New character

A new character I developed this week 

Experimenting with new things

Hello, world. So, I wanted to hit the topic of exploration today because I just feel like it is so vital to accomplish. Art is no fun without the ability to do various things. Imagine drawing circles all day. Does that sound like fun? (But if it is, by all means continue haha). So, next time you draw try to do something you have trouble with or never thought you would ever do. Paint new things. Animate. Paint! The possibilities are endless! 

Trojan Woman

Drew a picture of a female trojan. It was a little while ago. Media : charcoal and pencil 

More about Animation

So, if you haven't already checked I uploaded my first attempt at an animation.  The class was supposed to have a 10 - 15 second animation and mine barely made the time restrictions.  The 12 second animation was 55 frames (yes, that means erasing and redrawing the same characters 55 times).  This totally gave me more appreciation for those who do animation for a living...

So, next time you watch a crappy anime, think about how much time it took them to make the show as long as it was... even if it sucked >_<

Me Experimenting with Animation!

Updates about the Author! More updates to come!

Hello guys, sorry for the wait! or the abselse or whatever but I have been really focused on schoolwork the past couple of months. And, I am currently taking Higher Level courses which take up most of my time. With these classes, I am also taking IB Art! I am learning so much in this class and I am looking forward to sharing more ^_^

Marilyn Monroe Portrait

Done In. Charcoal and pencil a couple of months back.

Realistic Drawing

Somewhat recently, I came across a new way of drawing that caught my eye. Can you guess what that was? It was realistic drawing. I've probably said it once, but it, again, will help you with correct proportions for humans. This will help you with your character development!

Try it?!

special abilities

Usually, in anime, there is a main character with a certain ability. This ability could be super human strenghth, or the control of an element, etc. Well, to spice things up, why not draw a character with an ability such as this? Make sure you analyze other characters in other manga and anime, to give you some ideas of how you could draw someone with a special ability!


Good Luck!

Anime drawing.

I drew this in class on Tuesday! Got bored during a test, Lol.

Copics Markers

Some of you may have heard of Copics Markers, and some of you may not. Just in case you do not know what Copics Markers are, I will explain. Copics markers are, in my opinion, the best markers you can use to draw anime. They work very well, when it comes to blending colors, and they usually come in a variety of colors. I highly recommend you use Copics markers with all of your anime coloring (after you have mastered, or can easily use colored pencils/crayons to blend).

Natsu Grid Drawing

I used a grid for this one, and I thought that I should post it up. The picture is of Natsu Dragneel, from the anime Fairy Tail.

Drawing eyebrows

Usually, after someone have drawn the eye, you usually just jump right into drawing the eyebrow. The eyebrows are arc shaped lines of hair, basically. They are very complicated, yet overlooked. If you were to draw an eye correctly, and you draw the eyebrow incorrectly it could throw off everything.
There are different ways of drawing the eyebrow. These different ways are used to show different expressions. For example, if the eyebrow is closer to the eye, and it is curving upward, with stress lines/wrinkles underneath, then that character is most likely mad or angry.
If the eyebrow is at a regular ark, then the person is usually happy.

Stepping out of your safety zone

Stepping out of your safety zone is the most effective way to improve when it comes to drawing. "What do I mean by stepping out of your safety zone?", I mean to work on something you're not good at, and keep practicing on it.
For example, I suck at drawing hands (i manage to do so sometimes, but other times, it just looks terrible), so I'll keep drawing hands, maybe draw a whole sheet on just hands, until I can do it efficiently.
Remember, Practice makes perfect! and start stepping out of your safety zones!
Good luck!

Site Modifications!

I changed around the site a little to kind of cover the lack of updates lately. Sorry for that, schooling is getting a little rough. Hope you guys like it and don't forget to hit that +1 button to help the site out!

Mouths

Drawing the mouth may seem like a difficult task at first, but it is actually very easy. To draw a mouth, you simply draw a small line underneath the nose. In anime, mouth's aren't really that big unless they are showing great emotion (for example, extreme laughter, extreme sorrow, anger, etc.) All the focus of your anime character is going to be on the eyes, mostly. In few cases, is the mouth the main focus, so it is not really that important to spend a lot of time drawing them.


