# Can and can't, anime and anthro?



## Unnie (Jun 24, 2008)

I was browsing and I found it extremely surprising that most furry/anthro artists have a very hard time with drawing anime. Now I _guess_ I would consider myself an anime artist. I can, however draw, just about anything else. If you can draw anime, then you can draw realism. And I thought the same applied for just about anything, if you can draw anthro/furry then you can draw anime. I thought they went kind of hand-in-hand but it seems I was wrong.

*So anthro/furry artists, what makes it so hard (I'm not sure if hard is the greatest word to describe it) to make anime? *

I'm very curious about this.


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## BushidoChu (Jun 24, 2008)

I have to say my biggest problems are in these...

1. The facial proportions are harder to work with. One of the biggest reasons I'm a passionate furry is because I love how muzzles extend and glide down an animal's face. With people, I never know where to place the nose, or how to even form the nose. Anime/manga tend to use certain nose techniques; it's just part of the style. But I can't figure it out. Also, the formation of the cheeks leading down into the chin are touchy, and the slightest angle can seem to offset them. With my furry art, I know that I can be bold and brass on these connections, and still have them look okay. On a delicate human female? Far from the truth.

2. A lack of passion to bother learning how to draw humans keeps me from ever taking the time to do it. I really don't like working with human characters, unless they're fodder for some monster, or unless they turn into something awesome, like a werecreature. Humans bore me; rather, drawing humans bores me. I've drawn pretty good humans before, but I wouldn't call it manga-styled. If you check my FA (same name) the picture is right there so you can see what I mean. In order to make a human interesting, I feel like you need one of four things: Cool hair, cool clothes, a cool scar or tattoo, or some cool flashy power. Because it's hard to mash some crazy accessory combo to cover up the blandness of my characters, I sort of gave up. I like furry because I've seen characters wearing nothing, with no hairstyle besides a covering of head-fur, and doing nothing but standing there, and still look amazing through anatomical originality or a cool pelt. Their whole bodies are canvasses of sorts. I feel like I'm creating the character, not stuff to cover my character up.

And that's my rant, I guess. I love manga and anime, but that's usually because of the character's personalities, which is something that's hard to display in still pictures, and to be honest, I'm not very good at making up character personalities (I haven't much of one myself XD). I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.


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## Bankin (Jun 24, 2008)

Not to be argumentative Unnie, but I don't believe anime artists can automatically draw realism, nor the other way around. Not saying that can't outright, but one doesn't equal the other.

Anyway... anime vs anthro... I think its more interest rather than inability. Even though I started my illustrative 'journey' with anime, I quickly discovered I wasn't suited to it what so ever, so found my own style I was more comfortable with. It was only later that I discovered anthro for myself, which I like because of its metaphorical ability. For instance, I can have a persona (fursona) that looks nothing like me in reality, and not feel like I'm lying about myself, again, the character is more of an essence then a physical interpretation. And thusly, I believe it give a lot more freedom for the character to react in a very raw way with their environment... but I'm not part of the 'in' anthro crowd, which seems to have some unspoken protocol. 

We also have to remember that there are many differing styles of anthro, and the more elegant styles I think synergies well with anime in general (which also has varying styles)


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## Phoenixwildfire (Jun 25, 2008)

now see, I'm the other way around.

I'm better at anime than anthros, hence my anthros looking more human than usual.

It's the facial proportions that throw me for a loop- I'm not used to making room on the face for a snout and such, so it looks squished when it's done...

and I draw anime a LOT, but I stink at realism XD


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## darkonedrei (Jun 25, 2008)

Hmmm, well for me, I began with drawing draconic creatures and then shifted my attention to realistic human faces.  Only recently have I moved to drawing anthro art... each one has present their own challenges and each took adaptation to overcome.  I believe that should I ever try drawing anime (though at the moment I really have no desire) I would be able to pull it off after a few weeks of failure ^.=.^


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## FuzzleBlue (Jun 26, 2008)

I started out drawing anime, it was then that I started molding it to furry creatures, so I would honestly say that I would have a MUCH easier time drawing anime then furries. The thing is I have much more creative freedom with furries, I don't just have to color their clothes, I can color their bodies, with all kinds of neat fur patterns and ear styles, tail styles, species...I mean creatively speaking, furries is the way to go.


