Fan-art is a vast branch of art that includes any graphic work inspired by an anime, a TV series, a literary saga or a comic that the artist likes. Creating fan art is a great way to show your love for a character or series while also training your artistic skills.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Getting started
Step 1. Prepare the materials
You will need something to draw with and a support to do it on. Pencil and paper are the best choice. If your pencil doesn't have a built-in eraser, you'll need to get one. You may also need a pen and markers, paint or colored pencils in case you decide to create color fan art.
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Alternatively, you can use a computer to draw digitally.
Make Fan Art Step 1
Step 2. Find an anime, series or character you like
This will be the inspiration for your fan-art. If you can't find anything, simply focus your attention on someone who inspires you. Another option is to practice copying a character's drawing or a person's photo.
Step 3. Make a light draft
If you are drawing an anime or a character, it does not matter that it has the same characteristics as the original piece (situation, clothing, and so on). You can draw the scene or subject exactly the way you want.
- For example, if the series from which you drew inspiration generally has a very serious tone, you can consider the idea of transposing the character you have chosen into a lighter situation.
- Every self-respecting draft begins by giving the figure general shapes that indicate the proportions and positions of the various parts of the body. You can start, for example, by drawing a single line for the spine, then draw two ovals instead of the torso.
Step 4. Inspire the original style, but don't imitate it
It's a great thing to take a cue from the way the original artist created his work, but also add something of your own personal style. For example, you could draw the character with more or less realistic features, change the proportions, create other elements (such as a fashion line inspired by the subject) or add details to clothing.
A common way to make your fan art unique is to change the style of the design. If you're inspired by an anime, try drawing the character in a more Western style. If you're inspired by a show with real actors, try drawing it in a manga style
Part 2 of 3: Complete your Fan-art
Step 1. Shape the draft
Stop for a moment and try to understand how you could improve the draft. Erase the necessary and keep drawing until you are satisfied. Add all the details you left out in the initial drawing: pockets, hair, facial features, and so on.
- The amount of detail you are going to add will depend on the style you have chosen to use. Realistic drawings require the most detail, including facial features, folds of clothing, and an anatomically correct shape of the body muscles. A cartoon style drawing, on the other hand, will only require a simplified version of the body and basic shapes for clothes and hair.
- Pay attention to what elements of the original source to highlight to identify the character, from obvious choices like hair color to more subtle details like the shape of the eyebrows. Keeping these elements in your fan-art will ensure that it is recognizable just like fan-art and your character is not mistaken for an original creation.
Step 2. Trace the draft with a pen
Once the draft is complete, trace it with a pen. Proceed very calmly and carefully to avoid mistakes. This way you can erase all unnecessary lines in the drawing.
Step 3. Color or shade the character you just drew
The most common materials for coloring are felt-tip pens and colored pencils. If you want to leave the drawing in black and white, it is good to shade it with a pencil.
- The easiest way to start shading is to imagine a light source coming from a corner or side of the design. Parts of objects and body opposite the light source will be darker, so they should be properly shaded.
- Among the options for coloring we find: colored pencils, illustration markers such as Copic, digital coloring through the use of programs such as Photoshop. To use Photoshop you will first need to scan your drawing already traced with a pen, then open the image with the program.
Part 3 of 3: Drawing Fan-art in Various Styles
Step 1. Draw realistic style fan art
To draw a realistic-style fan-art you will need to learn human anatomy, in particular you will need to know how to draw the various shapes of the muscles on a figure and you will need to know the proportions of each part of the body. The best way to do this is to find an anatomical figure drawing book, such as "Human Anatomy for Artists" by John Raynes.
There are many online resources that can help you learn how to draw realistic figures. Usually the process is as follows: start with the overall body shape, add the essential shapes, detail the muscles, and finally add the clothes. Always draw light strokes, so once you have gone over the pen drawing it will be easy to erase the pencil
Step 2. Draw manga-style fan art
Manga-style designs feature exaggerated proportions and facial features and simplified, stylized hair. The main difference between a realistic figure and a manga will be noticed in the face, so if you are used to drawing realistic figures and are moving towards manga drawing, pay special attention to the face.
Manga usually have very large, detailed and shaded eyes, contrasted with extremely simple mouths and noses. Often, these are even represented with two simple lines
Step 3. Draw cartoon style fan art
The best thing about cartoon style drawing is certainly the freedom not to pay too much attention to realistic proportions or body shapes. In fact, the rule “the more exaggerated, the better” applies. The faces of the cartoons are more expressive than the real ones and the poses more extreme. Heads are usually very large in relation to the body, which helps make the face more expressive.
With cartoon-style sketches, it is often not necessary to draw the entire anatomy before adding the clothes. Start with the simple body shape: trace the shoulders, hips, spine and appendages with simple lines, shape the whole thing and then start adding details, such as clothes and hands
Advice
- Get a clear idea of the position in which you want to place the subject, otherwise you will find yourself canceling much more than you should.
- Try changing something in the character or drawing style to make your fan art a one-of-a-kind piece.
- It is also perfectly fine to draw a character in the same position and with the same background as the original. This technique is called "screenshot redraw".
