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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'd like more complex stuff, like getting more into perspective, movements, tips on how to get your own manga book published, special affects, how wind affects hair motion, anatomy, and stuff. I havn't got a chance to see your book but I'm looking forward to getting it!
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Hey, Mark. Before I go into suggestions on what I'd like to see in your next book (Even though I haven't got the first one YET XD) I'd like to thank you, because your videos on youtube have really helped me. This how to draw manga book will, without a doubt, help me even further to get rid of any awkwardness still lingering in my art. Thank you so much for what you're doing, Mark, for me and for many many other manga loving people like me.
Okay, with what I'd like to see in the next book (Excuse me if they are included in the first, I'm not sure what exactly is in there because I don't have one yet) I'd really like an in-depth section on creating your own poses that look natural and don't look really awkward. A problem I've found in my art is that alot of the poses I use turn out more awkward than what I originally pictured in my mind.
Also, with some artists I've seemed to prefer a semi-chibi, semi-manga sort of drawing. So a bit more detailed than a chibi, but a little less detailed than a manga character. Its difficult to explain, and I've tried to teach myself how to do it and failed. If you could include a style like this in the next book, I will be truly grateful.
Another thing I've noticed in art is that there are lots of 'blushies' in some styles in different joints- like the shoulders, elbows, knees as well as the cheeks. If you could somehow explain that style of blushies then that'd be awesome too. :'D
I also sometimes have trouble with leg and arm anatomy, like how the thigh should be larger than the lower leg, etc.
Also, hair. Hair is a problem for me and many of my friends, its hard to make it flow naturally.
There are alot of other things that I'd like included but, glancing below, they're already mentioned.
Thank you Mark, again, for everything you've done for us! C:
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I didn't see u "mastering manga" book yet but I plan to. I Think it would be helpful if there was something to help get proportions right with the legs arms and hands. And if there was something to help with teaching facial shading I think that would help
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While I did enjoy your "Mastering Manga" book, I felt that it was aimed more towards absolute beginners, rather than those more comfortable with the craft. There's nothing wrong with that; I think it's great, but personally, for the second book I'd love to see more advanced tutorials. For me, as someone more familiar with manga already, most of the step-by-step pages were irrelevant, although the "__ ways to draw ___" were brilliant for reference material and definitely useful. So if you could get more into the details of manga drawing for the second book, I'd be very grateful.
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I would love to see a range on muscles, as in not just your usual manga styled boy, yet not the super buff type either, some places in between.
It would also be nice to see a little more elaboration on chibi's, like how to draw their body's...
I would have especially liked to see more on how to draw the body. (Even though what was in your first book was good, it didn't take you through each step of 'draw arms this way' dealy)
and it would be great if there was a section (even a small one) on figuring out your own styles of eyes and hair (maybe show basic over all guides that can be applied to a lot of styles, if that makes sense)
Also, drawing hair when wet or underwater would always be a small plus (if it could fit!)
And thanks Crilley, you rock for even asking us this! ^_^
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Customization/professionalization/ finding your own style
Hands, definitely more hands!
Glasses
More hair, hair layering, wet hair
and I think thats about it! 
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anything and everything shading, how to draw hair when it's wet, clothes when they're wet, drawing smoke and fire would help out a lot! thanks! btw, love this book!!
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i would like to see more means of customization, personalization, that sort of thing. and you rock crilly!
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I haven't seen the book, but I haven't heard anything about mythical creatures. So maybe you could do angels, mermaids, fairies, things like that(:
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how to draw people from a distance ( they end up looking like stick figures when i do that) how to draw muscles from lean built to buff and household items and furniture.
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Explain panels, pacing for a story, pages, backgrounds all that way more in the possible 2nd book. Thanks!
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A reference page on glasses and Mark my brother told me: IT'S A NOSE REST!!!
