Draw 4-Panel Manga: An Easy How-to-Guide

Manga right now is incredibly popular. Bookstores all over the U.S. have large sections dedicated solely to selling the Japanese comics. Many fans of these comics may be interested in creating their own as well, but there are some obstacles to this dream.

The first issue with creating manga if you are living anywhere else but Japan, is the environment. In Japan, it is fairly easy to buy cheap manga supplies, such as special ink, paper, or pens. These supplies make a large difference in the quality of work created, even a casual manga fan can spot the difference between Japanese manga, and manga-style creations done in the U.S. by American illustrators.

The second issue with creating manga abroad, is how there is a much smaller support and knowledge base. In Japan, there is a much larger number of artists, works, and experts whom you can study and learn from. In fact, many Japanese manga artists have apprenticed for other professional manga artists in the past, before creating works of their own.

However, times are currently changing, and it is getting much easier to learn how to draw manga if you live abroad. First, there are many translated books available that were originally published in Japan (e.g.: the How to Draw Manga series). Furthermore, you can now import special manga supplies, and there even is an online manga-drawing teaching course.

The best way to improve drawing manga, aside from doing illustrations, is making stories come alive. Manga, after all, is about illustrations telling a story.

With that said, the average manga-style paneling techniques are probably too difficult for your amateur wannabe-manga artist. The typical school student who wants to draw their own manga probably does not have the experience or patience to go through the average manga-making process.

Let's face it, drawing manga is tough business. The average manga artist probably has several assistants to help draw and ink the pictures. Even with the additional help, the manga artist (called in Japanese: mangaka), gets very little sleep, rest, or vacation.

There is absolutely no realistic way for an amateur manga artist, starting out on their own, is going to produce the same quality level of output that professionals do.

With that said, there is an easy short-cut that aspiring manga artists can take, which can quickly translate their stories and illustrations, into easy-to-read and fun manga.

The easiest way to draw manga with the least number of steps (and still have the potential to be entertaining and accessible), is to use the 4-panel style.

There are some very famous comics in Japan which use the 4-panel style, including Azumanga Daioh, and Lucky Star.

This method is easy, because it requires no planning for the format process, and the plot is typically less than a page. In practice, it is quite similar to American-style comics, where a story or observation is done within a single strip.

How-to Draw a 4-Panel Manga:

First, draw four squares. Then, plan a story and split the story up into four parts: set-up, action one, action two, and conclusion. Draw the pictures in the squares accordingly (typically, a 4-panel manga is read up-to-down).

For example, if you want to make a 4-panel manga on someone eating an extremely spicy food, then you would do the following:

1. The first panel would have the character eating the spicy food.

2. The second panel would have the character with a questionable look on her face.

3. The third panel would have the character with steam coming out of their ears and an alarmed look in their eyes.

4. The fourth panel would have the character drinking a huge glass of water.

There are personal variations and preferences to formatting, so experiment and have fun!