Misako Rocks, a Japanese manga artist based in Brooklyn, New York, led young children into the
expressive universe of manga at the 12th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, through a
step-by-step interactive workshop.
Misako, a comic artist and writer and illustrator of children’s books, focused on basic manga art
techniques of sketching characters with distinctive personalities.
The eyes, which draw out the emotions on the face, are the crucial element, she said, as children chose
the ‘confident’ look for their drawing session. Presenting her dynamic artwork on a white paper board,
Rocks illustrated how to draw characters by framing their facial features within a lightly drawn guideline to
get the right proportions.
Beginning with the eyebrows, the artist followed on with distinctively shaped eyelids and enhanced the
large, circular eyes with a bubble and dot bubble – an important technique to make it easier for readers to
know the character’s thoughts in manga comics. She also offered tips on shading the hair with a flick of
the wrist in a one-directional manner.
The difference in the approach to drawing the male character was quite evident in everything – from the
shape of the eyelids and eyebrows to a more pronounced nose, sharper chin, and a longer, wider face
structure.
“Shading is what brings the drawing to life, and it is a crucial element of manga art,” said the author of
graphic novel, Bounce Back.
It is in the ‘inking’ process that the pencil lines are traced using Japanese calligraphy brush pens. The last
step of colouring, she explained, was the most time-consuming as one page may take around four hours
to complete.
The artist encouraged the children to experiment with simple shapes, different eyes, nose, smiles, and
cool hairstyles to create endless expressions and unique personalities.