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A reference page for glasses and mark it's called well what my brother who wears glasses told me IT'S A NOSE REST
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I have some more suggestions! I'd really like to see how to draw tears and facial hair. I just watched your video on how to draw glasses, I think that would be good in the second book, too.
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I haven't seen the book yet, but propably it would be mostly useful for the beginers. In the secound book I think you should do something more complicated, You know, more details and more of realistic-manga style. The thing I'd love personaly to see is how to draw some elements 👍: 0 ⏩: 0
By the way I would like to THANK YOU for all of your videos. You do a really good job. I have started my drawing adventure just becouse of you, and with your every video I just keep better. We need and love people like you!!!
*~ ARIGATO MARK Sensei~*
___________________________________
Sorry for my bad English, I'm from Poland
I ordered the book and I just really have to say excellent job Mr. Crilley! The book is amazing and this is the first time I've ever seen such an in depth look at how to draw backgrounds, facial features, and different body types in manga style! Thank you very much for creating such a wonderful book, and if you would consider it maybe adding sections like what inspires you to draw or how you come up with your great ideas for poses or character designs would be a good addition to the second book?
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I haven't got the book yet, but can you make a part in the book were you can learn some Japanese words, to make effect to what is going on in the page. You know like sound effects? That would be great!
THANK YOU!!
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For starters I absolutly love the book!
P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!! Your making my life easier! 
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I haven't gotten the first book yet, but I think it would be good to have one book more aimed towards beginners and another, separate, more advanced book. So if your first book is targeted toward beginners, then your next book should have more advanced stuff, or vice versa.
I think it's good to have one or two general reference books, and if you get to publish more, have other books on specific things, like say, one book dedicated to romance and shojo and another dedicated to shonen.
That being said, I would really like a section on aging. Not aging in the sense of "4-18" age charts, which most how to draw books have, but maybe a section on drawing characters ages 30+ (where to place wrinkles, and how to make a character look middle aged or something.)
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Can you put in a section on how to use photoshop to touch up finished pictures to look professional quality? There are very few manga books with this kind of information in them! Also, do you draw all your comic book panels by yourself? Or do you have a program that makes them for you? It seems like alot of tedious mind-numbing work sitting around drawing boxes with a ruler with 100+ pages worth content!
Also, more sword poses (as they're extremely common in manga), guide to drawing gundam characters, guide to drawing muscular figures, guide to drawing dragons as well as other mythological creatures and like stuff similar to pokemon or something. Another thing to consider covering is anthropomorphic characters like Simba, or even a step further like Sonic the Hedgehog and Starfox-like characters (furries) and cute Manga animals.
Stuff like Ninjas, Fantasy girl fighters (Sailor Moon and Card Captor:Sakura come to mind here), Samurai, Army Soldiers (those hard hats are tricky!), and speaking of hats, STUFF ON HATS! You did a youtube video on it, but it was too bad there was nothing about it in your book. Maybe an accessory section would be very helpful!
And last, and my most wanted item on the list, DYNAMIC POSES. You covered.. hm, lets see.. 2 dynamic poses in your book. NOT GOOD ENOUGH, MAAARK! Dynamic poses are what make Manga, MANGA. You see stuff liken DRAGON BALL-Z, NARUTO, BLEACH, ONEPIECE, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, CODE GEASS, GUNDAM SEED, INUYASHA,.. -> What do all these successful anime/manga titles have in common, Mark? ACTION! FIGHTING! GARGANTUAN SWORDS, SHURIKEN, KUNAI, RIFLES AS BIG AS THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING!! There needs to be more stuff like sword strikes, simple jabs, forward charges, flying, falling, wall jumping, backflipping, jumping, dodging, blocking...and so much more! This stuff in IMPORTANT! It's critical to creating a riveting shounen manga, which the general audience is more hyped about than super-shojo stuff like Ouran High School Host Club and stuff. Not that those are bad titles, it's just fact that the general audience looks toward shounen titles for their daily craving for anime/manga.
