[5 minute improvement] How to draw dramatic line drawing

Only for 3 steps! Your featureless line drawing becomes three-dimensional!

Completed a rough sketch with a satisfactory quality, and so is inking!

However looking at the drawing with the sketch hidden, well…it’s not much to look at.

Such experience is surely familiar to those who, especially beginners of illustration or manga.

In order to draw sophisticated lines, you need practice, but…

In this article, let me show you 3 simple techniques to make your works look polished!

And it’s easy to practice, all you need to do is read this!

 

Overlay lines atop objects in a foreground

Before going through about inking, let’s talk about basic techniques for line drawing!

◎In particular, go like this!

The neck is in front of the shoulders, so the neck line overlaps atop the shoulder line.

Conversely, when drawing the back, the shoulder lines of course overlay atop the neck lines.

In this way you can draw anything with a three-dimensional feel. For the “armpit”, for example, you can draw it with three lines!

Just by overlapping lines, we can create works with depth!

This makes it easy to recognize what is in the front and what is in the back, and gives the picture a more lively look.

It’s for those who are experienced, but you can also add depth by drawing wrinkles on clothes.

For your information!

Mind to draw fine lines along the tensile direction of fabrics!

 

Use lines with different weight

Draw thick lines

• Objects that are close by
• Outlines of drawing subjects
• Parts where the shadow falls

 

Draw thin lines

• Objects in the distance
• Verges of objects
• “Texture lines” such as for wrinkles of clothes

Like this, change the line weight!

Example

As drawing this cube, I use

1. Thick lines for the outline
2. Thin lines for 3 sides which sticking out to the front
3. Thick lines for 2 sides on the ground where the shadow falls.

How does it look? Using different lines gives illustrations a more lively look, doesn’t it?

Add shades with “Little filling”

The shadow falls where several objects contact each other.

This can be easily depicted by “little filling”!

Add shadows to intersections by a little filling!

The tip here is to fill a little in black, not in solid.

(Though the degree is up to you, since some manga creators paint in solid black)

 

Example: a drawing of two circles intersecting

Just like this!

Only this can add rich depth.

 

Let’s practice

Now, carry out these techniques into practice and draw the character!

This line drawing transforms into…

in just 3 steps…

such a lively drawing!

 

How do you like it? It has turned into a three-dimensional picture with more sharp depiction.

 

Line drawing can be changed considerably by 5 minutes modification.

I’d greatly appreciate it if you create drawings referring to these techniques!