NOTE: ALL ART SHOWCASED IS MINE
The first thing many artists notice about art styles is the way the face is drawn. And anime is all about that! In keeping in tune with true anime fashion, let's teach you about manga eyes, faces, and face angles.
The eyes of anime and manga are very remember-able. My eye style isn't as glam as shojo manga, so if you wanna learn that instead, skedaddle. I will be teaching you how to draw eyes my way, but hopefully you apply what you learn to your own sketches. Oh! If you read the proportions lesson, you are well prepared for learning this lesson. If you haven't, please skim the face section of that lesson.
So! Faces. To keep your angles consistent, use constant proportions (again, see the first lesson). Measure using the eyes technique (again, the first lesson).So let's jump right in. I find young faces the easiest to draw, so let's start with them!
Example 3.1
This was a sketch I did of Rinji. She is a young character. What do you notice most about her face that suggests her young age?
Mm-hmm! You should notice that
her nose is small and rounded; her face is rounded; her eyes are larger; and lastly, her forehead is wide.
All of these put together the ideal youthful face, at least in my style. As characters get older, their face lengthens. Their eyes and forehead grow smaller. Their chin tapers sharply, the sides of the face get more angular. Lastly, their nose becomes sharper.
Take a look at the next example.
Example 3.2
This is an example of a front view. The character is closing her eyes, smiling, and has her shoulders up. All of these contribute to a happy attitude. What do you notice about the face?
Yes. Her sides are curved, but not as extremely as Rinji's. You can see that she is older, maybe in her late teens or early 20's.
So! Congratualtions. A front view is drawn with equal proportions. As you turn a face, the eye on the far side gets smaller and smaller and the nose gets more and more pronounced. Now take a look at this older woman's face!
Example 3.3
Say hello to my Halloween drawing subject, Kushisake Onna. She's a Japanese urban legend. What do you notice about her face?
Yeaaaaaaah!!!!! She is older, around 4o,, so her nose and face is lengthened. Also, her eyes are smaller. Since her face is turned 3/4, her far eye is smaller than the nearer one.
One thing you should notice about 3/4 views and views in general is the construction line... this travels from the chin up to the center of the forehead. On 3/4 views, the line is rounded to follow the bridge of the nose. For young characters in 3/4, it is even more rounded. This also pertains to back views, but note as much to side views or 3/4 back views (in which the back of the chin can be seen, but not the eyes). If you need help plotting things on face, use these lines. You can also use the line to round out the face from cheek to cheek.
Some people have trouble on noses. To draw a nose, draw the eyes and the rest of the face first. then make a line traveling down the construction line (make sure the far eye is right up on it) on the side of the far eye. Then curl the line inward, or sharply pull it towards the other side (sharp for older characters). Also, take a look at these noses to help you.
And now, let's do a one of female faces in 2 different stages of growth.
Example 3.4
Here's Shii, one of my youngest characters. What do you notice about her face?
You should notice many things from Rinji's sketch. She has a rounded face, wide forehead, wide eyes, large pupils, and a small nose.
Now, what about her slightly older friend here? Say hello to Aomidori.
Yes! Her face is angled, her nose larger, and her eyes smaller. And her forehead is much smaller.
And lastly, let's do an example of male faces, and then an animalistic one... Then we'll move on to eyes and expressions.
Example 3.5- 6
Say hello once again to Bale and Finn... What do you notice about them?
You should notice that Bale's face is longer than Finn's, and Finn's nose is small. If you look closer you'll notice that the same tips applied to females work here, only I have edited some sizes of certain features.
And now say hello to Oceania. What about her face?
Yes. Even though fur bunches up on the sides, you will notice that even though she is a furry, and a cat, that the rules are the same. Also, to keep a youthful energy but to also keep a older one, small eyes on a round face were used.
Now, it is time for the eyes.
The eyes! The beautiful eyes! To get you started, look at the drawing below, detailing colored eyes.
Now to the teaching part. Eyes are the reason why some people get into and read manga. So, take a look at the last examples below of close-ups of characters and their eyes. And... go!
Example 3.7
Now! Time for the eyes. What do you notice that's common with all of these eyes?
Yep! The eyes are these are rounded, in the middle of the face, and are well balanced!
Did you see how the eyes in these drawings were placed nearly in the middle of the face? It makes it seem balanced. However, in angles, eyes will move down the face just like the rest of the features. I didn't touch upon drawing angles very much in this lesson, so once the current lesson lineup is finished I will make a Visual Lesson in which I take a character and turn her head around to show you how to draw the angles.
Now, the eyes. Since drawing it will help you understand, look at this mini tutorial instead of listening to me!
And before we leave for today, let me give you some tips on the main expressions:
- Happy: Turn the eyebrows in an arch, and give her a smile. Wide eyes.
- Sad: Bunch the eyebrows as a slight u-shaped arc over the eyes. Give her heavy eyelids if wanted and add a few tears or blush.
- Fearful: Follow the sad guidelines, but make the pupils no more than dots and keep the eyes wide.
- Embarrassed: The main key to this expression is heavy blush and sweat droplets. You can also make it an angry embarrassed or sad embarrassed by using those guidelines. Consider puffing up one cheek or erasing the mouth entirely: so she's speechless!
- Angry: Crunch the brows over the eyes. Make her yell, or bottle it up.
Also, don't worry. I will make a lesson on expressions and more detailed eyes after the line-up is finished!
Thank you for reading.
What would you like the next lesson to be on?
PRACTICE PROBLEMS
Use your newfound knowledge to notice what makes these characters appear their age.
1)
(Silens I)
2)
(Old Bleach Fan-art)
3)
(Bleach fan-art)