-I know you're not a fan of "blood, gore, violence blah blah blah" kinda stuff, but the stuff you teach in your book doesn't have to be like that! You don't have to teach us how to draw someone slashing through a zombie body (although a guide on zombies would be cool) with all their innards spilling everywhere- just a clean slash through a training dummy or something of the sort would suffice. In conclusion, more action scenes, dynamic poses, and weapons should be included as it is an essential part of what makes a successful shounen manga exciting, entertaining and most of all- successful... AND authentic .. kinda
Thanks for reading if you actually read through all my insane suggestions! I am a proud supporter of your work, and got my fired up about drawing once again! I pre-ordered your book and also bought both books in your Brody's Ghost series and anxiously anticipating your third release! Your work is SUGOI DESU and with every uploaded video I am more and more inspired by your work. Thanks for doing what you do.
-Daz
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Can you put in a section on how to use photoshop to touch up finished pictures to look professional quality? There are very few manga books with this kind of information in them.
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Great book. I'm much more advanced (age wise and learning wise) then what your book might be intended for. I have been studying manga for the past ten to 12 years or so. I agree with your statement in the first few pages of your book. Too many people try to mimic but not follow through with the style. I think its hampers the art form as an actual art style with so many copy cats rather than true manga artists. I bought the book. Great joy to read. Just like watching you on the youtube vids. Wonderful wonderful and I love the inspirational talk you have at the end. You truly are a great artist and teacher. Thank you for printing this book. I have several several several volumes of the how to draw manga from graphicsha and they can be a handful. But it gets repetitive. Your book is nice sweet and to the point.
For your next book: Talk about what dimensions you create your artwork in, especially your comics. Also, go through your shading techniques and color ideas if possible.
Good luck and thank you!
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Just looking at the book now and I think you could do more facial expressions as there is only 12. You could do expressions like love/longing, hunger, dazed, inner-peace, innocence etc. I loved the clothing folds, perspective, eyes, hair, and background parts. Maybe you could head more toward writing your own manga, including stereotypical characters (e.g the innocent one, the hopeless romantic, the anti-hero, the tall dark-haired and mysterious guy, the pervert.) and thinking of plot ideas. Good luck!
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I totally agree with the facial expressions there, sometimes I try to draw a certain expression but it ends up looking completely wrong and messy 
--
This is my name
Check out my gallery!
PEPPERMINT!!!!
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I'm not sure if this is your book already, but I would suggest maybe going deeper into back grounds( land-scapes, city-scapes, and indoors) I would really like to learn how to draw large groups of trees in park or side walks in busy city. Also I like the idea of emotions, but maybe less common ones would be good. Learning about auto mobiles would be very nice as well.
Thats all I have, but thank you for asking for suggestions.
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SOOOOOOO i finally got the book last night and i've read threw it several times, and i absolutely love it! I think you hit the basics pretty hard and they were done very well, however i was disapointed that you did not fit hats into the mix like you did on your youtube because i just love hats, lol. Also when getting to the end of the book you started to cover things like fighting, kissing, ect... on like 1/2 pages tops and it seemed very brief compared to a lot of other things and i would love for you to expand on a lot of things that you did not get a chance too. Also i do think the next book should be more advanced because you clearly covered the basics right and should be moving on to the next step. Tnx for making such an amazing book and i cant wait for the next one!
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I agree with ciarannihill because i have REAL trouble with fire and water etc. The only other thing is bodies from the side and 3/4 and other positions/viewpoints
Your regards Cav101
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Humans in perspective (from below/above), foreshortening, and BG effects. Also things like manipulating things (fire, water, etc)
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Oh, I haven't gotten your book in the mail yet, so sorry if you may have covered this in your book already~
1. Inking. It probably takes practice just to make smooth lines that look professional in traditional inking, but maybe you could cover different inking techniques and possibly doing digital lineart?
