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

Manga hair

The most iconic way to make your character stand out from the rest is  to create a unique hairstyle for them- But because it is the best way, it's also the most USED way- so instead of just one 'unique' cowlick or ponytail, you can use create several different cowlicks or what-have-you and combine them to create something that hasn't been seen 12 hundred times before.

A thought just popped into my head, that your character doesn't have to be super unique, just unique in your world. Your character doesn't have to  be the only blond-vampire-with-a-ponytail in the anime world, but maybe they're the only one in your manga.

A young artist I know always draws his girls with long hair and boys with short hair. There is no other difference. Same spikiness, same volume. FINALLY he asked me what he could do to differentiate the genders since their hair all looked the same.

According to this handy chart I've made above,

1) Girls' hair is more voluminous and bouncy, and even when it's short it has a fuller look.

2) Guys' hair is generally coarser, or spikier. When it's long, keep it thin to differentiate your guy from your girl characters.

Manga poses I've drawn recently(ish)

I've been posting less and less in the recent months. Due to job conflicts, I might have to eventually shut down my blog this year. :/ Not yet tho!!
Here are a few manga drawings + sketches to brighten your day. :)

Left is a couple sketches of the cast in Hello Dolly, the summer musical I just finished performing in. Right is anatomy sketches.

Left, traditional; Right, digital.

Left is Ian from the Siren's Lament webtoon (great read), and Right is OC Rhonda.