because you have a bunch and I'm late... I have seen your vids and that's why I bought the first book. I just got Brody's ghost Β 1&2 cuz that's all they had. They only had 3 of the 4 miki falls bcuz someone lost the first book. Β But after starting brody's ghost, I'm so excited to read them both!!
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i agree with sammantha saluki ( even thought i don't have the first ) these are places i have trouble with in any style
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Late comment but:
Parts to be expanded?
Maybe explaining a bit more on the wrinkles? I've read and looked at the pages with how to do those over and over and still having troubles.
Or explaining about the arms and the legs, because I don't know when to stop drawing the thighs and the two parts of both arms and legs don't look symmetrical.
Also maybe more on the hands?
Things to cover?
Different kinds of guidelines used (because I see people using different kinds of guidelines)
Animals in a manga-like way. (Mostly dogs, cats, mice, etc.)
More poses probably (focusing on sitting poses and such)
Things to be improved?
Not much. It was pretty good in my opinion ^_^
Advanced or Beginner?
I liked to see it balanced. People might be really good at drawing one thing, but might need to read a simplified version on how to draw another thing. Maybe have one part for beginners and another for when you can do more advanced?
Besides all this I can't wait for the new book
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i am probably late with a suggestion but i would say a section on muscular tones like you know how you can make muscles using the skeletal templates everyone hates and loves or maybe even common mistakes people make with those skeletal templates something along those lines(no pun intended)
really need to get your book your vids have helped me alot thank you for that
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How about something on arms and legs. Mine just look like noodles...
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Perhaps you could do something on Foreshortening?
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I loved Mastering Manga, it's the only drawing book that I can actually sit down and read instead of just flipping through the pages.
I book 2 I'd like to see more in depth instruction on drawing hand and feet, costume design, coloring, and some tips on character and story development.
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I absolutely loved your Mastering Manga book, it was so useful! I'm considering getting myself a permanent copy.
As for a new book, I'd like to see more on shading and highlights, anatomy, and foreshortening. Maybe a thing or two about drawing animals too!
Your so awesome! I wish you luck in your possible second book!
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Perhaps some lessons on how to draw weaponry. Such as guns, swords, etc. Thanks
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more on drawing hair and chibi and putting in high lights
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I would have liked to see more intsuctions on anatomy and proportions. I would also like to see how to draw curly hair.
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Oh, and how to layer colors!
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I would like to see some things like human anatomy and things like that that could be drawn in a semi-realistic style for a manga series!
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Hi! I loved all your books(that of course includes Mastering Manga) and I did improved a lot with it! Okay, here are my recommendations to your questions:
Q1: I think you should add a bit more on how to draw long haired male and female characters(yes, I know there was one in "Twenty Different Hairstyles" but it didn't cover much. Another thing I think you should add is shading. That includes hair shading and maybe even eye shading(I always get them wrong). Although it's not very difficult but whenever I draw them they're just zigzags on the hair and black blobs and shapes in the eyes.
Q2: The section where it explains how to draw the face needs three minor and easy, but important details: Nose, ears, and mouth. That way it'll cover all facial features.
Q3: Covered in Q1 and Q2.
Q4: I prefer having the first book for beginners and the second book for intermediate and advanced people.
Q5: I already have the book and I absolutely love it!
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Hi there, Mark-san!
I was extremely happy with MM#1 (it helped a lot) but I noticed that you didn't really do much on head-positions. I have trouble finding references for this and it would be great if you could explore more interesting angles in MM#2. Examples are: head tilted forward, backward and left to right. It sounds simple enough, but none of the How-To books I've seen explain this!
Thank you,
Rayne-san
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The elements like Lightning, Fire, Water, Wind and Earth would be nice.
Also expanding of clothes wrinkles and folds would be great.
Also try adding where to add shadows and light.
And finally if you can... ELABORATE MORE ON FIGHT SCENES jeez... 
(Personal Question: When a character opens his(or her) mouth do you increase the chin length? And how do you do that without making the character inrecognisable?)
Btw the book should be a little bit of both beginner and advanced
but what would be REALLY GREAT if you make a beginner lesson of something and also a advanced lesson on something expanding on the beginner lesson either right after it or near the end of the section but IN THE SAME BOOK Hope this helps/helped and I wasn't too late!
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Foreshortening?
The video (of a young girl frolicking through a cherry blossom fields with the viewers and what not) you provided us with only showed me how to draw an outstretched hand going towards the reader. What about bent legs going to the back, like someone sitting on the ground, or arms reaching backwards the opposite way of the viewer?
Other than that, I trust you'll do great to make another How-To book; the first is amazing!