2. I can make my own characters and all, but it's so hard for me to think of clothes. XD
Perhaps a few ideas/references to help guide people on consistent clothing for their characters would help.
3. Weapons are pretty common in shounen manga, of course. But drawing some of them aren't easy.
Maybe some references on on different weapons would be a good idea.
4. Realistic backgrounds are a bit difficult too. If you covered on how to draw/color trees(especially the leaves- I'm never sure if I'm drawing them right when they're attached to a tree, but that could just be me being paranoid. XD ), bodies of water like puddles, rivers, oceans, etc., and grass?
I can draw grass, but not without being too detailed and drawing almost every strand. .___.;;
And when it comes to coloring both grass and water I just get lost. orz
Thank you for reading this- I can't wait to get your book. :3
...I need references for my drawings, so this book is like a godsend.
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I do have your 'Mastering Manga' book, and I think it's a really good book, especially for beginners. I know it helped me out.
Though, two things I would really love to see in your next book would be a lesson for drawing anthropomorphic characters, I'd like to see a page for different types of ears, at different heights and positions on the head. But not just cat ears, though, other types, too, like dog ears, and maybe even horns. And I also would like a page for tails, in various sizes and lengths. I hope I'm not being confusing here.
Another thing I could really benefit from would be coloring and shading tips, particularly with skin tones.
Oh, and I did leave a comment on your video, but it got bumped back pretty fast.
Anyway, please consider adding coloring tips and anthros. I would really appreciate it!
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sorry i meant the video u just uploadet on youtube ^^'
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it would be awsome if there could be a section in the new book about drawing manga faces from different angles. like side view, and with the the head turned just a little away like the boy (girl)? that u'r shading in this video, and faces looking up and down and all thar stuff ^_^
btw sorry if bad english ^^'
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Well, I haven't seen your book yet. I only seen the previews. I heard Mastering Manga covers a lot and most how to draw books don't. I wanted to buy another how draw manga book, but I got caught seeing Matering Manga. I can't wait for it!
Now on to answering the question. What I want to learn is to how to draw propotions. I think you book has that, Mark, but I want to get better. When I draw people I sometimes have trouble drawing the hair, (I'm much better than I was) the spacing between the eyes, (only once in a while) and the hands. I seriously can't draw them to save my life. I believe this is also covered in the book. I've watched you hand videos which did help but I just can seem to get it right.
Besides drawing people, I sometimes have trouble drawing my dragons. I have found my style I like to draw them, but the only problem is is when I draw them the perspectives and poses throw me off as well as drawing the limbs sometimes. I don't know if you have this or not, but maybe if you could add an animal section as well. I know there aare many different styles from realistic to cartoony. This might not fit in a How to draw manga book, but it was an idea. I would greatly appreciate it if you consider the thought. I would love to seesomething like that. For now, I'll keep drawing. Thank you!
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I would have to say... the clothes wrinkles and shadow highlights; effects on the clothes and the differentiation between highlights, shadows, reflect, cast shadow, and mid-tone that a type of clothing can obtain brings out and gives any drawing the spice it needs. Another part could be the background as to there is no one way to draw backgrounds its all different settings(time and place) thus each background will look differently and no one like to draw the same type of background continuously over and over and since there are so many types of backgrounds(deserts, underwater, space, sunset scene etc) the rest of them have to be obtained by the reader.
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I don't have the book, but I'll say the hair. There are many different types, some are simple and some are complicated. I was thinking that maybe you should put what to add to guys'/ girls' hairstyles when their in a certain style (Ex: Ponytails, scruffy hairs, with a hair band etc.). Like if a girl had a twin ponytail it would apply an effect to the hair showing (indicating) that the hair is being pulled to the side.
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Hmm...I still don't have the book, but what I find hard is the foreshortening, and the cloth folds. So maybe there should be something about that!
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1. I love my copy! I was not going to get it at first because I have a book much like it already by Christopher Hart (I'm happy that I have both) so I was going to pass on buying your book, but when you showed the preview I loved what I saw so much that I changed my mind.
