While you can draw manga with any piece of paper and a pencil, if you want to learn the techniques of the experts, you’ll need to know about the supplies they use and why they use them.
You can begin with a special comic paper. This is known as Kent paper or cartoon manuscript paper. If your local art supply store doesn’t carry it, ask them if they can order the manga paper from Copic. This is very similar. What makes this paper special is that it holds up well for erasing. It is also printed with light blue lines that form comic frames. This makes it easy for you to partition off your frames.
You may want to use Scotch tape to help keep your paper in place while you draw. Some people like to secure their paper while others don’t.
Mechanical pencils are used by many cartoonists. Some prefer lightweight pencils when they draw small cartoons and heavier ones when they are drawing larger cartoons. For the larger drawings, they use a lighter pressure on the pencil. Pencils are graded by their lead hardness. HB is harder than 2B. Only use the softer leads if you are applying weak pressure. Blue pencils don’t show up when you print your picture, and many professional cartoonists use them to show tone and shading to their assistants.
Erasers are very important. Plastic erasers are the best as they leave no residue which can spoil your drawing. Non-dust erasers collect the residue into themselves and keep your drawing area clean. Sand erasers can soften the tone and create a sense of dimness or smoothness.
Light boxes help illuminate your drawing from underneath. This is especially helpful if you are tracing or copying a background from another picture.
Once you’ve completed your drawing in pencil, you’ll want to ink it. You can use fine point markers from manufacturers like Copic or Pilot. These inks are self-drying and don’t smear easily. If you’re serious about learning to draw manga, you may want to try using a liquid ink and a pen with interchangeable nibs. The nibs come in various shapes and sizes so you can use them to shading, thick and thin lines and other special requirements in your drawings. Zebra and Nikko both make a variety of nibs. The nibs are inserted one at a time into a penholder, which is the portion you hold in your fingers. Each nib is different and gives you a different result when you draw. Brush pens can come in handy for masking large areas.
When you use a liquid ink, you need to blot excess ink. You can use a roll of paper to blot. Roll in one direction only… do not reverse your direction or you’ll get blots.
White ink and correction fluid is used to correct tone and copies. Make sure it is not too watery. This is an easy way to correct little mistakes. Slim brushes are very handy for precise corrections with the white ink.
You can get straight rulers, triangular rulers, curved rulers and templates that will help you draw shapes, angles and curves. Compasses are helpful for drawing circles and to cut tone sheets.
Tone sheets come in a variety of shadings and patterns. These are used to shade and fill in your black and white drawing.
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