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## cYbEr_PaNdA (Jun 26, 2008)

I started with Anime of course back in the early 90s most animes were really choppy >> i do have hard time drawing toony XP even tho i watched most, but later on i started using realism to draw the bodies and a bit on the toony side to drawing the furry heads and created a bold new style but i stop that now i draw more anime than furry.


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## QT Melon (Jun 26, 2008)

I don't think it matters to me. I realized I only got better at something because I studied it. If I got it wrong, I wasn't practicing and observering well enough.


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## Neofur (Jun 26, 2008)

I started with furries from animes so I never had a problem with ether.
I need to work on my realism though.


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## Unnie (Jun 28, 2008)

Thanks everybody! I hope I didn't offend anybody (although I don't think I have). I meant it as an observation rather than a judgment.

@Bushido: As for me, I think many can do anthro fine and not anime because it's much easier in general. I've tried anthro myself, compared it to anime and fumbled it around in my head. I agree with you, proportions are much easier to deal with in anthro than with anime.

A wolf muzzle is a wolf muzzle, you slap it on a face and there you go, if you draw another wolf you do the same thing. Well, what I'm _trying_ to get at is if you draw a muzzle, the next one will probably be the same (if it's the same species I'm assuming) because that's just the type of animal it is. There are people who have very different styles, but the concept is the same.  Anime is a bit harder to deal with when it comes to the face, there are so many combination's, shapes, sizes, etc. 

I can honestly say that I'm _horrible_ at explaining things...

-------
This is how I think when it comes to anime/realism.

I taught myself how to draw. I learned how to draw by looking at the things around me. No, I wouldn't just sit there and draw something whilst looking at it. I'd look at something, and later I'd just draw it (photographic memory? Probably not, I have the memory of a goldfish, but who knows?). I find anime to be a step  up from realism. Why? I find it much harder to create anime (why I draw it) because...

1. You're creating things out of nowhere. 

2. Multitude of combinations.

3. Magnitude of styles // making your own.

4. Perfection (No, I don't mean that anime is perfection >_<).

5. Outfits!

I believe that people can draw anime and for some reason _not realism_ is because all they've been doing is just mimicking other artists' works. They haven't learned proportions, body parts, etc. themselves. Yes, I'm a douche for saying that, but that's my honest opinion.


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## Kt Kat (Jun 29, 2008)

Anime is a very specific, stylized sort of drawing, and furry can be a lot of completely different sorts of stylizations.  There's toony furs, realistic furs, abstract furs.  I think that's a big part of it.  Basically, there's more ways to draw a furry than there is an "anime" person.

Anime happens to be a favored style of mine and you can see it in my art.  I have been drawing furries for longer than anime, but as my first inspiration was Sonic the Hedgehog, it was really easy to merge the styles into my own thing.


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## Shark_the_raptor (Jun 29, 2008)

Not sure, but I think I can draw both.  Hmm...  Might have to research the Anime style a bit to be sure.


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## Ookami-girl (Jun 29, 2008)

Well, my problem with drawing anime doesn't come from not being able to draw anime...It comes from...not being able to draw people...well.  I've spent all my life practicing how to draw animals and just sparingly practice drawing people.  Recently I've been drawing humans more because I feel like if I'm going to be an animator, I've got to be more well rounded (why I'm also practicing backgrounds more as well...).

