How to Draw Anime/Manga: Arms

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

Drawing arms can be a difficult task, yet can also be the easiest. The arm itself can usually be separated into different sections. You have the upper arm, which runs all along from the shoulder to the elbow. You also have your lower arm, which goes from your elbow to the tip of your hand.

From the Basic Anatomy Tutorial, we have learned that the upper arm is one and a half heads long, and the lower arm is two heads long when the fingers are straightened. The Basic Anatomy Tutorial has some examples, if you do not understand.
When drawing the arm, you need to know basically what makes up the arm. So here a brief example showing the major muscles that make up the arm. Note that there is a additional muscle on the forearm, which what males the top of the forearm bulge, that I have not included. The example below also depicts how when the arm is raised the lats become visible.

When drawing the arm, it is best to draw in steps. From the Drawing Characters Tutorials, we can see how things are drawn in steps. There are usually six steps: Shape, Volume, Anatomy, Clothes, Shading and Lighting, and Final. If you haven't already seen the Drawing Characters Tutorials, you really should.

For the arm tutorial example, I have drawn the arm in three steps.

Step one: Shape
When drawing the arm, start off really simple. Any artist can tell you, simplify, simplify and simplify! Find the correct pose and angle that you want the arm to be in before you go to the next step.

Step two: Volume
Step to fill out the arm. Remember, try not to use straight lines, as the arm itself isn't straight. It has slight curves at the very least. Anyway just fill out your arm. If you want a fat arm, draw thick cylinders and shapes. if you want a skinnier arm, draw thin cylinders and shapes.