How to draw Manga animals:

Book Review:

As it is hard enough for me to draw humans, I am really happy to finally have a reference book that provides general guidelines on how to draw manga animals. All in all this is a great reference book that includes both domestic and wild animals.

The first part of the book deals with animal anatomy and shows how an animal drawing can be simplified to look “manga-esque”.
Chapter 2 has domestic animals and pets (focus here is on dogs and cats) and shows them from different angles as well as different emotional body positions and facial expressions. The author (Hikaru Hayashi) even remembered to show how the pets can be held by their owners.
Part three deals with wild animals like rhinoceroses and koalas and the last chapter with birds.

The following is a list of all the animals reviewed in this book (besides cats and dogs, most of these animals receive 2 pages):

CHAPTER 2: Pets & other familiar animals
Dogs, Cats, Ferrets, Chipmunks, Rabbits, Prairie Dogs, Meerkats, Hedgehogs, Skunks, Hamsters, Horses, Donkeys, Cattle/Bison, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Frogs, Snakes, Lizards/Geckos, Iguanas/Chameleons, Alligators/Crocodiles, Crayfish/Scorpions, Crabs, Turtles

CHAPTER 3: Wild Animals
Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees, Japanese Macaques, Lions, Tigers, Spotted big cats, Wolves, Bears, Polar Bears, Zebras, Giraffes, Hippos, Elephants, Rhinos, Wild Boars, Deer, Camels, Kangaroos, Koalas, Pandas, Raccoons, Lesser Panda, Foxes, Raccoon Dogs, Flying Squirrels, Armadillos, Anteaters/Sloths, Otters, Sea Lions/Seals, Dolphins/Orcas/Whales, Sharks/Rays, Octupuses/Squid/Blowfish, Jellyfish

CHAPTER 4: Birds
Songbirds, Crows, Chickens, Waterfowl, Raptors, Seagulls, Penguins, Tropical Fish/Goldfish (I have no idea why these two are included with the birds)

This is a great reference book for drawing animals (especially if your character has pets). I think it was well worth my $14.

Product Description
Based on the concept of learning to draw animals by starting with a single line (head and backbone), this volume provides tips on drawing animals without having to go through the steps of practicing complicated skeletal and muscular structures. The book faithfully traces techniques from drawing, realistic images to techniques of deformation used to make figures appear cute and cuddly.

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