How to draw a Manga boy: Basic guidelines

Basic guidelines for a manga boy....... ish.

Remember these guys from my last post? 

Well, I finished them, and you get to see how.

I'm just going to put a few photos I scanned while drawing this, review what I thought was important and let you learn from watching/staring at it obsessively- I'll also write out a few pointers for drawing the typical manga guy. This is likely to be my longest post. I really need to get a video camera.

I wanted Raider to be taller than Brandon so I moved that circle up just a tad.

Raider's neck is thicker because he'd more muscular/older.

Manga male torsos are long and rectangular, but that doesn't mean that they're stiff. They have a 'wave,' a shift of weight you can observe in real people (Artists are stalkers, hate to break it to you kid). Watch the next couple guys you see. Watch everybody. It's like bird-watching, but people-watching.

I really don't know how to draw guns, so... don't reference this photo for them.

 Imagine out clothes for your characters and test them out.

 Faces! guys generally have smaller eyes. To draw a Manga guy is to create a stylized version of a real one. 

 Hair! We all love a good hairdo, even if it's a spiky mess. Guys' hair generally has less volume than girls and is shorter/messier. Just adding different little details. ..

Come back in with a pencil and fix up the details. Here you only draw what is visible to the 'readers.' The basic guideline step is over! 

Now I put a paper over it and traced it with pen. They are opposite personalities, so I chose 2 different colors.

Now that I've inked it, it's time to color it- with pen, which is different than most art media you come across. It's a useful tool to master. Here's how they turned out!