THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO DRAWING ACTION MANGA

ILLUSTRATING IN COLOR

1 Rough Sketch

Here, we add color to the rough sketch of the superman punch on
page 50.

2 Draft

The face, torso and arms are separated at the rough draft stage. This
is to make it easier to add the special effects in step 7.

3 Line Drawing

Don’t be afraid to experiment with clothes. Being playful with clothing
choices makes things more fun for the viewer, too.
Hair moves to match the slant of the neck. Create interest by breaking
up the hair so that it doesn’t all lie in the same direction.
Emphasize the arm and the parts of the hand to which you want focus
to be attracted. This adds dynamism to the drawing. Key here is that
the fist is being thrust way out in front, so needs to be depicted as
larger than the face.

4 Base Color

Painting in the base forms a platform on which to build color, so
choose an appropriate color scheme.

5 Add Shadow

Decide on the light source and add shadow. Here, the light source is
positioned directly in front but slightly above the figure.

6 Effects and Highlighting

Add highlights as appropriate, basically to areas that are protruding.

7 Special Effects

❶ For the eyes, use the airbrush tool in overlapping mode.
❷ Draw scars on the skin as accents.
❸ Create momentum by scattering dust and so on around the

image.
❹ Use the radial blur in Photoshop on the arms, dust and other

things flying around the image to create an unfocused look.
Finally, overlay gradation to complete the illustration.

8 Completion

GETTING THE FACIAL EXPRESSION
RIGHT ❷

Let’s think about the expression of a character
receiving a damaging blow to the face. Try to
visualize the direction of the attack to make
drawing easier.

Add blurred lines, effect lines and so on around the face to show
where the slap has come from. Remember that when a face is

punched, eyes squeeze shut in reaction. This facial expression shows
pain and emotion.

As the chin is struck, the mouth naturally jams shut. Adding clenched
teeth and the tongue being bitten is another way to portray this
reaction.
Showing the whites of the eyes, nosebleeds and other such elements
expresses the force of the attack.

Exaggerating the reaction of the character receiving an attack by
showing things such as teeth flying out, blood spurting from the nose
and so on makes for a comical illustration.

About the Authors

shoco
Author of chapters 1 to 5

Hi, I’m shoco. I’m glad to have been given the chance to compile the
illustrations for this book. I’ve done my best to select poses that will
work well as references for you to create your own illustrations, manga
and so on. I hope you’ll find them helpful!

Makoto Sawa

Twitter: @sawa_makoto

Author of the Spotlight sections

I’m an illustrator and manga artist, working mainly on manga. The
human figure and perspective are just some of the difficult aspects of
illustration that are hard to master. So, although it is tempting to
bypass the basics, it’s best to keep practicing and gain an
understanding of them to improve your drawing little by little. In this
book, I’ve covered the key points and tricks behind my illustrations. I’m
still learning, too, but I hope my advice will be even just a little bit
useful in helping you to improve your drawing.

About Tuttle

“Books to Span the East and West”

Our core mission at Tuttle Publishing is to create books which
bring people together one page at a time. Tuttle was founded in
1832 in the small New England town of Rutland, Vermont (USA).
Our fundamental values remain as strong today as they were
then—to publish best-in-class books informing the English-
speaking world about the countries and peoples of Asia. The
world has become a smaller place today and Asia’s economic,
cultural and political influence has expanded, yet the need for
meaningful dialogue and information about this diverse region
has never been greater. Since 1948, Tuttle has been a leader in
publishing books on the cultures, arts, cuisines, languages and
literatures of Asia. Our authors and photographers have won
numerous awards and Tuttle has published thousands of books
on subjects ranging from martial arts to paper crafts. We
welcome you to explore the wealth of information available on
Asia at www.tuttlepublishing.com.

www.tuttlepublishing.com

DYNAMIC NA UGOKI WA KOU EGAKU!
Copyright©2018 shoco, Makoto Sawa
English translation rights arranged with GENKOSHA Co., through
Japan UNI Agency, Inc., Tokyo

English translation ©2019 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

Translated from Japanese by Leeyong Soo.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number in progress

ISBN 978-1-4629-2089-1

Distributed by:

North America, Latin America & Europe
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon
VT 05759-9436 U.S.A.
Tel: 1 (802) 773-8930; Fax: 1 (802) 773-6993
[email protected];
www.tuttlepublishing.com

Japan
Tuttle Publishing
Yaekari Building 3rd Floor
5-4-12 Osaki Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141 0032

Tel: (81) 3 5437-0171; Fax: (81) 3 5437-0755
[email protected]; www.tuttle.co.jp

Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
3 Kallang Sector #04-01
Singapore 349278
Tel: (65) 6741 2178; Fax: (65) 6741 2179
[email protected]; www.periplus.com

Printed in Hong Kong 1905EP

22 21 20 19 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing,
a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.