The Tools You Need For Drawing Manga

There are so many different products and art sets available today, from office supply stores to specialist artshops. But what are the tools that you need if you want to draw manga, the japanese form of comicbooks? You've got your pencil and your pens, but something's lacking. Have you got the right tools for the job? And what are the tools the pros use? Read on!

I'm going to go over the basic, must-haves for any manga artist. You'll find these to be not only the most useful, but also the most affordable manga art tools available!

Your first tool! Pencils are needed for sketching out your drawing. While there is no problem in using wooden pencils, mechanical pencils are the go-to standard for manga and comicbook artists, as mechanical pencils give clean, sharp lines that are very easy to trace over with a pen. They are refillable- all you have to do is buy a packet of leads!

The most common hardness of pencil is 'HB', which is pretty good for manga. However, there are sets of pencils of varything hardness targeted at 'artists' and you may be tempted to buy a set of these. That's probably a mistake. It is better to buy pencils targeted at architects or tecnhical drawing, not 'artists' as these softer, darker pencils are usually intended for sketch artists who like to use dark, easy to smudge pencil.

Manga requires light, easily erased pencils from the harder (H) end of the hardness scale. Black (B) pencils are not suitable for manga as they are soft, dark and difficult to erase.

• Buy 'drafting', 'technical' or 'architect'
• Do not buy 'artist', 'sketch' or 'designer'
• 'H' means hard and is light and slightly harder to erase, but erases cleanly.
• 'B' means black and is soft, dark, and smudges easily.
• Chose a mechanical pencil with a tip of 05 to 0.7 mm in diameter. These are the most precise and easiest to find refills for.
• When buying refills for your pen, the only thing that needs to be the same is the size of the tip (the lead). 0.5 mm leads fit inside 0.5 mm tipped pens. You can use any brand or hardness that you like.
• Traditional lead pencils are better if you're sketching artwork that you intent to ink with a brush or brush pen, because the lines are more similar.

There is a huge variety of inking pens that are all very useful for a manga artist. The best color to use is (of course) black. Try to buy pens with ink that is quickdrying and water-resistant, as this will not smudge if you decide to color over it.

Fine tip/liner porous pens

'Fine' 'porous' pens are very popular and easy to use pens with a fine, solid tip that does not have any moving parts.

The most noticeable thing about these easy-to-use pens is that they come in a variety of sizes, and give smooth, precise lines which are great for manga artwork.

They are non-specialist, available in shops all over the world, and come with ink already inside (they are non-reffilable). They are cheap and easy to use, but also have a limited use (so it's good to buy more than one of the size you'll use the most).

These tools are often overlooked when you decide to try and draw manga, and if you forget them you'll soon end up making horrible mistakes!

Your ruler is needed to mark out frames, draw buldings and make all sorts of measurements, and there are certain rulers more suited to manga artists.

Your french curves are great for speed-lines and a full set can be used to draw any shape atall.

Your stencils provide a variety of simple shapes such as circles and stars, which are great for repeated patterns or accurately drawn objects.

• Buy a ruler, curve, or stencil with an 'inking' (beveled) edge which prevents ink from splotching when you use a pen on it. Only the cheapest rulers lack this edge.
• Transparent rulers, curves, and stencils, are highly recommended, as you can see your art through them and see exactly what you are doing.
• A 30cm ruler is your basic, straight ruler. This is your basic (required) equipment
• A 60 cm ruler (or longer) is needed for artwork on larger sizes of paper. If you buy B4, A4 or lettersize paper, you'll want this.
• A 'bendy ruler' is a ruler which you can bend into any curve you need. Use this to draw curved lines, including manga-style speed-lines and shock-lines.
• The most useful types of stencils for drawing manga are ovals. Ovals can be used to accurately draw clocks, plates, cups and car wheels.
• Despite their odd looks, french curves are very useful, especially for manga style speed-lines.
• Never let your ruler, curve, or stencil get damaged. The tiniest chip on your inking edge will cause a glaring misake in your line.

Yes, it's unbelievable, I know. How can there be different kinds of eraser?

• A soft vinyl eraser is the rectangular and white eraser you're probably most familiar with. They work well with the hard leads suited to manga drawing. Try and buy one which is just soft enough to leave a small dent in with your fingernail. If it's any harder, it will damage your paper and smudge softer pencil-lines.
• Kneaded erasers have an appearance similar to chewing gum. They're soft and maleable, and most suited for small areas or for lightly erasing lines so they can be redrawn. They're often called 'artist's erasers'.
• An 'eraser stick' or 'eraser pen' is something you're unlikely to have seen. It is a thin eraser held in place by a plastic pen case. It is very similar to using the eraser on the top of a pencil, but it lasts much, much longer. It is very useful for erasing fine details.

I've listed all the basics and useful gizmos, but wouldn't you like to know about the more niche, advanced tools? I'll soon be writing lenses on more advanced, and exotic manga art supplies! Pens with japanese names, tones, makers and more! Check back soon!