Analyzing the Manga Art Style

Manga is instantly recognisable: characters with oversized eyes, simplified noses and dramatic hair populate pages arranged in unique sequences. Yet the “manga style” is more than a collection of stereotypes. It is a visual language with its own history, conventions and grammar.

Historical Influences

Modern manga owes much to animator and comic artist Osamu Tezuka. In the 1950s he produced the series “Astro Boy,” which helped popularise many characteristics associated with manga today. Tezuka drew inspiration from American cartoons such as Betty Boop and Disney’s Bambi, which influenced his decision to give characters large, glistening eyes. This design choice allowed for heightened emotional expression and became a template for future artists.

Core Features of Manga Characters

A blog post from the art platform Domestika lists several traits common to manga characters: expressive eyes that powerfully convey emotion, slender silhouettes with body proportions of seven heads or more, very light skin tones, and the frequent appearance of Japanese school uniforms. Manga pages are read from right to left and often mix cartoonish characters with realistic settings. The variety of transitions between panels contributes to the dynamism of the storytelling.

Visual Language Grammar

Researcher Neil Cohn describes the “big eyes, small mouth” schema as a standard dialect of the Japanese Visual Language. His analysis emphasises that beyond obvious surface features, manga employs a set of graphic emblems and a grammar that governs the sequence of images. In other words, manga is not just a style but a visual language with its own syntax and vocabulary.

Drawing Analysis

Below are simplified diagrams created by our team to illustrate common construction techniques used in drawing manga‑style characters. These images are 100 % SFW and focus on proportions and guidelines rather than finished artwork.

Face drawing guidelines showing head proportions and placement of eyes, nose and mouth — Figure 1: Head and face guidelines. Note the placement of the eyes halfway down the head and the alignment of nose and mouth.

Hand drawing guidelines showing finger proportions and palm structure — Figure 2: Simplified structure of the hand. Manga artists often exaggerate finger length for expressiveness.

Body proportions chart showing the seven‑head rule for manga characters — Figure 3: Body proportions using the seven‑head rule. Many manga characters have elongated legs and slim torsos.

For step‑by‑step instructions on drawing your own characters, see our Drawing Tutorials.