Manga Watercolor; the ultimate guide to all things Manga and everything Watercolor.

Author Lisa Santrau brings this comprehensive guide to life with bright and colorful designs that when finished will blow you away.

Lisa explains the materials and tools needed and then explores the fundamentals of how to draw manga – from color theory and breaking down drawings into basic shapes, to body proportions and faces for both classic manga and chibi manga figures.

You will learn how to sketch, how to create depth in your work with shading, and a range of watercolor techniques including washes, wet-on-wet, and layering, as well as special techniques involving masking fluid and an innovative ‘film’ technique for creating texture and patterns.

There are 12 step-by-step painting projects to perfect your manga art skills, with downloadable templates if you want to skip the drawing and get straight to the painting. The projects are varied and fun, and comprise:

Sweet chibi girl on a slice of cake, using the dry technique

Fresh steampunk chibis against a bright background, using the wet-on-wet technique

Chibi sorcerer’s apprentice in a flying teacup, with a galaxy background

Chibi Harry, aka a world-famous wizard, teaching you character design

Young girl framed by a romantic floral design, using a monochrome palette

Sailor boy in a symbolic sun circle, created with masking fluid

Girl in a kimono backlit by a window with flowers, using the white of the paper

Historical heroine in a voluminous ballgown, using the film technique

Melancholic schoolgirl against a fluorescent background, again with the film technique

Silhouette in the evening sunset, using the wet-on-wet technique

Food overload boy in the land of plenty, featuring surface textures

Girl’s face with expressive eyes, exploring cool versus warm colors