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markcrilley — 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
I think that the book should start out progressively. I think for the second book u can go from a starting point to an advance drawing. That way people can improve as they read.
also i think u should continue to do the character design, but include a section on tips and advice when drawing poses.
My order for the book hasn't arrived yet, so my suggestions right now are plainly based on the sneak peeks.
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- How to draw hands, eyes, and feet and not just the references, environments, clothing and wrinkles
-Shading and coloring, maybe advice on character development, people perspective, animals, action poses and how to draw them
-How the book was made is fine
-looking for both basic and advanced
-I own the first book and love it
Continue with your work and be the one who is there for those artists who need help
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could you introduce drawing people in perspective? i know how to do buildings and everthing, but i cant find a how-to for people
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I loved the book althought I think a few things should be added like lessons on: animals/creatures, indeph perspective (seeing people from different angles), go more indeph in hands, shoes and feet; shading and coloring beginner lessons and drawing backgrounds (schools,gardens, houses, objects ect...). I overall loved the book very much and I think a balance inbetween beginner and advanced is good. If there is ever a book 2 I would like to see a new set of refrence material and the lessons stay the way they are. I'm an aspiring artist and you where my first inspiration mr.Crilley and I apreciatte what you do just for the fans 
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Clothing(wrinkles and such), postions(as in sitting, kissing or hugging), and shading detail(light direction and highlights). Beginner and Advanced balanced tips. Thanks again.
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i got your book a few days ago - it's amazing! i think animals would be really cool, and also how to draw people in different positions, like swimming or horse riding, and also a more in depth section on the embraces and kisses, with more detail on how to do each pose
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oh oh oh please could you put tutorials on clothes and wrinkles? theyre the hardest ever >.< and learning how to draw manga animals would be nice too! thank you
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As a struggling artist myself i have spent months browsing the internet searching for the most ideal tutorials for the subject of manga and have been very particular about the best way for a beginner to start. I have found a series of five or six books, now out of print by the name of How To Draw Manga: Sketching Manga Style by Graphic-Sha Publishing, Japan. These are going for hundreds of dollars on Amazon.com and are supposed to be amongst the best to learn for the Manga subject matter. I will link to a Flickr page of a person who scanned a small number of these books being blessed enough to acquire them. When you have some time, please browse though the images of the scans so that you can get a fairly good idea of what each book covers and therefore it perhaps might give you a general idea as to what to include for the next "how to" book. Thank you sir.
[link]
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I received your book just yesterday, but I love it ^^ But one thing it had a few things it lacked that I would really like to see in a second book.
First, I really wish it had were tutorials on how to draw animals. I always get to that spot where I really wanna draw a cat, dog, fish bird, dragon, ect. but then it ends up looking like some sort of alien creature with little or no resembalence to what it should actually look like!
Also, I'd really like to see step-by step drawings of hands and feet. The reference pictures you included in the book were great, but I still feel like I can't quite grasp how to proportion the lines in relation to the base I begin with.
My final request is that I'd like to see step by step back and 3/4 veiw tutorials at least of the head if not the full body.
Anyway, your a great teacher both in the book and in your youtube videos! ^^ Keep it up~
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Congratulations!
First of all Id like to thank you for you're marvelous body of work. Secondly I wanted to congratulate you on such an impressive book, I must say it's a real diamond in the rough... I say so because I own quite a few "how-to-draw" manga /art books, "roughly 30 of them. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't believe in my own art talents, Ive just always believed that theirs always something new I can learn or improve upon. The thing I enjoyed most about mastering manga is that it had almost everything I could ask for in a triple A How to art book "sooo many wonderful references!". So what would I like to see in a how-to-draw manga book? Well most of all Id love to see a few more pro tips, for us not-so beginning and advanced manga artist.To be a little more specific Id love to see tips on subjects like visual story pacing,tips on ways to build tension and better dramatic moments etc. More in depth tutorials on hair and outfit creation "Tips on ways to put together original designs for both" and if at all possible, any tips on getting you're manga published would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again Mr.Crilley you're an inspiration to all of us soon to be manga pros
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i got your book yesterday and honestly i haven't stopped drawing since
i defiantly think you should make the next book to be more advanced because the book covered all the basics of drawing manga.
i actually really struggle with drawing male characters the come out looking more feminine and i always find that boy characters in manga more of a long shaped head if that makes any sense.
