digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

How Japanese style Illustration works

pingmag.jp — Locking himself up in his bedroom in London, Gez Fry studied big masters like Masamune Shirow and developed enough skill and an astonishing portfolio to jump into the big market - within only 2 years. Here are some of his comments about how he draws, develops characters and why the Japanese Manga market is so tough.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 2, 2006

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

42 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • Gamera, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Holy pumpkins with flashlights jammed in 'em! Most Western attempts at "anime-style" look horrendous, but not Gez's! This guy's got a gift for sure!
  • sarusa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yeah it's sort of amazing that almost every single westerner who tries to draw anime-style ends up with something horrendous like Fred Perry, or what Tokyopop puts out, or Megatokyo and they all have a very similar look that immediately identifies them as bastard amerimanga. Only a couple can draw anything that actually looks Japanese. And this guy's got it.
  • Celeron, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Definitely artistic.
    http://www.duggmirror.com/design/How_Japanese_style_Illustration_works/
  • Interpol, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Wow, amazing work.
  • maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5dosnt look anything like a dragoon
  • Lyanto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Everyone has their own tastes and there's nothing wrong with anime. Some people prefer watching anime and reading manga because it offers more creative and imaginative flexibility than liveaction. Sometimes, it's certainly more entertaining than the boring mainstream all CG and no plot crap movies that are out today. As for hentai, it's no worse than regular porn. Why don't you go send an angsty email to Playboy in the same fashion that you made your comment.
  • Dabisu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think you're confusing Japan with China.
  • solidcube, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Holy *****.

    I've been pushing my drawing fairly hard and it's kind of surprising how fast it happens if you work at it. This guy was obviously a machine. But I think it can be done...
  • MikeCampo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Oops wrong reply. Anyways, what an inspiration! I definitely need to get a wacom tablet...
  • BugMeNot2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Tachikomas.
    http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=tachikoma&btnG=Google+Search&sa=N&tab=wi
  • jinushaun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wow! This guy is really good.

    I wish there were more articles on how to colour/paint in the anime/manga style. Everytime I've tried to colour my illustrations, it looks horrible. Stroke width is a big deal. It would be cool to see a tutorial from start (paper) to finish.
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The Yellow four legged thing reminds me of the robots in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Great series. I've never played Starcraft.
  • cquinnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well thats not entirely true, the problem is that most westerners try to adopt the style(s) of anime to thier own personal method of drawing, without taking into account the attention to,
    and richness of background detail that is what sets "Anime" from creators like Shirow apart from
    other schools of animation.

    There are western artists whose work shows a similar level of detail (Milo Manara, Dave Gibbons, even Alex Ross on character design) , but it is very time consuming and most of the big producers try to get by with concentrating details on only a small portion of an overall scene, enough to tell the story.
  • Farmer77, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There are people who draw for several years and can't get up to that calibur. Hats off to this phenom.
  • raykart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Awsome! Thanks DUGG. Very inspirational, stuff like this is what makes me come to digg.
  • Vector713, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2talent++
  • gamabunta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://www.gezfry.com
  • snapcase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pretty impressive work, especially being that he is mostly self-taught.
  • solidcube, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You should get some of the Gnomon tutorial videos then. IIRC Ryan Church uses Photoshop. Also the Scott Robertson concept art DVD(s). I know for a fact he does use PoopShop.
  • isajeep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That guy is my hero.
  • RobotCitizen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This guy is very talented. The Shirow influence is evident too. Makes me wanna watch Appleseed again.
  • AkiraXXX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't know if they already do this or not, but Adobe could generate even more interest (if such a thing were possible) in their software by creating a webumentary on this chap and people like him. I second firkey's comment above: I would pay to see a how-to or tutorial led by Gez. I'm sure there are hundreds of inspiring artists, writers, programmers and musicians who could not only inspire would-be creative types, but also make Adobe's products accessible to the common person. Excellent stuff, indeed.
  • 0Troy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hard work and determination pays off for people who don't quit!

    What an inspiration!
  • BritishGolgo13, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Insane...very inspiring to all of us artists out there. Excellent work.
  • mdoverkill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What I like the most about his work, is the way he uses the Japanese style. He doesn't just try and copy he used it to grow as an artist and mixed it with his own style. I think this is where most amerimanga fails. They just try and copy the "manga" style instead of using to enhance their own style.

    One thing I've been noticing is a more japanese artists that have a more western influence on their drawing style are becoming popular in Japan. Artists such as Tsutomu Nihei come to mind
  • markperia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ive been following Gez's work for almost 2 years now. He's one of my recent influences in art together with Ippei Gyoubu and Kuang Hong.

    Theyre just amazing.
  • Philbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow that's really nice. I used to be very much into drawing in the Japanese style, I had a sketchbook with me where ever I went. Sadly I haven't picked up a pencil since I started working in 3D. This makes me want to grab my stylus and start drawing again.
  • firkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I swear i would buy DVD(s?) with screen capture of him working it photoshop.
    I mean... it's Photoshop :[ ]
  • deviant87, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I respect his determination, not many people have that anymore, they are too busy "living life"
  • kyrintethron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow, that is really incredible. This is really very impressive. I really love that he's made a career out of doing this as well. It's nice to know that people are starting to become more independent.
  • NamelessCoward, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1oop. wrong reply.
  • enoughrope, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It looks more like an Ultralisk.
  • perseon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@Lyanto:
    The fact that you actually had the goodwill to craft an intelligent response to that comment is a testament to your character.
  • BoSLeY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well if only I hadn't taken up that engineering degree I wouldn't have delayed my road to being a great illustrator. One thing however is sadly I learnt that being an illustrator means you are nothing and heaps of people out there all have the skill to create the same drawing and that it's solely based on your client! So lucky I kept my graphic design skills up.

    I've spoken to a few people about using a tablet and it's really funny to hear him say he feels odd drawing without it since I've always thought the passion for practicing drawing starts on paper so Gez definitely deserves thumbs up for that. I'm going along those lines, why waste so much money on these material if you can create the same look on a computer and I guess it's nice to do it the old fashioned way if someday computers turns evil!!

    "Pretty impressive work, especially being that he is mostly self-taught"
    See to me drawing skill is something that doesn't come naturally nor is it an art that can be taught. Surely you can be guided along the way like Gez's mum has but fundamentally it's the amount of work and practise you put into it, a lot of first year illustration students were surprised to find out just how much better they could draw after a year of non stop practising with no real teaching given. SO this is motivating me into buying a better tablet and start practising! :P
  • EV1L, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0he's THE man
  • poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"why the Japanese Manga market is so tough"

    hint: a bajillion people are willing to do it for very little/no pay
  • Celeron, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I thought it looked like a dragoon too.
  • u8myfoood, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1is it just me or is the yellow four legged thing "http://www.pingmag.jp/images/article/gezfry11.jpg" remind you of a dragoon from starcraft?
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1digg effect
  • moltovivo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1The amazing this is it's all Photoshop-created
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Step 1: Learn how to draw
    Step 2: Forget all that and learn how to suck.

    You're done!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -17/+0if you like manga, anime or hentai your a COMPLETE FAG. DIGG ME DOWN losers...

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.