How to draw a manga character

The artist

Dani Paz

I’m Dani, a self-taught manga artist. My mother says illustration runs in the family, she, my sister, and my grandfather are all artistic. It was in the 90s, when the series came out called Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama, that a passion for manga awoke in me.

Step 1

Goku, the character here is from the Dragon Ball series by Akira Toriyama. He’s a Saiyan warrior of martial arts with incredible power. I used 75 g/m, Winsor & Newton Smooth Marker Paper and a HB Studio Collection Pencil for the sketch. Correct the image as much as you need, the soft graphite doesn’t leave a mark on the paper.

Step 2

Outline the floor with 0.1 to 0.3mm Winsor & Newton Fineliners. Erase the pencil lines ready to add colour.

Step 3

Start by colouring the base layer of skin using Almond from the Promarker Skintones set. Highlight with Blush & Coral paying attention to the dark and light areas. When blended, they give a great result.

Step 4

For the hair, use Black, Cool Gray 3, Cool Gray 1 Promarker Brush. Add details with Cool Gray 4 pencil & Fineliner.

Step 5

For the clothing use Sky Blue as the base colour, Egyptian Blue for the shadows and Blue Indigo for darker parts. For the trousers, use Khaki, Cool Gray 3 and Cool Gray 5 for darker parts.