showing the difference between a beginner and a advanced manga artist what you do to improve to become an expert would be great
thankyou your book as helped me alot
from a huge fan! xD
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I just got your book and I have to say that it is brilliant. It covers a vast amount of information and everything is presented in a clear, natural way which makes it really easy to read and follow. As regarding the second book I believe I have some ideas that you might include. It is actually my hobby to collect all sorts of "how to draw" books, not only manga but also fantasy and science fiction. But back to my ideas:
- I really like those little, yellow lines that point to a particular part of the drawing in your book with a very short note as to what to look out for etc. (for exampe the boy's jaw at page 18). I think that you should include more of them pointing to the tricky places that most people usually get wrong at the beginning
- the first book is perfect for beginners so it would be fair to make the other one more advanced with only small parts for beginners that you consider that should also be included. But in the end I would like the second one to be focused on advanced/highly advanced stuff
- the parts on feet, hands and shoes should be more developed. It is great idea to put 50 ways to draw hands, but I believe that there should be a section showing how to draw a hand in a particular pose (eg. holding a pencil) from three different angles/sides to give people an idea of how to visualise how it should look on paper. Same goes for feet, some more in-depth, step-by-step presentation would also be nice. And shoes! Personally I find it extremally difficult to draw shoes properly with or without reference - it's basically the most difficult part to me that I have encountered so far....
- there should be also some tips as to how to draw people from other perspectives, like frog perspective or bird perspective or even the "fish-eye" (which would work not only for people)
- some animals. The most common ones like dog,cat,bird, squirrel maybe a lizard (I noticed that some artists like to draw animals realistically, while the others just go with chibi-style pets) - and while we're at this maybe you could consider showing how to draw different type of "skin"? I mean feathers, scales, fur - some people might want some tips on how to create some alien/mutated/fantasy races etc.
- liquids. and I don't mean just water (which in itself would be nice too eg. in the river, splashing, drops etc) but also some kind of slime, blood, some suspicious-looking slimy thing with unidentified particles suspended inside...
- depending on the age group you're aiming for I would like to see some explanation on how to draw blood (when it's flowing out of the wound, when it is splashed on the wall/floor) and that would go nicely with some tips on how to draw different kinds of wounds like. cuts, burns, open/closed bone fractures even with all the anatomical stuff like veins, intestines, swellings, etc. - the gory stuff, but as I said it depend's on what age group you want the book to be for so it's just something to consider (personally I would love to see how to draw a wound that is stiched up and not covered by bandages. I have seen such art only once and I was amazed at how much effect can it have on the dramatism of the scene)
- special effects: lightning, fire, explosions, magical energy, smoke, sparkles etc. you could also include some ideas/tips on how to draw a spells (like some line of magic symbols wrapping around someone's hand or just floating in the air, also some tips on how one might fasion such symbols so that they wouldn't look lame)
- section about shading would be nice - there are a lot of ways to shade eg. uniform shade, shade going darker and darker etc.
- backgrounds: I would love some tips on how to draw a terrain. It is not that simple to draw a tree or a stone so some tips on where to put cracks, what to pay attention to... also there should also be some information about the fine details for example: page 118 of your book, the very top panel where characters stand on the cliff looking down on a city. Even if I draw the cliff itself I haven't a clue as to how I should go about drawing those tiny details that show the variation in the ground itself because if I leave it blank it will just look completely flat. And if I try to meddle with it it just doesn't look right. I hope you know what I mean because it's not so easy to explain
- tips as how to tackle drawing more complicated objects in different angles, for example a gun. Normally one would try to find a reference on the internet but what if you just can't find it in the kind of position that you want to draw it in?
- maybe some science fiction stuff? like robots? mecha? cyborgs? sci-fi vehicles?
That is pretty much it for now. I know that it is very long-winded but hey, you asked for it right? 
I want to thank you all for reading my comment and I may be back with another one... In the future. xD
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I haven't gotten my copy yet, so excuse me if some of these things are already in your first book (I did watch the video though).
1. Side view and 3/4 back view lessons would be appreciated
2. Step by step hands and feet lessons
3. I really liked the idea of references, so please keep those...and maybe a lot of clothing references, as well as things like weapons
4. As others have said, an accessories section covering things like hats, scarves, and hoodies.
5. For the more complicated or unique poses, adding how to start from a stick/blocky figure, and developing it into a complete person/thing.
6. I don't know how much of the things I'm going to talk about, you've already covered, but umm...yeah...about panels, you might want to add a lesson on sizing them properly. I know a lot of people who make their panels WAY too small, trying to cram in too much, as I used to. And maybe some unique things you could add, such as how to fade into a flash-back or making characters go out and over the boxes a little to make them stand out.
7. If you have some extra room, I'd suggest adding a fantasy section, where you cover things like capes, wings, and maybe some magic-like effects, like the ones used in FMA (transmutation) or Negima. Maybe some creatures too.
8. Again, this isn't necessary, but probably a section on story developing and telling would be nice, and how to not make them cliche, as well as something similar on character creation. Another thing you could add that I would find useful are japanese NAMES. Names, names, names. I can usually think of the first names, but I'm horrible with last names.
9. Difficulty and content wise, I think you should make it about 4-6 the 4 being beginner level, and 6 being the advanced. You should still keep some recap and beginner stuff, but you covered a lot in the first book, so you might want to focus just a BIT more on the advanced things.
