My partner took a really nice photograph of me at mcm last year. I’m wearing this outfit I love and I thought – this would make a really cute manga drawing!!
Step 1
I start by putting down a rough sketch. I’m happy with this and think it’s cute. I like the delicacy of it and for a bit I um and arrr over whether to keep the sketch in pencil and maybe go for a watercolour feel or go over it in liner.
Step 2
I decide to go for a liner and go over my image. There are a few things I want to change – that cat face is looking derpy as heck, but I can work on that as I go.
Step 3
I add a matching pink base for my beret and dress. Looking good so far. I fix the hand, or at least try to. It takes me a few attempts! Then I play around with a base skin colour.
Step 4
It has no shading currently so it’s looking very flat! I add the skin base, hair base, and base colours for the strap.
Step 5
This is looking a bit strange but the black background will allow me to get the whites in if I ever want a different coloured background. I’ve started colouring the base colours of the cat backpack and it’s ears.
Step 6
Now it’s starting to come together. I’ve changed the background back and added details to t he hair and eyes. I’m not sure about the ends, I feel like they may need some more black shadowing but I’ll ponder on that.
Step 7
I was liking the eyes but I felt like they could be better. I ended up completely redoing them, changing to two highlights and a smaller pupil.
Step 8
I add shading to the skin and blend it.
Step 9
I add highlights to the skin and blend them. Then I work on the dress, adding shadows and highlights and blending them in to make them softer.
Step 10
I’m not happy with the shape of the collar so I round it off and add shadowing. I add highlights on the hat and decide that with the placement the hair now needs to be highlighted too. Next I move onto the kitty bag. I add light and shadow and outline the outlines for the shading on the white.
Now it’s time to finish off my manga drawing. I fill in the shading on the back and add a background with a dark, medium and light blue, blending them together to form a gradient. Then I use the snow brush to add snow, some on the background layer and a little in front to help her blend into the scene.
The Finished Result!
If you’d like a copy of my manga drawing for yourself, I’ve turned it into a sticker! It’s available now for purchase on my shop
About me – Sara (Artist)
Hello! I’m an artist based in Kent, England. I like painting and drawing a variety of subjects but animals are definitely my passion in art and life is well.
I attend stalls regularly where I exhibit and sell my work. Please feel free to come to any of these and have a look at my work and a chat.
I started to draw properly when I was around 11 years old. I was obsessed with anime at the time and loved to draw my favourite characters. Anime, manga and Japanese culture still hold a special place in my heart. You can follow my work on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.