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And also I'd like to see helpful tips or a little section of how we can start on the right path to becoming a manga ka! I've heard from many artists that it is very difficult and that weed most likely fail with trying to publish our works. My dream is to become a famous mangaka, I know how troubling that could be but I want to be guided on how I can make that possible (in America of course) and really cheap as well!
Maybe give a background story of yourself of how you came this far!
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Show how to draw shonen style faces for both men and women! I've been trying to draw a aces for a shonen story but I can't get it right!!
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I'd love to see you incorporate more fuller-figured characters into your examples. I just think it'd be kind of neat to see heavier characters more in the spotlight when it comes down to things like these. 
Love your stuff man! Can't wait until your next book comes out! Good luck
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I would really like to see tutorials based on the different hair types, and an overall how to draw hair and bangs. Tutorials on the hands, feet, and creating your own poses would be great as well.
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I think that would be great if you show us some techniques of coloring with colored pencils! And you also could do the second book with advanced stuff, because there's A LOT of how to draw books for beginners ;D
*Sorry! My English is bad T-T*
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hands, oh god the hands are my weak point.
maybe some detailed instructions on placement and how long the fingers should be and proportions and what-not would be good.
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I would really want a book that teaches me how to draw different 'face shapes'. I can never find any good references and that's difficult for me because all my characters look so different.
If you did this, I would really appreciate it! ,-,
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really love your videos and i do my best to do something half as good as you x3
most of my sketches are black and white though lol I have a few posted up but i dont think they're that good ^^6 would love to get advice though lol.
happy holidays! and thanks for sharing your skills talent and patience with us =3
take care!
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I'd really like to learn about the hands, and how to draw ninjas, neko girls, etc. I haven't seen your first book, but I'm really intrigued by the cover...
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I would like to see more of how to draw the hands and a little more of the perspective in both the buildings and people. I also would like to see how you would draw animals. You've helped me out a lot with this book and I want to thank you for that.
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fantasy creatures! like angels, dragons etc. maybe ninja or more chibies! thank you mark!
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I think the book should have a mixture of beginner and advanced things.
You'd have to really dumb down the steps of drawing to teach someone like me it. I just watch your videos and enjoy, I'm not smart or talented enough to really learn anything from them.
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Yea, do one part of the book for beginners and then another part add advanced... ORRRR you can do is do a beginner draw then add an option of going advanced maybe?
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Well maybe more hair styles but like shaved hairstyles for boys glasses or more accessories like hats bows and jewelry or maybe more backgrounds ! Not To sound Fat or anything but what about food like sushi and all types of other food and a lot of more chibis ,facial expressions well I have the first book and looking forward to this secon one ~Katelyn
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maybe how to draw shoes, I'm not the best
unless you already covered that in the first book XD
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I'd love some tips on drawing characters that are different ethnicities, without them looking the same but with a different skin shade or like Mr Popo.
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Fantasy creatures like dragons!! Maybe some animals too
You do hair so well that i'd really like to see more of that as well!
A big thing that i would like to see is Coloring, I know from your videos that you like Black and White more than color, but Color is still a big thing from the covers, and also if (like me) You just draw manga for the fun of every drawing, not for a book.
Also wanted to say I loved Mastering Manga! It is the best How-to-draw manga book ever! Maybe the best how-to-draw book EVER!!
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I skimmed your book Mastering Manga, and I thought, 'Well, I really want to see more fighting scenes." I also want to see perspective, and possibly a simpler way to draw eyes and body proportions! Thanks
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Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think you ever went over animals in Mastering Manga. I think it would help many of us if you could go into detail with that. Also, if you could go over wings (both types, angel and dragon) in the next book as well as how they should be positioned, and maybe examples of both types in man different poses and angles.
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Hey there,
I'm not a manga artist myself, but I follow your tutorials on youtube concerning clothing, perspective and stuff like that and I found them pretty useful. If I were searching for a how to draw book, manga or otherwise, I would definitely like to see something more 'advanced' topics, instead of 'how-to-draw-step-by-step' books. With this in mind, here are some topics I would love to see covered:
- landscape design/composition/ perspective: though I can do drawings with one, two or three-point perspective, I still have a hard time doing a complete landscape that looks believable. I'd love to understand how one person can design a landscape (maybe doing a map, or designing the buildings separately and then putting them altogether would work?) without getting it too childish (as in, with lack of detail) or getting it looking like those typical 1-point perspective streets that look like corridors that go on beyond infinity. Some mention as to where to look for inspiration for certain type of landscapes would be a great help too.
- character/outfit design: this may be a tricky subject, because there are really no rules here, but things like keeping a consistent design in a character or among a group of characters of the same story, defining the background of a character, and other related topics would be very useful to know
- character variety: if we have two female characters who are the same age, how can we tell them apart besides hairstyle and eye color? How can we make subtle changes in a character's features without suddenly changing the whole style of the drawing?