Good luck!

Grid challenge!

In my geometry class, we did a project that I thought was pretty cool. It's an art project, which is pretty ironic, due to the fact that it is still math class. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cook, and it looked like it enhanced my ability to copy a picture near perfectly. So, to start, you grab an image (usually about 10 centimeters in length and width), from the internet or any other source. Next, you take the image and draw a centimeter grid on top of the image, using the ruler. So, you will make 100 centimeter boxes (if the image is 10x10 centimeters). Now, take a sheet of paper, and draw a grid, but measure the grid the same way, but in inches, instead of centimeters. Lastly, you copy the image square by square, from the small image, to the large piece of paper. Erase the gridlines, and there you go! you have a enlargened version of the image. Don't forget to erase the gridlines after you are done, though!

Good luck!

Taking a break

Sometimes, when I'm drawing, I realize that it doesn't look so good, or I'm not really having a good day, when it comes to drawing. I am sure we've all had those days, where it just seems like your skill just ran away from you or something. But, it's okay. The main thing that I do is just take a break from drawing. When you draw too much, or draw everyday, it becomes boring and all the fun just drains out of it. That pretty much defeats the whole purpose of drawing. Drawing is supposed to be a fun, leisurely activity; so if you are not enjoying it, then just take a break, and relax!

We've all have had one of those days before! Just be sure not to take too long of a break, because you're skill will drop, dramatically. (trust me, it happened to me numerous times).

Blending colors

When you are coloring the hair, or anything else, it'd be boring to just shade something with one color, right? So what can you do? You should take a shade, and a tint of a color and try to blend NOT MIX, but blend them (for example, if you are using a blue, take out a light blue [or mix white and blue] and use it in places where light would appear, then take out a dark blue [or mix black and blue] and use it in places that the shadow of the area would appear). Finally, use the blues to blend, so what you should do is go from darkest to lightest with the different blues.

Hope this helps!

Anime character, koshi

900+ views!

thank you all for supporting me on my first blog, I appreciate the views, and I will do my best to keep up the site. please also give the blog a +1 if you like it. the button is to the right! lastly, I may be getting new supples to draw with. so I may post a couple on the site. (and no they aren't that bad). I'm improving little by little every day.

drawing male heads (rewrite)

whipped up a miniature tutorial with scetches from my tablet. enjoy!

where to place the eyes

When drawing the head, it is important to make sure you have the eyes placed in the correct place. I know that In real life that everyone has different eyes and some people have have more space between eyes and some have less space. When you draw one eye it is important to space the eye a certain length, when drawing anime. The amount of space between should be able to fit another eye in it.

Hope this helps a little.

wrinkles vs no wrinkles

When you are drawing anime, some people think that anime is supposed to be unrealistic. Personally, I don't enjoy drawings that are not realistic. Usually, more life-like tend to catch my eye! Wouldn't you agree? So, when you're drawing anime, go for partially realistic. With that being said, you should put wrinkles in your clothing, when you draw it. When you draw wrinkles it makes the clothes look realistic, and that's basically what you are going for! When you are drawing wrinkles in clothing, you should place folds where they normally would go in real life. So, If bobby was folding his arms, the wrinkles in his clothing should be in his arm pits and inner forearm. Also, if bobby was wearing loose clothing, then gravity would pull the fabric down. When gravity pulls down his clothing, the wrinkles appear in a downward motion.

Bobby is just an example, by the way.
Good luck!

complementary colors!

When you are using certain colors to draw, have you ever thought of how to make the colors stand out? If you have, then I have an idea of what colors you could use, to make your drawing stand out. These colors are called complementary colors. You may have an idea of what these colors are because it was thought in elementary school, and occasionally in middle school. Complementary colors are two colors that "complement" each other. That's how it gets its name! To find these colors, you may use a color wheel.


In the color wheel, the color that is directly across is the color's compliment. For example, blue and orange are complimentary colors.
If you use the complimentary colors, you can make the colors look balanced.

Good luck!