I'd recommend not adding too many specific areas or genres, as it might only appeal to certain people. Adding them is fine, but don't make them to extensive.
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I also would like a section on hats, scarves, and hoodies. I know that you have gone over some of this in your videos, but if it was in a how-to book it would be wonderful! I personally would like to learn how to draw a fedora and a beanie hat.
I'm not sure if you cover this in the book, but I also would like to know how to set up poses. I would love to draw more poses! And if you could cover that it would be extremely helpful!
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a) drawing from an angle that is looking from the bottom; like a glass floor and you're under it.
b) from the very top; opposite from 'a'
c) a balance between beginner and expert
d) some anthro...? Or maybe just animal people?
e) emotions in eyes
f) wrinkles(UGH! I HATE FAILING AT THIS! >_<)
g) Feet and shoes~
Thanks Mark!
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Yes, angels would be a great section to do! like different types of wings and such.
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Perceptivity. Drawing strange angles and dynamic poses that AREN'T cheesy.
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I don't know if this has been covered in the first book but could you please have a tutorial on drawing a child in and adults arms or something. I'm always having trouble placing a child beside an adult or an older kid. i don't know, making two characters interact has always been the most difficult thing for me to draw.
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Diffrent body shapes. Both on men and women. And really try to
both gender diffrent body shapes. Or else you'll end up like Christopher Hart
Men;
[link]
And women:
[link]
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I think the folds and clothing could be expanded! Same with body porportions, as that was only like 5 or 6 (possibly more) pages long but didn't explain enough or really walk me though s simple pose where the body is drawn using normal poportions (like the one you did recently , the random line drawing #2. I mean, the way YOU draw bodies normally, since everyone likes how you draw them).
I'd like to see more a everything, really. But the clothes of really what gets me! Same with hands and feet!!!
You know, would it be possible to have series of books? Like, for example: One book could be for heads, hair, eyes, facial features and the like. Book two could be half about body perportions and positions, hands and feet, and the other half about clothing. Book three could be about the odds and ends of things, like objects, backgrounds, word balloons and layouts (although to be honest, I think that was covered quite nicely in you Mastering Manga book). This way, people can buy the book THEY need instead of buying a book that is full of things that although are useful,. they don't REALLY need. I, for example, am fine with heads and facial features but I'm horrible with clothes and the body, hands and feet, so I would get book two. Since I take art class, the 1/2/3-point perspective was pretty useless to me since I already know all of it (although I like going through it and seeing how you explain it. My teacher told me it's something new in schools, and that when she went to collage they didn't have that technique). Anyways, I think that would be useful to people who are only looking for particular things.
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I think the folds and clothing could be expanded! Same with body porportions, as that was only like 5 or 6 (possibly more) pages long but didn't explain enough or really walk me though s simple pose where the body is drawn using normal poportions (like the one you did recently , the random line drawing #2. I mean, the way YOU draw bodies normally, since everyone likes how you draw them).
I'd like to see more a everything, really. But the clothes of really what gets me! Same with hands and feet!!!
You know, would it be possible to have series of books? Like, for example: One book could be for heads, hair, eyes, facial features and the like. Book two could be half about body perportions and positions, hands and feet, and the other half about clothing. Book three could be about the odds and ends of things, like objects, backgrounds, word balloons and layouts (although to be honest, I think that was covered quite nicely in you Mastering Manga book). This way, people can buy the book THEY need instead of buying a book that is full of things that although are useful,. they don't REALLY need. I, for example, am fine with heads and facial features but I'm horrible with clothes and the body, hands and feet, so I would get book two. Since I take art class, the 1/2/3-point perspective was pretty useless to me since I already know all of it (although I like going through it and seeing how you explain it. My teacher told me it's something new in schools, and that when she went to collage they didn't have that technique). Anyways, I think that would be useful to people who are only looking for particular things.
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I would like to see how to draw suits e.g. blazers, shirts, tie's, trousers and shoes, (each item of clothing done seperately, and together if possible) as the manga artwork I am trying to draw is office workers (just for some hardened practice as I can already draw other items of clothing) and I have reat difficulty with them, so if this could be in the book, it would be a great help
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Wow! A second book?
I was considering buying the first..
But one thing i wanted to see in the second one is, the more advanced stuff.
If it isn't in the first book, i'd like to see something on shading. where to put shading, more or less.
It's been a trouble for me ever since i started drawing manga.
I hope this will come through.
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I think it would be great to have an expanded section on the bodies that focused less on the perportions, and more on the guidelines and really skinny or muscular characters.
