Aniventure

Although I have been a long time fan of anime since my early teens, I never seriously tried to draw in a manga style. I did try to when I was in Secondary School. I was okay at it, however I always felt it was never my own take on manga but more me trying to copy the style. So in time I stopped working this way.

Also when I was younger I remember seeing shows on TV like Teen Titans and Totally Spies that were non-Japanese animation that tried to capture or at least be heavily influenced by Anime. For me it always came off like a cash-in attempt and looked very cheap and half-assed.

I came to the conclusion when I was younger that the Anime style belonged to Japan. Only they could do it justice. However, just a simple browse through the internet would changed my mind. Its mind-boggling how many talented artists out there from all areas of the world who have been strongly influenced by Anime/Manga. Some can sometimes feel like carbon copy but others take influences from anime and a whole new style blooms.

If i was to ever draw in a manga-like style I would have to try and make it my own. I always been keen to find new ways of drawing and after being accepted to draw for Aniventure (Anime-inspired self-published role-playing book) I decided now was the time.  I'm hoping that while developing Illustrations for the Aniventure book I can pull this off.

Below is a sketch for my first Illustration for the book.