How to draw manga artwork

manga artwork of a female sailor
(Image credit: Chihiro Howe)

Alcohol-based markers are a medium that shuns both hassle and mess, and are fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it. The colour choices are abundant, the colours are vibrant, and they’re extremely fast to dry, so there’s no worrying about making any accidental ink smudges or waiting for them to dry.

Because the best markers are alcohol rather than water-based, they rarely damage the paper. However, unlike paints, the ink will bleed through the paper unless you’re using coated sheets. The techniques I use here won’t work well with coated paper, so I’d suggest placing a bit of scrap paper under the drawing to prevent the ink from bleeding through to the next surface. Because the colours are dyes, they don’t do well with sunlight either,
so make sure you don’t expose your drawing to the sunlight after you’re done to prevent it from fading.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Chihiro Howe
Manga artist

Chihiro Howe is a manga artist currently working on a Webtoon Originals series called Raven Saga. She has also worked at Imagination International Inc., a former distributor of Copic markers in North America, as a resident artist.

TOPICS