Questions on the anime/manga style

I been to several art forums, and most if not all advocate on not learning how to draw by copying anime and manga. Which is what I am doing right now.

I am wondering, is it really that bad? Everyone on those forums stress how important it is to learn the basics first and that your basics get screwed up because anime and manga is very "stylized".

Study anatomy, then apply style. Any stylization requires a grasp of anatomy to not look like shit, and if you don't understand the basics you can't apply them to something else. Simple.

But won't you pick that up naturally while drawing anything? I notice I got better at it despite never focusing on it specifically.

No, you don't learn things from nothing.

Drawing anime style is easier, I think, if you know the basics beforehand, mostly just for facial/body proportions and perspective/foreshortening. And yes, even copying stuff is easier this way.

I guess it's okay to learn by copying anime art, but it's definitely better if you at least look at tips for drawing real people; it's faster and easier than copying art (anime or not) for years to figure out anatomy/guidelines that people have already figured out for you.

They might be exaggerating a bit about how your basics get screwed up though; I mean, it's something that you can correct over time.

If you start out with realism you can be Picasso. If you start out with anime you can be mookie.

There is nothing wrong with first learning how to draw by copying the styles and artists you love. As long as you draw a lot of it, eventually there is plenty you can learn and improve on just by drawing silly cartoons and doodles. Don't feel so pressured to learn how to draw the 'right way' if that's not what's fun for you.

It's true that eventually, if you want to become a truly skilled artist, you must learn how to draw realistic styles, draw from observation, the basics of light and shadow and form, and all those 'real artist' things. Not knowing them will eventually become a very obvious obstacle for you in your art, and not starting by learning them will make your improvement much slower than if you did. But if you aren't in a rush to improve as fast as possible, and if you can't find yourself enjoying drawing that kind of thing, you don't have to.

As a young girl, around middle school, I heard these same things but anytime I tried to learn from the usual books, I just couldn't find the fun in drawing a plant for an hour or copying a realistic figure. I think it's very important to capture the fun and joy of drawing first, which I did through a very kid-friendly and colorful 'how to draw manga' book I found at that age. It wasn't the 'ideal' way to draw, but it was fun, and that's what kept me drawing as a hobby up to today.

Eventually, as you improve on the very basics of drawing, you start to realize your own limitations, and that's when you can truly appreciate what other artists are telling you or trying to teach, about light and shadow and form and all that. It's a very leisurely, slow pace of improvement this way, but I personally don't regret learning this way. In the end, whatever keeps you drawing will eventually make you learn the same elementary skills as every other serious artist.

<3 ali

Not studying from IRL or learning basics is fine as long as you are directly copying something (style and all) from some anime, but the second you try to draw a person in a pose or style that isn't in the original material, things will not come out pretty — or at least nowhere near as pretty as they could be. To stop things from being a disjointed mess, you often need to at least look at how reality looks.

It is, however, long term artistic advice and not "OHMYGODYOUARETAINTINGYOURSELFSTOP", so yeah — feel free to ignore it if you really don't want to bother. Most people find that if they draw long enough, that they realize the limitations of copying on their own, which is usually a lot more instructive on an individual level anyways, IMO.

edited 18th Sep '10 3:18:54 PM by Dec

^ That's exactly what I was trying to say, but you said it so much more succinctly XD .

<3 ali

edited 20th Sep '10 9:10:27 PM by almyki

I am wondering, is it really that bad?

What is your real intention with this statement? Are you looking for someone to pat you on your back and say "Oh no dearie you draw wonderfully just keep doing what you do!! ^_^".

In other words, yes, it really is that bad, and you should stop.

^ I disagree.

ali

^^ Come now, That's no way to treat a budding artist.

Copying an anime style is not bad, just not good either. It's a nice start as so long as you're consistent and you keep on practicing. Eventually you're going to want to develop your own style, either by making an amalgam of other styles or doing whatever you want. The end result will depend on how much stylization you want. However I urge you to look into anatomy, which is always important.

I've heard from many others that you're supposed to copy reality and move on to stylization but I find that the reverse has worked just as well.

Sorry, OP. It isn't a sustainable way to learn. When you get to a point where you want to form your individual style, you'll be lost because you won't be interpreting what you see (what a style is) but interpreting interpretations. The problem is like the problem with writing a paper that relies too heavily on secondary and tertiary sources. I know because I made that mistake. I'm still doing damage control.

edited 20th Sep '10 9:22:41 PM by harmattane

No, ali, you don't know what you're talking about, and you shouldn't encourage other people to do it.

Get it through to your heads. Copying anime art leads to SHITTY ANIME ART. Do you want this person to spend the rest of her life making cruddy scribbles that look like the inbred offspring of the man in the moon and a jellybean with sparkles in the eyes? The world has enough of that on deviantArt to last us till the next millennium.

Or do you want her to realize her potential through hard work and determination, and come into her own as an artist and a human being?

edited 20th Sep '10 9:36:41 PM by [AOD]

^^Copying Dragonball Z, Pokemon, and Digimon + Help from Mark Bagley's artistic run of Ultimate Spider-Man + Observing people and my own anatomy + 11 years of practice = My evidence contrary to your claim.

However, I will say that it may depend from person to person and how much they're willing or able to learn and adapt and change. What's helpful to one can be detrimental to another.

^Wow, someone's not feeling too generous today. Care to calm down?

edited 20th Sep '10 9:36:43 PM by ACDrawings

Look at how well you destroy your own premise.

Observing people and my own anatomy

The only reason you've gotten as far as you have is through real life observation.

Look, just don't encourage someone to languish in mediocrity.

edited 20th Sep '10 9:38:37 PM by [AOD]

Get it through to your heads. Copying anime art leads to SHITTY ANIME ART.

I see...◊

I didn't start by copying anime art, buddy. Nice try.

edited 20th Sep '10 9:39:52 PM by [AOD]

So, your problem is copying anime/manga style, as opposed to drawing in a way similar to it?

My problem is "Making a derivative off of a derivative". You can't learn to draw by making a copy of a copy, you go to the original source. I started learning by going to an anatomy book and learning the basics, and then proceeded to practice that and observe people. I still am refining it and I'm learning and improving every day, by observing; in fact I still need practice as in the image you linked, their arms are all way too short and the limbs are still stiff. It's a recurrent problem, but I know that because I have a baseline to develop from.

Only after all that did I start stylizing.

This is obvious, why should I need to say it??

edited 20th Sep '10 9:44:10 PM by [AOD]

It's just a way of starting and getting practice. Sheesh.

It's a way of easily getting railroaded into a dead end you mean.

Listen to Harmattane!

When you get to a point where you want to form your individual style, you'll be lost because you won't be interpreting what you see (what a style is) but interpreting interpretations. The problem is like the problem with writing a paper that relies too heavily on secondary and tertiary sources.

edited 20th Sep '10 9:48:05 PM by [AOD]

Art critic to the rescue!

[AOD]'s work is more recognisably manga. It also blows AC's drawings out of the water. So yes. Learn to draw the proper way - it might be harder, but you'll come out of it a better artist.

Wow, someone's not feeling too generous today. Care to calm down?

I'm as mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!

I dunno, there are some interpretations that are more realistic than other interpretations in the anime style.

Of course, that said I mainly learned of anatomy and whatnot looking at realistic images and statues, so it isn't really the same.