How to Draw Anime/Manga: Shoulders

This tutorial was written by me. All images were hand drawn by me. For more hand drawn tutorials like this, please take the time to visit my site.

Unfortunately, like many things when drawing, shoulders can either be one of the easiest things to draw, or one of the hardest. The key is to know how to draw them. I know what you guys are thinking - "I know what he's going to say. Practice makes Perfect!" And you're right. It does So why don't you get out your sketchbook and your favourite pencil (mine is a chewed on H Derwent Graphics Pencil) and start practicing right this instant. It will pay off in the end...

When drawing shoulders, it is vital to know about a certain muscle. This muscle is called the Trapezius, and it is that diagonal muscle that connects the shoulders to your neck. It also makes you look better, as people would look pretty weird if there necks joined onto their body at 90 degree angles. Anyway, when drawing shoulders, you must always include the trapezius muscle if you want realistic, natural looking shoulders. Like always, I have an example below.

You know, I was thinking, why don't we all have toned, muscled bodies like the ones we see in anime and manga? If only life was fair. Oh well, we just have to live with it and move on! So now you know the secret to drawing realistic looking shoulders (including the trapezius muscles), there's not much more to say is there... But a tutorial this short, well wouldn't really seen like a tutorial, more like a quick tip.

When drawing shoulders at different angles, I always find it easier if I line up the two shoulder joints by drawing a straight line. Although this doesn't really apply when your character is raising one of their arm or shoulder, generally it will be okay if your character is relaxing their shoulders. Also adding in the centre line (or middle line, or whatever you like to call it. Generally the line that runs through the middle of your body, as usually one side of your body is symmetrical to the other side - not including hair and smaller features), drawing in the centre line helps.