More Chibi Poses

Here are two sheets of Chibi poses. Chibis are a staple of all manga and are a lot of fun to draw, but a great deal of manga artists just draw them standing around in the same 'cutsie' pose they learned to draw them in. They don't branch out. I make comics with them, so  I need all kinds of positions. Here are some ranging from hands stand, to proposal, to shushing, to holding a baby.
I hope these two sheets will give you an idea of how to change your stationary chibi's into active heroes; to make you go beyond what I've drawn here and draw some of your own poses. :)

December Sketches, last of 2017

 It comes as no surprise that I received new blick markers and sketchbooks for Christmas!

I've been drawing chibis so long, that drawing this regular manga character was a major challenge, especially the legs. The best artist practices all things that they want to become better in!

The four above are OCs of mine, of which Aiden and Rhonda appear frequently throughout this year's posts.

This last one is the OC I drew for a friend from Nanowrimo, a great artist herself. Check out her instagram at SketchCalamity.

Merry Christmas Chibis and ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family!! I love art, and I'm so proud each time to post and show you all what I've done, and help others of you create your own manga art. Hearing from you makes my day, every day!

It's been a wonderful year, and you were all a part of it

 Thank you for comments, likes on face book, follows, and subscribing to my webtoon!

 Here's a snow ball

... and a cup of hot chocolate to make up for it. :`)

also, I have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

My friend Joseph from the webtoon 'Presley' is setting up a live event in honor of Presley's and 

Not-So-Generic's one year anniversary. It will happen on the 20th of January, and be linked here and on my webtoon for my followers there.

Joseph, his artist brother Wesley, and I will be streaming live art, sharing tips, and talking about ourselves and our art like the narcissists we are. :`) I would love to have you there!!

JANUARY 20, 2018!

Again, Merry Christmas!

How to draw a chibi secretary

  The chibi should be roughly 3 1/2 heads tall.
Perfect circles and squares are nice, but they can lead astray when adding muscle.
  The head, chest box, or 'lungs', and the hips are the basic building blocks for the chibi. With my chibis there is as much distance from head to chest box as from chest box to hips- if you follow this it'll keep your chibi proportionate.
*The distance from head to chest box isn't the same as neck length. The trapezoids angle up and meet the neck halfway from the chibi's chin and the chest box. (drawn in #2)

Erase guidelines and draw in the basic outlines of her outfit, then dig into the detail. Personalize the earrings, shirt, or face to make give your secretary chibi her own personality!

Feel free to save the one-page chibi tutorial to your device or share it with your friends!

Chibi Types

One of my most-viewed posts of the past! This time with a male chibi example.

I use the 'Basic' chibi if I just want to tell a story, like in my comic, not so generic. If I'm doing a particular piece I'll do 'Barely' chibi so I can make it more interesting with extra detail in shading and wrinkles and patterns. Teddy is super common in anime for intense emotions like Joy, Terror, and Rage. I don't use it much, but they're super easy and a great way to start out drawing chibis.

Above, Character design in 'Basic chibi'.
Here below are some different styles and outfits you could use for your chibi character! Mix and match and make it all your own!

Also, are there any old posts that you think I should re-make?
Merry extra-early Christmas!
 

the Best Ink Pens for Manga Artists

I wrote this other post two years ago, but I feel the same, and still have the same set of pens: MARVY pens 101

I use a Marvy Technical Drawing Pen set for most of my art- and the fact that I'm STILL using the same set I bought two years ago is a testament to their long lifespan. I just replenished my MARVY set with another 0.8, 0.5, and a 0.05. Out of my original set, only the 0.3 (my most used) has run dry.

I alternate between MARVY pens and my dip pen. Dip pens best the MARVY with the fact that you never have to switch pens to change the line width, but with their pressure sensitivity comes the needed practice to now your pen/nib combo well. I prefer G nibs. Zebra G nibs dominate the American manga market, but I prefer the Tachikawa G nibs. Zebras are cheap and come in bulk; which is lucky because they are highly consumable and tend to be loose in the Holder's socket; even in my zebra nib holder specifically for Zebra nibs.

Tachikawa's nibs, on the other hand, are high-quality metal and have long nib bodies to keep them secure in the holder. They hold about the same amount per dip as the zebra G nib.

Here I use a Bic round stic, Papermate InkJoy, MARVY, and Tachikawa and Zebra nibs for comparison.

Both the Round stic and Ballpoint InkJoy are cheap pens you can obtain at any Walmart. The round pen has a lighter, while the InkJoy a darker, color, that's not quite black. The MARVY pens do not dry black either but are a solid dark grey. (Beckah B is inked in MARVY)
The stiff MARVY nib is more likely to catch on rough/cheap paper and create hitched lines, while the Ballpoint and Round pens run more smoothly.