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary

When you are coloring, the main thing people do is use the primary and secondary colors to color. So I thought that it'd be nice to teach you what the colors are called, and how they are made. I also threw in tertiary. These are the basics. So enjoy! primary = RED, YELLOW, BLUE Secondary = ORANGE, PURPLE, GREEN Tertiary= Colors like BLUE-GREEN, YELLOW-GREEN, RED-ORANGE,etc. Primary colors make up all the colors on the color wheel. The color wheel should be below. Secondary colors are colors that are made up of 2 primary colors on the color wheel. Tertiary colors are colrs that are made up of 2 secondary colors. By using all primary (or secondary or tertiary) colors in a drawing, you can make a color scheme. Which gives a balanced effect on your drawing. Color schemes are important to the drawing (I will touch on that later in time).

With time Comes Success!

I know you've all heard the saying "practice makes perfect". I am sure you all are thinking... You are here to lecture me, aren't you? Well, do you know what I would answer? Yes... Yes I am. Not really, though. I am simply straining the importance of actually putting in work to get a positive result in return. So, in conclusion, keep practicing, and you will improve for sure! Good luck :)

Touching on the Basics!

Whenever you touch on the basics, you improve a little more. It doesn't hurt to just go back and look at the basics of drawing an eye, or looking up how to draw a head. Just by looking at your old drawings, you can improve a lot. How, you say? Just by correcting some things that you think you may have done wrong. For example, whenever I draw a picture of someone at a close-up view,I always draw the hands too small. Just by remembering this, while drawing the next picture, I can change up the sizing to make it look better. No matter how good you may think your drawing is, there is 99% of the time something wrong with it or something you might want to change next time. Good luck!

3D vs 2D drawing

When you are drawing, it is best to use three dimensions, because it gives the picture a lifelike feeling. If it is two dimensional, it makes it seem boring, and dead. That is precicely the opposite of what you want, right? How do you get this effect, some may ask? Well, the best thing you can do is learn to shade. Shading gives the effect of depth, and space. When you learn to efficiently shade, your drawings will look more life-like. So, good luck!

Drawing backgrounds

The last thing you want to have when drawing a completely awesome picture, is having a blank background. It's boring, and non-unique. So add a background to give your character a lifelike feeling. When you are designing a background, you need to make it seem realistic. For example, a beach background will probably have a nice ocean view, sand and maybe an umbrella. Some birds and beach balls in the background will make it seem more realistic, as well. When you start creating backgrounds you should observe real life sceneries. Maybe your back yard, or a playground. Good luck, and remember, practice makes perfect!

Change up your style

If you think that everything you draw looks somewhat the same, its time to chang it up a little. How do i do that? You can do this in a variety of ways:

Method 1: watching more anime and focusing on the way the characters look will help you get a better idea of what you want to draw. For example on the anime called "bleach" there is a character named orehime. I think she has a well drawn body (not trying to be perverted or anything ha ha). You can draw a female body similar to orehime's.
Method 2: draw different poses. Drawing the same pose becomes boring after a while. Learn tondraw a body from profile (the side view) or from behind.
Method 3: color and shade with different colors that you don't really use, such as green. Color everything with a shade or tint of green.

Good luck! have fun.

Human anatomy

Well.. this blog is supposed to be a helper with drawing anime. So, most people would ask why there an anatomy video.. the video is supposed to teach you more about real eyes, to help you draw an anime eye. When you start drawing from human anatomy, it becomes easier to draw anime.

Good luck!

How to Draw an Eye (helpful video)

drawing anime noses

have you ever gotten halfway through drawing the face and thought about how you would draw the nose? well, fear no more. I have a simple method for drawing an anime adult nose.  most of the time anime noses aren't very detailed.

because of this, its quite okay to draw a somewhat lazily drawn nose.  I usually use an L shape for the nose.

 I hope this helps a little.  Good luck!

Drawing 3-26-13

updates?

Sorry, I haven't been around lately, but midterms are kicking my butt.
Updates will be every week! sorry, I should be able to update every couple of days. Please work with me on this one lol.

Have a good one. Good luck!

Tip for drawing eyes

When you are drawing eyes, you need to make sure the eyes are even and the same size (Only if you are drawing from the front or drawing someones face that is facing directly towards you.  I know it is a little hard to do, but after a while you will get used to it, and you will be able to draw the eyes symmetrically.

