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Bring your favourite fictional characters to life, or create your own, with the definitive guide to drawing fantasy characters for animation, comics or fine art!
Written and illustrated by renowned illustrator Lou Chaoye (Kami), this comprehensive manga art manual teaches you how to create and draw professional-quality figures, then breathe character and life into your creations through proportions, pose and costume.
You'll find an incredible amount of new and inspiring ideas inside, so you can use this book both as reference and as an idea generator to spark your creativity. Filled from cover to cover with more than 100 practical exercises and examples, this invaluable guide breaks down every element of drawing human characters from eyes and emotions to posture to help you create stunning results.
Explore viewpoint, perspective and composition: create artwork with impact, and tell a story with your pictures.
Lou Chaoye's techniques and straightforward teaching method makes this stunning book suitable for beginners, while readers with painting experience, and animation professionals, will find it an invaluable resource for inspiration and reference.
Chapter 1
Body Proportions 9
Basic proportions 10
Main joints of the body 12
Male proportions in different styles 13
Nine-head male 13
Eight-head male 14
Seven-head male 14
Six-head male 15
Five-head male 15
Three-head male 16
Two-head male 16
Female proportions in different styles 17
Nine-head female 17
Seven-head female 18
Six-head female 18
Five-head female 19
Four-head female 19
Three-head female 20
Two-head female 20
Chapter 2
Drawing the head and face 21
Structure of the head 22
Gender differences 22
Proportions of the face 23
Drawing the head 24
Lines, angles and perspectives 24
Drawing the head face-on 28
Drawing the head at three-quarter face 33
Drawing the head from the side 36
Drawing eyes 39
Drawing noses 42
Drawing mouths 46
Drawing ears 49
Drawing heads at different ages 53
Early childhood 53
School age 54
Teenage 56
Maturity 58
Middle age 60
Old age 62
Expressing emotions 64
Joy 64
Angry 66
Sad 68
Surprise and shock 70
Shyness 72
Drawing hair 73
Hairlines 73
Hair volume 74
Hair growth and direction 75
Hair in movement 77
Drawing different types of hair 78
Chapter3
Drawing complete figures 87
Human body structure 88
Eight-head male 89
Seven-head female 93
Two-head chibi male 97
Two-head chibi female 99
Body size and proportion 101
Gender differences 101
Variation in body proportions 103
The Torso 105
Drawing the torso 106
Different body types and the torso 115
The neck 118
The chest 124
The abdomen 126
The lower torso 128
The torso in motion 131
The arms 137
Drawing the arms 137
The hand 141
The arm in motion 145
The legs 148
Drawing the legs 149
The feet 154
Chapter 4
Pose and posture 157
Basics of posing 158
Standing and balance 158
Sitting poses 160
Squatting poses 161
Running poses 162
Perspective 162
Perspective types and examples 163
Choosing a viewpoint 166
Drawing common poses 176
Standing 176
Sitting 178
Walking 180
Running 181
Jumping 182
Squatting 183
Reclining and lying down 184
More unusual poses 185
Chapter 5
Clothing and costume 187
Types of clothing 188
Close-fitting clothing 188
Loose clothing 191
Mix-and-match clothing 194
Folds and drapery 197
Fabrics and folds 197
Body shape and folds 198
Poses and clothing 200
Drawing clothing 202
Drawing tops 202
Drawing skirts and trousers 206
Drawing shoes 211
Clothing your characters 214
Chinese style 214
Western regions style 220
Japanese style 222
Korean style 225
Indian style 226
European style 229
Ancient Egyptian style 234
Drawing fantasy clothing 236
Sci-fi style 236
Mythical style 240
Magical style 245
Animal fantasy style 250
Chapter 6
Composition 255
How to approach composition 256
Number of characters 256
Lines of direction 261
Proportion and position 264
Proportion 264
Position 265
Arranging your characters 266
Drawing scenes with multiple characters 266
Drawing scenes with figures and animals 268
Variety in composition 270
Movements 270
Relationships 272
Groups 273
Proportion 273
Chapter 7
Drawing complete characters 275
Chibi-style characters 276
Cake Princess 276
Demon Prince with Steed 279
Japanese-style characters 282
Girl in Kimono 282
Handsome Angel 285
Manhua-style characters 287
Celestial Lotus Spirit 287
Serpentine Yaogua 290
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