2. It is, in it's ways similar to the book I have that covers broad topics for drawing, but I found myself agreeing with the things you said about how other books don't really go into detail on drawing older, middle-aged, and young people. Also about them not showing different styles.
3. I would love to see more on drawing different ages, but I have yet to see a book that focuses on that. I also love how much reference you crammed in. It puts me in mind of Drawing the Figure by Jack Hamm. That's why my mom bought it for me actually, because when she saw the preview of the book and all the material she went directly to amazon to order it.
4. I think a balance of more advanced material and beginner would be best leaning toward the former. I know from experience that the thing beginners need the most of is often practice and to be as observant as possible.
5. Last but not least would be a couple pages on how to draw Miki, Brody, and Talia. Just for fun.
Keep being awesome Mark.
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You should also include weapons inside the 2nd book.
Just what I think should be in. ^^ I hope you do put them in.
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How about a comparison of realistic human anatomy to that of manga anatomy. I've seen this done a lot in other art books, but I'm sure that none of them are as good as anything that you could do.
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I plan to purchase the book. More likely in April, but I am very excited! I've seen the videos and all helped. Thanks Mark for the insights, tips, and different perspective on drawing.
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backgrounds and perspective in landscapes which arent in a city and so go back for ages without any object in the way, i often find hard, also getting textures right lik metal, thatch, grass, soft hard, smoth etc XD i suppose in order to do that, its all about the light on objects
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I don't know how much of your book talks about the actual comics, but if it's not already discussed I'd suggest some more on paneling, layout, flow and all that jazz.
Another thing I don't see in many how to draw books is teaching you to focus on the right mindset for drawing, or something like that. How to deal with art-blocks and lack of inspiration. For the longest time I had these recurring art blocks and couldn't find a proper solution anywhere. The solution for me, was to focus more on visualizing the picture properly and on how things overlap, foreshortening if you will, though drawing from real life probably catalyzed this process. People are different of course so my past problem and my current mindset when I draw is probably different from others. But yeah, some words on something like that might be an idea. At least art-blocks is something I see artists complaining about regularly on this site.
Maybe mentioning some different exercises as well, so that the significance of doing them is emphasized a bit for beginners.
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I think you should add more of manga stuff in and you should do something about the eyes tutorial because you just put eyes on a few page to show us they look like(maybe a little tutorial on a few eyes
But overall i love Mastering Manga I hope you can make a trick book!
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can't wait for book 1, and brody's ghost 3 isnot out til even late!!! *rips hair out*
Did you cover Inking in Book 1?
I'm not sure if you did, would be nice to have a section of techniques of inking and such
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i haven't gotten a copy yet
but iv watched other people on YouTube unbox theirs and do short little review and such
i know there are somethings about 3 points of perspective
maybe something to go in the second book-(if its not already in the first one that is)- could be drawing a human with different perspectives like say if you were taking a picture with a camera from the ground and looking up word to a face? that kinda thing
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I have yet to receive my Mastering Manga book! >o<
I don't know what's in the book yet (but I can't wait to see it!) but I do know what I'd like to know more of. Here are some of the topics I've googled and found some results, but not many :<
1. Making your own character, creating names (cause it's so difficult!>.<) and I guess helping it become more unique than the typical high school girl thing?
2. How to create your own manga! You've already made your own, I'm pretty sure you have lots of experience ^^ I've been attempting and reattempting to make my own, but the plot doesn't really stick. How do you create a topic that would interest others? How do you create a lovable main characters and villains too! They can come in many shapes and forms, but which villain would be appropriate for which genre :3
3. I'm not sure if you use Paint Tool Sai, but maybe share how you color nonetheless :3 Your coloring is very quick and efficient and I wish to do the same =w=
That's all my suggestions for now! When I receive the book, I'll try and comment again~
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