Manga & Me (art + social science)

Manga, or Japanesecartooning, has grownincreasingly popular in theUnited States and many areasof the world over the pastdecade. Huge, 300 or morepage magazines containingmultiple story series areviewed on a weekly basis inJapan, making it an importantpart of their culture.

Manga is a very respected artand literature form, withgenres that appeal to maleand female viewers of allages. American students aremost familiar with the“Shounen” (boy’s style) or“Shoujo” (girl’s manga), andwith “Anime”, the animatedversion found in video media.

This lesson gives students juststarting in cartooning anopportunity to study theprocess of creating aJapanese Manga characterbased on their own featuresand personalities.

Grade Levels 5-8Note: instructions andmaterials based on a class of25 students. Adjust asneeded.

Preparation

- Have students bring inpopular forms of Manga that they arefamiliar with and discusswhat they like about thestyle. Encourage studentsto think like a manga artistand discuss ways to portrayemotions, personalities and situations.

- Compare Japanese Mangato Western cartooning. Havestudents point out thedifferences and similarities.

- Research Japanese Manga. Recommended resources:

“Manga Madness” by David Okum (70591-1001)

“Manga Mania” by Christopher Hart (70596-1001)

“Kids Draw Manga” Book series by Christopher Hart(69532-)

MaterialsBlick Newsprint (10204-1085)8-1/2" x 11" sheets, need onesheet per student

Blick Economy GraphitePencils box of 12,(20302-2009), need one perstudent

Sharpie® Fine Point Marker,Black (21316-2001), need oneper student

For Colored Pencil Manga:

Blick Tracing Paper, 9" x 12"sheet (10609-2003), needone sheet per student

Faber-Castell Red LineColored Pencils, (20553-1012)share one 12-color setbetween two students

For Marker-rendered Manga:

AquaBee® Paper Manga ArtistPaper, (12437-1001), 50-sheetpad, need one sheet perstudent

Stabilo® Power Markers(21292-0189), share one 18-color set between fourstudents

Liqui-Mark® Global ColorsMarker (21264-0089), shareone 8-color set between fourstudents

For Hand-painted Manga Cels:

Blick Tracing Paper, 9" x 12"sheet (10609-2003), needone sheet per student

Dura-Lar™ Matte, 25" x 40"(55505-1105) cut to 5" x 7-12"pieces for 25 per sheet, needone per student

Blickrylic Student Acrylics,assorted colors (00711- ),share six pints acrossclassroom

1.

Process

1. Either provide samples or have studentsbring samples of Japanese cartooncharacters that they like. Discuss typicalManga features:

Hair - Manga hair is simple, withoutdefined strands. It is frequently unnaturalin color and the style defines thepersonality of the character.

For example, pink hair is used on a cute, bubbly girl. Blue hair signifies a characterthat has a lot of youthful energy and blackor brown hair is considered average. Spiky,wild hair commonly signifies anadventurous spirit.

Eyes - Manga eyes, when open, are drawn enormously large with white reflectivepatches. Laughing or crying eyes areoften shown as simple arcs, with aneyelash or two for definition.

Noses - Manga noses are barely there or completely non-existent.

Mouths - Manga mouths are tiny whenclosed and huge when open. Details suchas lips are usually ignored. TraditionalJapanese culture considers showing teethto be impolite so most Manga characterssmile without showing teeth and covertheir mouths politely when laughing.

Have students experiment withpreliminary sketches in the Manga stylesthat they are familiar with. Assignemotions such as surprise, anger orsadness and have students drawexpressive facial features to match.

2. Have students bring their own schoolphoto or a 8" x 10" head-and-shouldersshot. Smaller photos can be enlarged on aphotocopier and color photos are notnecessary. Students will create a Mangacharacter from their own portrait, usingany of the features they have just studied.The characters they create may or maynot look like their photos. Some studentswill want to continue with full-bodydrawings, but, for this project, limitdrawings to a head-and-shouldersportrait. Students should follow thesebasic steps for all methods:

Step 1: Trace the basic shape of theirhead, hair and shoulders.

Step 2: Place light dots or lines to positionfacial features.

Step 3: Use the light dots as reference toplace Manga-style eyes, nose and mouth.

3. Color the Manga portrait in one of thefollowing ways:

Colored Pencil Drawing

- Position a sheet of tracing paper overthe photo. Use a drawing pencil to follow3-step process above.

- Use a black fine point permanent markerover the pencil lines.

- Fill in with colored pencil.

Marker Rendering

- Position a sheet of transparent markerpaper over the photo. Use a drawingpencil to follow 3-step process above. - Use a black fine point permanent markerover the pencil lines.- Fill in color with broad tip or wedge tipmarkers. Fine line markers will create toomany lines - the goal is to make a flat areaof color. A skin tone set is essential forfaces.

Hand-Painted Cartoon Cel

- Position a sheet of tracing paper overthe photo. Use a drawing pencil to follow3-step process above.- Position an 8" x 10" sheet of Dura-Larfilm over the traced drawing and use ablack fine point permanent marker totransfer to the film.

2.

Process, continued

- Use Blickrylic paint to fill in the color.Paint right up to and even on top of markerlines.

- Turn acetate sheet over to view finishedcel.

Computer Rendering (most often used byManga professionals - this method mostsuited to higher grade levels)

- Position a sheet of tracing paper over thephoto. Use a drawing pencil to follow 3-step process above. - Use a scanner or digital photo to bringpencil drawing into a computer paint program. Adjust levels to eliminate grayareas and strengthen blacks. Add color byselecting and filling areas.

3. Once a Manga portrait is completed, youmay wish to create a simple background toplace the character in, add a language“balloon” or continue to develop a full-bodycharacter. Some options:

- Assign a specific genre of a backgroundthat would be meaningful to the portrait.For example, somewhere in the school orhome, a special place they like to go.

- Use photos taken around the school asthe background and have students overlaytheir portraits.

- Continue to develop their character and a storyline by creating a 4-panel comic strip (known in Japan as “Yonkoma”)

3.

Copyright © 2005 Dick Blick Art Materials. All rights reserved. JD

National Standards:Content Standard #1 — Understanding andapplying media, techniques and processes

• 5-8 Students intentionally take advantageof the qualities and characteristics of artmedia, techniques and processes to enhancecommunication of their experiences andideas

Content Standard #2 — Using knowledge ofstructures and functions

• 5-8 Students employ organizationalstructures and analyze what makes themeffective or not effective in thecommunication of ideas

Content Standard #4 — Understanding thevisual arts in relation to history and cultures

• 5-8 Students know and compare thecharacteristics of artworks in various erasand cultures