The Zebra G nib, since it is made of more flexible metal than the Tachikawa, responds to even the slightest pressure. Tachikawa, on the other hand, has a stronger mettle and creates uniform lines while still able to create both thin and thick widths in a single stroke.
 I used Higgins Black India, but it's very old and has faded to a gray more-than black color unless layered. I prefer Dr ph. Martin's Bombay India inks, but I'm trying to use up all of my mother's old ink :`)

A- Round Stic
B- Technical Drawing Pen
C- InkJoy
D- Dip Pen, Higgins black India ink

You can see is the first experiment, that the round stic does poorly over pencil, with broken lines, the InkJoy doing a little better, and the Technical and Dip pen going over the best, with bold, unbroken lines.

For the second experiment, I waited 5 seconds before 'erasing' hypothetical pencil lines underneath. The InkJoy and Round Stic smudged horribly, while the MARVY and Dip pen squiggle dried almost instantly. With quick-drying ink there is no worry about smearing ink across your drawing when erasing or moving your hand across the paper.
*Dr ph. Martin's Bombay Ink does NOT dry as quickly as Higgins, but it's true color compared to Higgins, redeems this for me.

Link to MARVY Technical Drawing Pens

Link to Tachikawa set w/ Zig Holder

Link to Zebra set

Bic Round Stic 5.99 USD/60 pens (estimated)

Papermate Ink Joy 1.0m 12.00 USD/48 pens (estimated)

After years of testing other pens (due to my mothers' huge array of art supplies), I've found the Tachikawa G nib, along with Bombay Inda ink, and the MARVY technical pen set to be the best inking tools for any artist, mangaka or no.
They dry quickly, both with the bold black, or close to, that I want. The MARVYs last and last, and your dip pen holder can be a one time purchase, and you shall never run out of ink, as long as you remember to keep purchasing Dr ph. Martins, and you shall never need a new pen, as long as you remember to purchase more nibs. :`)

*After extensive research by my mother, continued by myself, the InkJoy pen is the best CHEAP pen for inking, but the MARVY and Tachikawa pens outstrip it by far in quality.


I've used many different brands of ink pens, including Micron and Prismacolor's Manga set, (also reviewed on my blog) but my MARVYs and my Tachikawa dip pen fulfill my every need, and with their outstanding prices, I couldn't ask for anything more!

Inktober 2017 post #2

Inktober's almost over... And frankly, half of us have quit already. I fell behind after the first 7 days and felt swamped trying to put out 2-5 ink drawings a day. Only my Inktober facebook chat group kept me going.
Then my mother said 'Just do one. The point is that you did something. Just pick up where you left off and keep going, it doesn't matter if you end up with 31 ink drawings, but that you drew them.'
You may be 'behind', just like I did. That's okay. You haven't failed. Pick up your pen and finish the last couple of days, because baby, we're on the home run!

Inktober #5, penned with Le Pens and colored with Blick's warm gray marker set.

 Inktober #15 Characters that my art collaboration partner and I are designing for a Halloween comic 
 Inktober #12 August, prince of Satyrs.

Inktober #16 and #17 I believe. Both done with a G nib/Dip pen. Lots and lots of ink! I wish you all the best in your efforts this October.

Manga Girl Le Pen Technical pens

This is my favorite Inktober illustration so far- right now, I'm three days behind! I'm sure to pull through. :) Next manga Inktober post coming this weekend!

In this first stage I really focus on the SHAPES of the figure. Triangles and rectangles are man-made shapes. If you use more natural shapes like ovals, you'll create a more convincing human body.

Wrinkles follow the curve of those circles and oblong shapes underneath the clothes. Clothes wrap around the arms, the legs, the neck, etc. The image will appear flat without the curving of your wrinkles!

Inked with my Technical Pens. They make it look like I inked her with a dip pen, but the stiff nibs are easier to control than a dip pen. Technical pens were created for the precision needed by engineers and architects, but have become a staple art resource as well. Le Pen is my favorite brand, with a great basic set of stiff nibs from 0.03 to 8.0 along with a brush nib for under 15 dollars, and about 2-3$ each if bought separately.
My preferred set would be made of 0.03, 1.0, 3.0, and 8.0, all of which I own and used on this peice- except for my 0.03, it's ink cartridge has finally given out. It's been two years since I got them, so their lifespan is amazing, especially with how much I use them.

Viola. :) I finished this manga girl off with my warm gray blick marker set- I felt like going the extra mile, like it wasn't finished with just ink. 

