Lemma Soft Forums

Hi
I'm currently trying to learn how to draw (manga/anime style).
I'm going to take there 1 step after another, and I have begun with eyes.

So far I think I got the gist out of how they are basically drawn (except eyebrows as those seem a bit strange to me).

I want to ask here how they look and what could I do to improve them?
(also one thing I found interesting is that when I change the eyecolour from black to brown it looks.....it hurts me then to look at it.
Thus I wanted to ask there also waht the problem there is, or what would need to be done so that it doesn't hurt the eye then any more).


I'm open for all all help and comments
Tnx

Step one of drawing anything in any style ever: LEARN THE BASICS OF HUMAN ANATOMY.

No, seriously, why would you even start with the eyes, it's not even the first thing you want to focus on as a beginning drawer. If you're really set on drawing anime/manga style eyes... well look up different styles! Not every anime/manga artist draws the same way. There's huge and horribly cutesy moe eyes, realistic looking eyes, etc. You're going to have to be very specific about what kind of eyes you want.

As usual, I direct you to the Art Resources thread: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=14980

If you're still set about learning about eyes, I think this reference sheet by Qinni is a semi-good start: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/ ... 520j2y.jpg

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Er, it's kind of hard to tell, because you drew them in either a simple program (like MS Paint) or a better one but with a Pencil tool, and I'm going to guess you used a mouse. This would be like trying to learn to play piano with winter gloves on. Your eyes aren't going to look right if you can't make round pupils and smoother lines. I mean, you could sit there and refine them pixel by pixel, but I'd suggest using the right tools instead.

The very best thing to do would be use a real pencil, and to get the images into a computer for feedback, scan them in. If you don't have a scanner, your local library might have one, although most printers these days come with one, too. Use a pencil, and draw a lot. Practice. Learn to look at things and try to draw what you see (not what you think you see -- for example, eyes are usually lower on the head than people think, and in anime/manga they're often even lower than that). There are a lot of good drawing guides online that give you important fundamentals. Definitely get to know the human figure, because it's difficult to get everything to look right. And when things don't look right, people really pick up on it. It's essential to get a sense of how everything goes together. If you draw just eyes, you might get good at drawing eyes, but when you actually go to draw the face you may find that everything looks "wrong."

Even if you plan to do everything digitally, *everything* you practice with pencil on paper is going to help. There is no wasted effort.

If you do want to draw digitally, invest in a tablet. I mean, you *could* get away with a mouse if you had to (just like a piano player *could* actually play with gloves on), but it's difficult, constraining, and prone to error. Why jump through hoops? But, tablets cost money, so it would probably be best to stick to paper for awhile. Good software is also important; thankfully there is a good free option with GIMP. Photoshop is great, but costs money.



I'm not sure if in your drawings you meant for the lines above the eyes to be eyebrows or eyelids. The lines *are* where the eyelids should be drawn. Eyebrows will be drawn significantly above that, and it's easier to understand their shape once you've studied the shape of the face. I'd recommend looking at/drawing some real faces because anime is much less detailed. But if you understand how eyebrows look on a real person, you will quickly be able to understand how they look in anime even though they are drawn differently. They aren't just lines drawn above the eyes; they are shapes that follow the 3-dimensional structure of the face.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

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Works in Progress:
Vignettes (when I'm tired of working on A Turbulent Age)
A Turbulent Age (when I'm tired of working on Vignettes)

Tnx so far.

Will look into those guides (the ones I had originally found myself began with eyes so I mainly concentrated on those).

As for tablet: I used a tabled. So more hand eye coord training then.