Draw Keiko, a Manga Baby

By Brenda Hoddinott

Sketch accurate proportions and then use a 4B pencil, fine tip marker, or a computer software program (such as Photoshop) to outline a cartoon baby

Resources:

2.1.R2 Drawing with Feathered and Continuous Lines

2.1.R7 Sizing Up the Proportions of a Shape

2.1.R8 How to Render Contour Drawings

Activities:

2.1.A12 Draw a Circle Freehand

2.1.A14 Create Six Contour Drawings

Supplies:

drawing paper (or paper that is specifically designed for drawing with markers if you plan to outline your drawing with markers), HB pencil, 4B pencil (or fine tip black marker or a computer drawing program), kneaded and vinyl erasers, pencil sharpener, sandpaper block, and a ruler

This activity is divided into the following three sections:

• Set up Proportional Guidelines
• Sketch Facial Features, Ears, and Hair
• Outline a Manga Baby Named Keiko

Set up Proportional Guidelines

In this section, you outline a simple grid in which to sketch the proportions of a frontal view of a young cartoon character.

1. Use a ruler and an HB pencil to outline a square of any size you want (Figure 1).

Keiko's head will fit inside this square. The bigger the square, the bigger your completed drawing will be.

Keep your lines very light by pressing very gently on the paper with your pencil.

2. Measure and mark the halfway points along the two vertical sides of the square (Figure 2).

3. Use a ruler to draw a straight line (marked line AB) through these points.

The big square is now divided into two identical rectangles.

4. Measure and mark the halfway points along the two horizontal sides of the square (Figure 3).

5. Use a ruler to draw a vertical line that connects points C and D.

The big square is now divided into four small squares.

6. Sketch a circle inside the big square (Figure 4).

Use the sides of the big square and the two lines (AB and CD) to help guide you toward drawing a great-looking circle.

7. Lightly sketch two more vertical lines slightly inside the right and left sections of the circle (Figure 5).

With the addition of these two lines, your proportional guidelines are complete.

Sketch Facial Features, Ears, and Hair

The various shapes and lines of the proportional guidelines help identify the placement of every aspect of the baby's face and head.

8. Erase the lines of the outer square (Figure 6).

9. Lightly sketch the ears below line AB inside the circular shape.

The entire lower section of the face, including the ears, will fit into the bottom half of the circle. Take note that the upper edges of the ears touch line AB.

10. Lightly sketch two ovals to mark the positions of the irises of the eyes (Figure 7).

The irises are very large and take up a lot of space on the lower section of the tiny face.

The bottom of each iris ends more than halfway down between line CD and the bottom of the chin.

Also, note that the distance between the eyes is quite a bit more than the width of an iris.

11.Add Keiko's eyebrows above her eyes.

The eyebrows are shaped like commas with the wider ends pointed toward the center section of her forehead.

12. Sketch Keiko's nose with a tiny curved line that touches line CD and is approximately halfway between line AB and the bottom of the chin.

13. Add another curved line close to the bottom of the chin as the mouth.

14. Sketch a small circular shape in the upper left of each iris to represent the highlights of the eyes (Figure 8).

15. Add a partial oval shape inside each iris to represent the pupils of the eyes.

The outline of each pupil ends at the point where it meets the highlight. Also, observe that the space between the outline of the pupil and the outline of the iris is the same distance all around.

16. Sketch in the various strands of hair (bangs) resting on Keiko's forehead (Figure 9).

Observe the following before you begin to draw:

• The lines are all curved even though her hair looks straight.
• All sections of hair end in a sharp point.
• The longest section of her bangs is in the middle and the lines curve toward the left.

17. Lightly sketch another line on each side of her forehead connecting the bangs of her hair to the inside upper section of each ear.

18. Sketch the strands of hair around the perimeter of her head (Figure 10).

Examine the distances between the outer strands of hair and the perimeter of her head to help you accurately draw the proportions.

The hair is higher than the top of her forehead to allow space for the upper section of her head (often called the skull or cranium), which would be hidden under this hair.

19. Lightly sketch more strands of hair on the very top of Keiko's head (Figure 11).

20. Erase all remaining guidelines and sections of her skull and ears that are behind her hair.

21. Redraw any sections that are accidentally erased.

22. Use your kneaded eraser to pat your entire drawing until the lines are so light that you can barely see them.

Outline a Manga Baby Named Keiko

Finally, time to render all the fun parts! The crisp neat lines of the manga style will replace your original sketch lines.

Your goal is to neatly outline Keiko's face and hair and then draw the details of her face. Your outline can be drawn with a 4B pencil or a very fine tip black marker.

You also have the option of scanning your sketch into an imaging program such as Photoshop and using a brush or pencil tool to draw the final outlines.

The following text instructions are for an outline that is rendered with a fine-tip marker or a 4B pencil, but they can easily be modified for a digital outline within a computer program.

23. Outline each strand of hair with neat, crisp lines (Figure 12).

Observe how the final rendering does not follow the sketch exactly.

24. Outline the ears and the perimeter of the face (Figure 13).

The shape of the lower section of the face has been changed slightly so that it is curved to look like a chin and two chubby cheeks.

25. Outline Keiko's irises, pupils, highlights, eyebrows, nose, and mouth (Figure 14).

The proportions of the faces of very young manga and anime characters are similar to those of human infants.

26. Draw two dark, thick, slightly curved lines along the upper sections of each iris to indicate the edges of her upper eyelids (Figure 15).

Observe that these curved lines extend downward and beyond the width of the irises in two directions: toward the center of her face and toward the outside edge of her face.

27. Add some curved lines to the outer edges of her eyes to represent eyelashes.

When you are drawing eyelashes, resist the temptation to draw too many. Less is more!

28. Fill in the pupils of the eyes (Figure 16).

29. Fill in the upper left section of each iris around the highlight (Figure 17).

This dark section makes the eyes look bright and shiny.

30. Add three parallel diagonal lines in the upper left section of each iris (Figure 18).

31. Add a dark line along each lower eyelid with a few tiny lashes on the outer ends (Figure 19).

Pat yourself on the back for having done a great job with your drawing!