- not-so-perfect body types: how to turn a normal-super-model-like body into the body of someone who is a bit over-weight, or someone who's really skinny, or someone with a hunchback? I don't know how much of this you covered in your first book, but it is usually a very overlooked matter in drawing books.
- detailing outfits: drawing a character that wears more than a simple tshirt with jeans... how can we turn this into someone wearing THE jeans and THE tshirt?
- guiding the viewer: whether it be in a picture of along the panels of a comic page, how can we guide the viewer to follow the path we want to?
- (traditional) inking: more than the typical 'keep your sketch light, wait for the ink to dry before erasing the pencil', I would be looking forward to learn about line (thickness) variation, how to convey volume with lines, and some shading and texturing techniques.
this is getting long, time for the final topic!
- building a story: we have some ideas, some character designs, some of the scenes in our minds... how do we turn this into a comic?
Phew! That is all. All there is left to say is keep up the good work, looking forward to see the new book
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I bought ur first one and it is AWESOME! as expected. I reckon you could do more on background and manga animals! Luv a very loyal fan!
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I have bought your first book and I found it very useful. Sadly I won't be using it because I already reach the status of no longer using books. (I bought it because I like to support you I guess.)
However I think you might need to teach a little more about storytelling (the more advanced parts of it) rather than teaching how to draw. Because I think that artists who like to learn how to draw, would also like to make comics in general (or if many wants me to say it, Manga). What is mostly dominated in bookstores is "How-to-draw stylized idea." How to MAKE comics (ex: Scott McCloud's books, Will Eisner's instructional books, and Jessica's & Matt's books,) are mostly rare and pushed aside.
However something tells me that you might be unable to create those kinds of tutorials. Is it because that isn't your strong point right? If so, I don't think you need to add those features. Perhaps you make it as miscellaneous like in the end of the book (again), deviantArt submission, or make a video about it.
Or you could forget what I said because you already know your target audience and that is important.
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I'd like to see more styles of girls and boys hair. I think more ways to draw eyes would be helpful too. The book should be in the more advanced zone I think because you covered many beginner things in the first book. Hope this was helpful! Peace out!
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Your book has been very helpful 
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Please note that this is just my opinion on what was missing from your how-to-draw book and what could be put in to future books:
-With the faces, I think that the focus should be more on what aspects and proportions of a face have what effect, instead of what faces have what aspects. What I mean by this is that I think that explaining certain facial features, such as wrinkles, eye placement, mouth placement, jaw shape and size, etc. in detail and their effects on the look of the face would allow people to put together their own faces, instead of showing them examples of different kinds of faces and letting them figure out what makes that face look like it does.
-body proportions need to be looked at in more of a 3d perspective to be done correctly in different poses. Showing the body at different angles, showing what basic shapes can be used to approximate the form of each body part, showing the what specific limbs look like in different positions such as bent or stretched, and touching a bit on musculature would give more depth to the proportion AND posing lessons. Accompanying visual representations would be nice too.
-You have an awesome amount of examples. Some poses and faces are hard to do if you don't know what the entire thing looks like. Knowing how to draw individual parts of it is important, but knowing how to put them together into the complete image is equally as important. Whatever you do, DO NOT go easy on the example images.
-Shading lessons. I know that shading can go very in depth, and could probably take up an entire book of it's own, so at least some example pictures of light sources affecting characters and objects and showing a few styles of shading could be included.
-an independent section encouraging independent study. If the readers have a strong enough desire to get better and understand that studying styles, techniques, and proportions will help, then they will seek material to study from. Showing useful styles and techniques, citing possible resources, and pointing out other things that the reader should look at to make up for what the book can't include should absolutely be in a how-to-draw book. The impossibility of going in-depth with broad topics like backgrounds can at least be addressed by this. This is especially necessary if the book is for beginners, since they may not know what they need to look at next upon finishing the book.
-perspective. Personally, I can't do perspective, so I don't know how difficult it would be to put that into a book without it taking up too much space, but at least showing some examples of characters and limbs from different perspectives, just to show how it can look when done right, would help.
-Color. Not as important in actual manga, but a large part of manga culture involves colorful illustrations not unlike those seen here on DA, or on sites like pixiv. Giving tutorials on color choice, techniques, media, etc. would be a very useful thing to learn and a worthwhile thing to cover in a book.
-If you don't think you can fit all of this in, maybe making a series of books that cover specific topics would be a better idea? If you plan on making a whole bunch of how-to-draw books, then it would be easier to make books that cover specific topics in a lot of depth than make a bunch of general purpose books.
-more frequent use of "indicate".
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different ways to make chibis! they're fav to draw!
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crippled people, wheel chairs, crutches......you know
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