Inktober 2017 post#1

It's HERE. Inktober, the monthly 'event' that dominates group chats, art classes, art sites, and sketchbooks around the globe. During Inktober, artists choose to create an ink sketch or finished drawing every day, every other day, or one each week.
Inktober is my helpmeet to push me to make time to create something every day, no matter how sketchy or unfinished.
I've pledged to my own group of supportive artists that for half the days I'll follow the official prompts and the other half? I'll just do my own thing. ;)
 

 Inktober #1. I attended the semi-annual Latter-day Saint general conference last weekend, and during one of the two-hour sessions, I wrote my notes on top of my timeline, chibi girl style. Only after did I realize each of the chibis had props to define that time in my life- except the last one. :`)

Inktober #2. After the inked one, I created a more finished pencil version of this street-wise urchin girl.

Inktober #3. I wanted to draw someone going to war- baseball angst was the closest I could get. This manga girl is ready to kick butt. The second one is the perfected inked piece, but the first is my favorite. It has the flavor written into the messy lines themselves. I also used it afterward as my scrap page for ink testing and scribbles.

Inktober #4. This counts because the upper portion took 30 MINUTES. That chain link fence was killer.
I will enlarge and ink this page layout for a Blick competition this month.

Happy National Comic Day!

I had meant to make a short comic particularly for 'National comic Day', but I lucked out on time. :/

Either way, I hope your September is shaping up to be awesome! I'll finish my comic another day and post it on here. :3 Until then, you can enjoy my goofy Not So Generic comic on Webtoon!

How to Draw a Chibi Spiderman

This is a birthday present for my friend Sariah! She likes reading superhero comics and drawing. I got to look through her sketch book once, and it was super cool- I'll always remember that wafty-looking tree.

How to draw chibi spider man. On the last one I took the layer opacity down to 30%, and inked on another layer. When I was inking, I chose to make the leg on the right thinner, and squinch up the eyes so it'd look like he was smiling. :)

How to draw Sweaters Chibis or Manga

Now that I've (finally :`) hauled out my sweaters and hoodies from storage up in the attic, I wanted to point out THREE things that make a drawn sweater a sweater, instead of some skin-tight long-sleeved shirt. 

 #1. sweaters often have thick collars. Show the width by giving it a rim as shown. Without this, the sweater seems too thin and un-three-dimensional.
#2. Every seam in the sweater will create a little indent, puffing up on either side. This will help convey the thickness of the material.
#3. Because sweaters, hoodies, jackets, etc. are weighty, the material is always drooping downwards, in triangular sections shown in the simplified doodle.

There are much fewer wrinkles in heavy cloth, than, say, T shirts and a lot of sweaters come in patterns. Google up a couple references to find a pattern you like and use it to create a more realistic picture.
I also wanted to note that it's a given in the fashion industry for girls' seams to point inward, while men's' point outward. The logic behind this is that it creates a 'broader shoulders' effect for the guys. It's the same with your manga( or chibi) characters! If you want a character to be more girly, slant in; more manly, slant out. It makes more difference than you'd think!

 It's not just for chibis! Handsome young men can wear them too. *insert smirky emoji*
#1 thickness in the collar( and sleeve cuffs).
#2 Indent in seams( and it's goin' outward).
#3 The thick material of a sweater droops downward( nothing to put in parentheses here).

Have an awesome sweater-filled, hoodie-wrapped, fuzzy-sock autumn!

Sad Anime Girl process on Manga Studios

I wanted this girl to look sketchy even in the line art, so I kept the guidelines. The tank top is made from a loose material and doesn't catch underneath her bust. You still know she has one because of the vertical wrinkles.
The focus is on her eyes and the frame in her hands.
Her eyes have the thickest line width, and following her gaze, you see the frame. In the line art, the only other thing to draw your eyes to the frame is the detail. The rest of the line art is simple, while there is a lot going on around the frame, including the contrasting horizontal line of the hair.

The background color and guidelines on their own layer, Line art on another, and two more layers of color: one for the hair, and one for the elements. The hair and tank top are separated so that the area they 'touch' won't blend together.
I erase everything that's outside the lines, using the eraser tool for the niches and the select tool for larger areas. I ended up erasing some of the guidelines, particularly those on the hands.

After erasing I used the burn tool to create shadows. The dodge tool automatically darkens whatever color you're drawing over so that you don't have to keep going to the color wheel and selecting darker values for each color.
On the anime girl's tank top, you can see that I used shadows to trick the mind to see more wrinkles and reinforce the idea of loose cloth.
I also darkened the entire image with a gradation coming from the right corner.

The text all lies underneath  the gradation layer, except for the 'smile', to make it pop out. :) The text is the only sad thing, really. Anyway, I hoped you liked this short post! More art to come in September.

Sketchies

No words, just pictures. XD