If you do not know how to draw anime eyes, look for the tutorial on "how to draw anime eyes beginners" on this site, using the navigation bar to your right.

Good luck :)

400+ views :)

Thank you so much again! I am just so happy to actually see something I've dreamed about come to life.  Please continue to support the site by clicking on the +1 button to your right (i think you have to sign into gmail or something).

Thanks Again, Zack Fulton

View in different Languages

Okay, I just figured out something extremely cool ._. You can view the blog in different languages, by clicking on the translate button on the home page. So... I thought that was pretty awesome.

Spread the Word

Okay... I know this is sort of my job -_- but I am doing as much as possible to help the site get noticed... and I'm having relatively small success.  If any of you have a friend or relative that is interested in drawing anime characters, please refer him (or her -.-) here.  I feel like this site is a great way to help someone start  with the foundations of drawing :).

Thank you,

Zack Fulton (Administrator)

Focus on drawing faces first

When you are beginning your journey to drawing anime you need to start small and work your way up.  For example, you should start with the facial features, when drawing characters.  After you learn how to draw the facial features (eyes, ears, nose, etc.) you should learn how to do the head and the hair.  Then, you should learn the neck and torso.  After that... Well, you get the idea.  Usually doing things in a sequential manner helps you a lot in the long run.

Use Grid Lines

When you are drawing, it is a good idea to use grid lines so you know where exactly to place certain things.  For example, let us say we have a head that has grid lines on it.  By using these lines, we can place the eyes in the correct spot to make the face look "normal".  When you are beginning to draw, using these grid lines will help keep your drawing organized.  Even more experienced anime, artists use this method, to make sure things look right before they outline it in sharpie/pen.

Please use grid-lines in the future, they will help you a ton.

Good luck.

Don't degrade yourself!

Sometimes, when I hear about people willing to start drawing, I always hear the negatives first.  Such as:

"It is not that good"

"You can draw a lot better"

or "I'm getting ready to just throw it out"

FIRST! It should not really matter about how "good" it looks.  You're supposed to be looking for growth, rather than perfection anyway.  Drawing should be just for fun, really.  There is no need to bring yourself down.

Second... No -.- I do not draw better than you.  I've just, simply, had more experience with it.  Sometimes my drawings are terrible ._. I might not publish it on the website, but at home, I draw some torn up stuff. Ha ha. Lastly... Don't throw any drawings out (As I've previously said before)  You need to keep your drawings, no matter how hard it is for you, because it will help you to see your strengths and weaknesses in your artworks and help you to future success.

SO! that's about it. ^__^. Good luck!

1+ The blog!

If you like the post that I made or like the blog overall please 1+ it .  This will help me see which posts are good and how to keep writing the posts in the future. Plus. They make me feel good inside. So! 1+ and I'll make the blog better for yall ^___^.

Using Sharpie in Drawings

 

NOW! For all you out there that consider youself at least an "Intermediate" level artist, i suggest you start using sharpie! Sharpie (or any other kind of black marker/pen) will bring out your work.  Instead of those dull, thin pencil lines, you'll have very dark and bold lines.

For you all that do not know how to properly use sharpies: (Don't be ashamed, I sucked at the beginning -.-)

1. Sketch your drawing. This is what is called a plan. Remember? 
2. Start actually drawing, and make sure you have all the lines that you are willing to keep on the paper.  The other sray marks you should erase
3. Take your sharpie and outline
4. Darken certain parts of your drawing (Ex. Darken the eyes or the lower strands of hair)

I would suggest that step 4 be done by people more advanced with sharpie.  This is because, if you mess up step 4... Your whole drawing will be ruined.

Good luck! 

Watch more anime!

Okay, I'm going to give you an ideal way to learn this stuff! What stuff am I talking about? -.- You seriously just asked that... Okay I'll tell you. >___> Maybe I shouldn't... Well, I'll tell you anyway. DRAWING of course.
The method is basically watching  real anime series', or reading real mangas.  This method will help you to better picture how your drawings could look like.  The method will also help you brainstorm new ideas of how to move your created character around on paper, OR it could give you better ideas of facial expressions.
May sound crappy, but the method works. Try starting out with action or romance anime, they have a lot to offer. Some examples include: Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, One Piece, Inuyasha, Hitman Reborn and Ranma.

