4 Ways to Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character

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4 Ways to Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character
4 Ways to Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character

Video: 4 Ways to Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character

Video: 4 Ways to Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character
Video: Develop your OWN Art Style | And how to draw with it | Drawlikeasir 2024, March
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If you're working on designing your own manga, or even want to write a fanfic of your favorite anime or manga, you'll want to create a character that's interesting and makes people want to read your story (without the character become a Mary Sue!). This article will teach you how to write interesting characters as well as how to draw them! Start with Step 1 below, or see the article content for more information.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Finding the Character's Personality

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 1
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 1

Step 1. Decide your blood type

They are seen as a common indicator of personality in Japan. You can use this to help decide what you want your character to look like. Blood types and their associated personalities are:

  • O - confident, optimistic and determined, but also egocentric and unpredictable
  • A - creative, reserved and responsible, but also stubborn and tense
  • B - active and passionate, but also selfish and irresponsible
  • AB - adaptable and rational, but also forgetful and critical
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 2
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 2

Step 2. Decide your birth date

The zodiac signs of the West or East can be used to determine personality. You can use this to choose your character's age or year of birth and birth date.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 3
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 3

Step 3. Use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

If you really want an idea of a fully formed personality, you can use the Myers-Briggs personality test. These personality types, based on psychological studies, can be helpful in creating your character's personality.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 4
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 4

Step 4. Use a personality balancer

You must also balance the character's personality. Balancing positive and negative traits is necessary to create a believable and persuasive character. Count the negative and positive traits and try to make the negatives a little bigger than the positives. By the end of the story, you will have managed to overcome some of the negative traits. Examples of such traits are:

  • Manipulator.
  • You lie often.
  • Insults others.
  • It doesn't care about its impact on others' lives.
  • Focused only on your own goals.
  • It has bad impulse control.
  • It is often spiteful, even with minor accidents.
  • It is usually reckless or impulsive.
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 5
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 5

Step 5. Choose a good name

Many people also believe that a person's name can affect their personality. Studies have shown that having a different name can lead to bullying and personality problems that result from bullying. There are also people who believe that one name can determine their entire personality (called Kabalarians). This, whether true or not, can help you choose the name.

Try to avoid really weird names in a realistic environment. This makes your character look out of place

Method 2 of 4: Creating Persuasive Stories

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 6
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 6

Step 1. Identify your character's main objective

Where do you want your character to end? What do you want him to learn during the course of the story? What do you want him to learn, or change? You can use your character's final state to figure out how to show it at the beginning.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 7
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 7

Step 2. Identify the beginning of the character

Once you know where it ends, decide where you want it to start. This should guide him to where he should logically end up. For example, if you want a character who learns to value others, you'll want to show him not doing that at the beginning of the story. You'll also want to show him why he doesn't think he needs people.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 8
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 8

Step 3. Decide how he will get there

Think about where you want him to start and end the story. Now, how would you bring someone to a change like that? This is where you can come up with great ideas for your story, because the things that happen to your character to make him change make for a great plot, or subplot.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 9
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 9

Step 4. Avoid the clichés

His girlfriend is dead. His parents died when he was young. He grew up an eternal new boy. All these clichés made to give your character a kick start. And because they're clichés, they're all boring. Try to avoid them. Try to be original in your character development. This will get people more interested in your character and they will want to follow your story.

Method 3 of 4: Drawing the Character

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 10
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 10

Step 1. Choose a style

Different types of anime and manga are often drawn in different styles. You can use your natural style, or you can imitate the look of classic artists from different genres. Shojo and shonen anime and manga are the two most common genres.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 11
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 11

Step 2. Draw the character

Keep in mind that cute characters usually have big eyes, while nice characters have small, slanted eyes. Check out some articles that you might find useful:

  • How to Draw an Anime Character.

    • How to Draw an Anime Face.
    • How to Draw an Anime Boy.
  • How to Draw Manga.

    • How to Draw a Manga Head Model.
    • How to Draw Hair.
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 12
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 12

Step 3. Get tips on drawing your character's personality and style

Add clothes and accessories. Let your choices help reflect your character's personality and story. For example, if you have a female character who tends to be very practical, put her in flat shoes instead of high heels. If you want to hint at the character's past, think of things he can use or keep that have meaning to him. For example, in The Legend of Korra, Mako wears his mother's scarf all the time. Be creative!

Method 4 of 4: Improving Your Skills

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 13
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 13

Step 1. Study human anatomy

Creating characters that look good starts with a basic knowledge of human anatomy. You don't want to make your character look like he has too much or too little muscle, or too much or too little joints, or a disproportionate body, and so on. Get a good anatomy book and learn where the bones and muscles of the body are, how they bend and where they line up.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 14
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 14

Step 2. Draw things from life

Drawing a character in manga requires knowledge of the human body. The more you can draw human beings, the easier it will be to draw manga. So, start by drawing (to practice) your friends and even yourself sitting in front of the mirror.

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 15
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 15

Step 3. Practice different and dynamic poses

To draw poses for your character, you can take pictures of yourself doing these poses and then try to draw your characters in them. You can also use useful websites like PoseManiacs as a reference.

Try to keep anatomy in mind when doing these poses. You don't want your character to end up looking like a Rob Liefeld cartoon

Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 16
Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character Step 16

Step 4. Keep practicing

The more you practice, the better you will get.

Tips

  • Try drawing your character over and over again to see what works and what doesn't; the more familiar with the character, the easier it will be for you to draw him in different situations. This will also improve your drawings over time, so don't worry if it looks weird at first. Also try drawing your character from different angles.
  • If the character looks too dull, no problem! Get some critiques from your friends or like-minded people, or if you're creating a character for a published work, get feedback from your audience.
  • When designing your character's appearance, don't overdo special effects. You don't want three cool belts, five cute bracelets and eight guns! Take it easy on him. Remember: a little individuality can go a long way!
  • Check out these blood types and their meanings:

    • O - Happy, open, supportive, and excited.
    • A - Calm, cool, affectionate and positive attitude.
    • B - Quiet, cool, negative attitudes with an occasional appearance of happiness.
    • AB - Super lively, fun, positive thinking, energetic, cool, overall a great person!
  • Shading can make your character look better. Do this so that you can tell where the light is coming from. Shade under hair, between strands, below neck and on clothing. Try to lightly shade the inside and darken the outside. Don't overdo the shading.

    Here's how to make an eye: Draw a circle and then draw two curved lines - one at the top, covering a small part of the circle and the other at the bottom, in the same way. Add a small black circle in the middle of the larger circle and draw a bubble or two on it. Make small lines coming out of the smaller circle. The lines should be about half the distance between the smallest and largest circles. Shade and go

  • You can make your character more original by making marks or scars on it.
  • If you're having a hard time coming up with new ideas, think about the anime/mangas you've watched and observe the characters, then match or choose based on their abilities or appearance.
  • Watch the people around you. You can even base your character on them.
  • Try to practice drawing as much as you can. It will finally pay off later when you get all the rave reviews for your designs.

Notices

  • Be careful not to plagiarize another anime or manga.
  • Sketch your lines lightly or you won't be able to erase them.
  • Don't make guns too big! You don't want your character going around carrying a five foot wide sword all the time! Simplify. Make them big enough so they can defend themselves well.
  • Try not to make your character's eyes too big.
  • Escaping into a fantasy world tends to take us away from real social interaction. If you decide to invest in the anime or manga world, try joining a club to make sure you keep having real-world interactions.

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