How to Draw Anime/Manga: Shading

This tutorial is written and hand drawn by me. For more tutorials like this, please visit my site.

Shading - the lazy way to make things look good. I know it's true, and so do you. Shading makes things look so much better! But you always gotta remember that there will be people who will criticise your linework if it ain't up to scratch, so don't get too attached to your set of derwent graphic pencils.

And if you do have a whole set of graphic pencils, like me, you don't have to use every single pencil for shading. Usually one is enough. Personally, I use a H pencil, because it's dark enough to actually see without getting really close to examine, and it's really really hard to smudge accidentally. Only really professional people, or beginners who don't know what they are doing, will find they need to use the whole set.

There are two main types of shading techniques when using graphite (your grey lead pencil). You can either just shade in the areas which are shadowed (quick, easy and is what I usually do), or you can either start off with a very light base tone, and gradually darken the areas which are shadowed (gives a more professional look, but you sacrifice time and effort, and is super prone to smuding!). Either way, just do what you are most comfortable with.

For those who colour in digitally using a computer, always add the base colour the picture first, then select darker tones for shadows, and lighter tones and white for the highlights.

Anyway, that's enough talking about pencils and computers. Let's get started!

When shading, you always need to know the source of light. The source of light is the pinpoint to show which direction the light is coming from. It helps you judge which areas should be shadowed, as well as the areas that need to be highlighted. You can even draw a symbol to symbolise the source of light to help remind you.