I haven't been drawing lately

Hi, It's me... Zack. I haven't been drawing lately because of all this crappy school work.  Over Spring break, which is in a week or two, I'll try to draw a little bit more :3. For now, I'm just going to post some tips that may be useful to anyone willing to start drawing anime.

Sketch and Plan before

Usually, when someone starts drawing or doodling (including myself) usually they just start drawing ._. no planning, no draft, no nothing. Just drawing what comes to mind.  Well, recently, I noticed that going this route won't provide as much success.  To be truly successful in drawing a great character, you need to plan or sketch it first.  At least picture the character in your head before you draw it.  That's all! Keep this in mind the next time you draw sumthin :D. Good luck, again.

Drawing from Perspective

Ever drawn faces for a week or a long period of time and got bored of it? Well, you could change that by changign the view of your character.  What do I mean by this? That's a fair question; I mean, you should draw a face or head from side view or 3/4 view.   By doing this, you can better your knowledge of how draw different expressions ect.

Folder

When you're drawing anime or your favorite character, you need to make sure that you save your papers in a folder.  Put them in a page protector or in a binder.  Why, you ask? So you can see your progress. When you continue to draw, you'll see progress. I'm sure of it :)

100 Viewss!!

YESSS FINALLY 100 VIEWS :D. *Happy Dance*.  Thanks Viewers >__> Or should I say silent viewers.... Y u no comment on me page -.-

Trouble drawing body parts?

If you have trouble drawing body parts, you should refer to drawing from human anatomy.  Some people may ask, "What is 'Human Anatomy'"? Human Anatomy is basically the structure of the human body.  By learning to draw Human Anatomy you can draw anime more efficiently, because you will know how a certain body part looks and how to draw it.

Thank you :)

just wanted to say a warm thanks to ppl that viewed my first bko :3 . ill try to make it as good as possible for yal :D.

what's your favorite anime / manga?

comment below :3

how to draw anime eyes beginners

Requests.

If any people have any requests as to what I should draw or do on this site, I'll be glad to assist. I'll do my best, but just remember that I'm still learning just as you are :) >_> Not sure how this message thing works but you can leave it under a comment or something....so yeah.... Bologna is spelled weird.... Cya.

Tutorials?

Yes, I said Tutorials! :D As of right now I'm trying my best to create some.  But, it's not as easy on a tablet as it is with pencil and paper.  They'll come out pretty soon, just be patient :3

Old but still like it :)

Shading Vs. Coloring

Some people are stuck between shading with pencil and coloring and don't really know which one to start with.  Well... What do I think? I think that you should start with shading, then work your way with coloring. You should also take one of those basic art classes and stuff :3 . They seem boring and may seem useless, but you'll learn about which colors fit together and how to use them.

Questions?

If you have any questions feel free to comment on the posts. I may not be an expert, but I'll do my best to answer for ya ! :)

New Drawing :3

Toshiro Hitsugaya Drawing

Where Do I start?

Frequently asked question... And I don't blame you, I asked the same thing.  (Not saying I'm an expert or anything).  I started with the head and then worked my way down the body.  Usually people go straight into the facial features when starting.  That's probably the best thing to do.  BUTT (lol butt :D. ok. back into seriuos mode -.-) You should start with one thing and somewhat master it before moving on.  Most importantly keep trying and practicing and you should be fine ^___^.

Beginners Luck?

I personally never believed in beginngers luck, or that "born with the talent" crap -.- . You should do things step by step, and practice and repitition should strengthen your talent.  If you apply this to learning to draw, you will do splendidly. At first it may be difficult, but if you stick to it, you will show improvement :D

Materials

Ok, I know some people get all freaked out and go a little overboard with materials and stuff when it comes to starting to draw. Well here is a pointer for you... CHILL. -.- It's just drawing. You can easily pick up a pencil and paper, then start doodling. That's how you improve! Remember, practice makes perfect!

First Blogg!

Hola!. I am a little new to this blogging stuff. On this site, or should i say BLOG -.-, you will be able to view some ways that I draw.  Maybe you will be able to learn some things.  Good luck!