Have you heard of Anime? Maybe Manga rings a bell? This art style has taken over in the last decade, exploding with popularity and expanding its reach far beyond its country of origin. Maybe you have a child who is super passionate about it, or just discovering it for the first time and entering this new and fascinating world. Perhaps they love to watch it - or are intrigued about drawing in this dynamic art style.
So what is Anime?
Anime is basically any moving animation that comes from Japan, with Manga being the word to describe the still image of these cartoons, or ‘comics’ as the West would know them by. It developed in Japan in the late 19th through to the 20th centuries. The word ‘Manga’ was devised by Hokusai - the word is composed of two kanji characters: ‘man’ (meaning executed quickly) and ‘ga’ (meaning drawing). The style of these drawings have become very specific and it is easy to tell an anime from a different style of cartoon. A classic anime character will have huge eyes, often with lots of highlights and shine to them - a tiny nose and small mouth. Although sometimes the mouth can be exaggerated with larger open mouth expressions such as shock or excitement. A lot of the emotion of Anime characters is shown through their eyes - which is the reason for their large and bright appearance.
There are two main elements to Manga and Anime. It is not just about the story, the characters are equally as important. Readers and watchers will often create strong bonds with the characters in these stories, relating to their struggles or living vicariously through their adventures. There are multiple different genres of anime including:
- A Slice of Life - these stories are closely embedding the realistic day-to-day lives of the characters following throughout the mundane aspects. Making the tiny moments of creating a lasting friendship or starting a new school insightful and intriguing. Haiku!! Your Name and My Neighbour Totoro are great places to start with this genre.
- Shonen - this is arguably the most popular type of Anime. My Hero Academia, One Piece and Naruto are highly successful shows that have come out of this genre. They usually have lots of fighting, action and battles and consist of hundreds of episodes!
- Shojo - here, relationships with more emotional and psychological drama takes centre stage. Shows like Sailor Moon, Glitter Force and Cardcaptor Sakura are good examples. A lot of these shows often contain a 'magical girl' element where regular girls transform into powerful warriors.
The Benefits of Anime Drawing
Anime and Manga help a watcher or reader feel understood, entertained and engaged. If you have a child who is passionate about Anime then you will be glad to know there are many benefits to learning how to draw in the Anime style! Many would love to recreate their favourite character at home, or even use their imagination to create an OC (original character as it is known in the Anime world).
For starters, the very act of drawing aids relaxation and creates a sense of accomplishment for the learner. Achieving new drawing goals and creating awesome anime artworks can create a sense of pride and boost that all important happy hormone dopamine. Learning this new skill can connect them to the world of Anime in a way much greater than just watching their favourite show.
Creating art and drawing with a focused mind has been shown to mimic the experience of meditation. It is a healthy emotional release and a great way for a child to express themselves.
Children are all massively creative, and having an outlet for this is vital - when it can be blended with a style of drawing that has deep roots in an ancient Japanese culture it creates a fantastically unique place for learners to explore, improve fine motor skills and enhance memory. Drawing forces us to use our mental storage skills to recall a range of techniques. Subconsciously this process of revisiting our visual library helps our brain strengthen its ability to remember things.
Another profound health benefit to drawing is becoming more observant. A lot of drawing is actually about looking - referencing back to what we are drawing and comparing it to what we have created on the page. Although Anime is not realism, it does follow a lot of anatomical rules that you would use when drawing from life. And in fact - a lot of Manga artists use reference images and photos from real life to create their drawings, scenes and characters. By being observant of your surroundings it trains your brain to be more focused on the little details of what you are seeing and improves your ability to focus.
And lastly, drawing has also been shown to improve and increase your brain activity! Drawing activates multiple parts of your brain at once and studies have shown an overall increase in grey matter in the brains of people who regularly engage with drawing and artistic hobbies.
Take Anime classes on Outschool
Anime classes are one of the popular forms of art classes on Outschool.
Harriet Horner is from London in the UK. She teaches creative classes, including interesting and dynamic art classes. They include a lot of making and creating from the student's side and most importantly they are very fun!
Harriet has a Bachelors degree in Fine Art from the University of the Arts London and has worked with the acclaimed artist Anish Kapoor for over 3 years. She also has her own art studio and has exhibited her work around London and in the Venice Biennale. As well as her colourful art background she has also obtained a TEFL and has taught English online to foreign students from the ages of 5-12.
She loves to combine her love of art with her love of teaching and believes that her enthusiasm and knowledge in the subject brings a great learning experience to her students. Harriet's philosophy is that the best way to learn is through doing so she always encourages her students to get involved, get stuck in and trust in the process! She enjoys interacting with her students and getting to know them in the lessons. She is an encouraging, enthusiastic and patient teacher who gives her students the tools they need to let their creativity flow and positive reinforcement to help boost their confidence in their own creative skill set.
Harriet says: "Art is a universal way for children to express their inner creativity and let their ideas flow through them. Children are all natural artists and their creativity knows no bounds. When this is combined with a more structured way of learning how to draw the outcomes can be fantastically unique and incredibly rewarding for the learner."
Harriet teaches many Anime and Kawaii art classes on Outschool. You can view Harriet's teaching profile here.
And here are some of Harriet's classes:
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Anime 101 - Anime and Manga Drawing for Beginners 7-12 years Master the art of basic anime drawing! In this easy art class we will learn the fundamentals of anime drawing. Each week breaking down a different part of the anime character - learning how do draw elements like hair, eyes, hands, faces etc |
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Let's Draw My Neighbour Totoro! 6-11 years In this one time class we will learn how to draw and colour Totoro - the forrest spirit animal from the Studio Ghibli anime movie 'My Neighbour Totoro'. |
| Animals of Anime! Let's Draw Some Cute and Fun Anime Animals 6-11 years In this easy art class students will learn how to draw lots of anime animals in the anime and manga style! We will draw Totoro the forrest spirit by Ghibli, Pikachu - a cute Pokemon, Luna a cat from Sailor Moon, Haku Dragon and more. |
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Kawaii Drawing Art Club |