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Maybe a section on how the manga is created start to finish? as in from how you would come up with a story, the characters, the script, storyboard etc. to help out those of your fans who want to become a manga author like you? I think it would be a good thing to include ^^
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I just got your book yesterday and i love it. I really like how you included topics im the book that I have never seen in other drawing books (i.e full figured anatomy, age, inking, and lots of refrence material. For the second book you should include animals and more in depth explainations on human antomy for all kinds of people (i.e muscular,skinny,etc). I can't wait to see the next book!
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I would like to see animals such as cats,dogs,etc. Also, things you've have covered in your videos but not in the book itself hats,glasses,etc. Last of all, tips on character development so others writing Manga will not create characters that are TOO perfect (I believe the term for characters that are TOO perfect is "Mary Sue"). Thanks Mark you've helped a lot and I can't wait to see more of your work!^_^
~Gabby
11, Florida
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I haven't gotten the book yet (just ordered it!), but maybe more human and animal anatomy? Or maybe just more on animals? Or maybe just more human anatomy...idk, either works!
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Hi Mark,
bought your first tutorial book and must sa, I like it!
Though there have been a few things that could be improved. For example drawing faces/heads. While you describe it quite understandably, I'd have wished for a bit more in-depth details of specific parts. You give a basic idea about proportions and where to set the lines, yet still the people I draw are either hylians or elephants... A bit more detail on the ears would be appreciated, same for the mouth and the nose. They're mostly just lines in manga, yet quite some important ones I think.
Also for full bodies, you give basic impressions for proportions, but for the second book you could go more in-depth about proportions, female proportions, male proportions and also different proportions in different poses.
One thing I really liked a lot in your book: References!
Feet, hands, eyes, emotions...
Very good stuff to have a look at when trying something on your own, you should definitely include references for your topics in your second book too! Not many tutorial books have this to that extent, keep it up!
I hope this comment was of use for you, if you'd like more details just contact me :3
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How bout drawing something that would help us like the simple stuff in manga like water splashing and rock smashing. Even though some of us don't do shonen it would be very good to learn and get under our belt. I know how to do some of the stuff but seeing it from another perspective would be amazing.
ps. I got your book and I love that you might be doing another book, I look forward to it along with Brody's ghost as it comes out ^^
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Whatever you do, do not try to explain the character archetypes.
I see it a lot in how-to-draw books.
It explains the school girl, the bad boy, the tsundere so intensely, that it misses out on the actual anatomy directions.
Anatomy is what I'm looking for. Not an explanation of types of characters. It makes me feel that in order for a comic to be good, these characters have to be EXACTLY the same.
I read manga. I can recognize these archetypes already. I don't need a book to tell it to me again. Maybe a page or two would be okay, but in my opinion, a whole section dedicated to archetypes would be too much.
I'll just wait until the books come out in bookstores. 
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i just got the book today and i loved it, but i struggle ALOT with drawing sideways faces so mabey u could draw sideways faces but with different noses and chins and other facial features
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Definitely hands and feet, I struggle with those so much! And getting proportions right. Usually when I draw I person the head is small and the body is big, or the other way around. >.<
Ooh, and I'm so happy because my mum promised she'd get me Miki Falls for my birthday. YES!
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I would like to see a tutorial which goes into detail about how to create a character, how to make it unique, how to think of names for characters and things like that. (Sorry if this was already mentioned in Mastering manga, It hasn't been delivered yet.)
Thanks.
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First of all, the first book mastering manga book is really great! Wonderful tips and great references for hair, eyes, for both male and female, and hands and different sized characters(not many how-to-draw books do this!)
A suggestion for your second book, maybe references for certain poses, like action poses, everyday life poses etc since it is quite hard to find books of line drawings of poses applicable for manga, and maybe a tutorial on how to go from direct photos to line drawings.
Hope this suggestion was useful and thank you for all the hard work you do for us aspiring manga and comic book artists! :'D
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add anatomy,shading,animals,perspective SCENERY, proportion
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Finally (i know i must be getting on your nerves) a sugestion is more backgrounds and the different proprtions/body styles from the side and 3/4.
Also MANGA ANIMALS!!!!
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i want to learn how to master perspective its always been a problem i had and also anatomy
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I would love it if you could do some good prespective stuff
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1. I've always had trouble with making my characters look...alive, I guess? They tend to feel flat and two-dimensional, regardless of shading. I'm not sure what the problem is or how to fix it.
2. I've been told countless times that I draw the same things all the time. How do I get rid of my chronic "drawer's block"? D:
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Maybe you could give some tutorials on drawing animals, vehicles and furniture? (and from the furniture, characters interacting with furniture? i.e., sleeping on a couch or bed, sitting on a sofa, sitting in an armchair, etc.) Possibly different body types for characters other than what is a 'typical' manga character build and 'fuller-figured' characters?
Other than that, I loved your book! It had lots of things I can go back to for reference and ideas.
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I need side view normal body! not the "fuller-figured" one
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I'd love if you went more in to detail about drawing realistic manga
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