I have to admit though that I did draw anime a lot in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.  I'd draw DBZ and Digimon related stuff.  But all I did was copy screenshots or other images, so that wasn't really good for much.  Now, I'm just wingin' it.  For me the hardest part of getting started is the eyes and nose.  Sometimes I draw them too big, or sometimes they just don't look right.  The nose is always oddly shaped to me.  But I'm working on it.  So...I'll just see how much I can improve at it in a year.  Working with a Lucky Star inspired style...not a good idea but it's a start. ^^;

I agree that anime art is harder to draw than furry/anthro stuff.  I feel like sometimes people don't give anime artists enough credit.  Apparently most anime look the same (I don't really see it though).  But I think anime styles vary as much as western styles.  There are more toony animes like Lucky Star, Shin Chan, etc., more realistic ones like whatever Hayao Miyazaki or Satoshi Kon can come up with, and some that are in-between.

I think I'll have to learn how to draw realistic people first though.  Then I could just simplify stuff from there.  I have found this one site that has a variety of human poses so that's helping me a bit.


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## iciewolf (Jun 30, 2008)

I can do both just fine. I have a backgroung with anime. Ive always drawn animals though. When I found out about anthro art I put both skills together and gotz mi anthro artz.


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## KingdomBlade (Jul 1, 2008)

I draw both, but I find Furry art slightly easier once I get used drawing the character/species. Once I get used to drawing one of my characters or whatnot, I can draw them pretty consistantly. But even with my human characters, I have the hardest time getting faces proportioned right, even shaping their heeads right. I have no idea why, I've been drawing in anime style since Pokemon came out (Didn't everyone? XP), but for the life of me, I have such a hard time sometimes that I get freaking mad.


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## Skade (Jul 2, 2008)

I can draw anime, but I find most of it a little boring and repetitive after a while. Anthro can fall into the same trap, but I feel like there's still more room for style variation. So I guess I much prefer that. It's not necessarily easier, just more interesting.

Now, if you'd said humans in general vs. anthro, I'd probably have to say I tend to draw more humans than anthro and have an easier time of it. I'm also a pretty big fan of painting and drawing from life, even if most of it doesn't end up on the internet.

So uh... anime. Can, but not real big on it, at least not compared to anthro. General human art? Oh yeah, sign me up.


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## Donryu (Jul 4, 2008)

Unnie said:


> I was browsing and I found it extremely surprising that most furry/anthro artists have a very hard time with drawing anime. Now I _guess_ I would consider myself an anime artist. I can, however draw, just about anything else. If you can draw anime, then you can draw realism. And I thought the same applied for just about anything, if you can draw anthro/furry then you can draw anime. I thought they went kind of hand-in-hand but it seems I was wrong.
> 
> *So anthro/furry artists, what makes it so hard (I'm not sure if hard is the greatest word to describe it) to make anime? *
> 
> I'm very curious about this.


 

There is actually no problem from my perspective.  I started out a die-hard anime fan.  Then when I went into school to become an animator I became a lot more diverse.  Anime is simplified and has it's own means of exaggeration.  But in terms of learning that style, all that takes is practice and then applying your own "flavor" to it.  Now please don't take the term "simplified" as an offense.  Don't get me wrong, Yoshiaki Kawajiri's character designs are by far the most detailed yet unified character designs for anime period.  But this is neither here nor there.

  I actually came to really enjoy drawing Disney-esque work if only because I could become more expressive and a lot more diverse with my work.  I've applied some of the influce I have with anime such as Yasuhiro Nightow's influence and his sense of composition.  However with Disney stuff, it's felt like I can really explore the figure and gesture of a character and that in drawing I have a better handle on thinking of the model in 3d rather than as a series of lines.


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## Frenzee (Jul 4, 2008)

Everyone in this thread talks about realism like some kind of well defined genre.
I also wouldn't say anime had anything at all to do with my definition of "realism".
Anime is very stylized and iconic, reality is not. Its ugly and imperfect.

I think "Realism" should be defined first before this topic can make any sense.


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## Donryu (Jul 4, 2008)

Frenzee said:


> Everyone in this thread talks about realism like some kind of well defined genre.
> I also wouldn't say anime had anything at all to do with my definition of "realism".
> Anime is very stylized and iconic, reality is not. Its ugly and imperfect.
> 
> I think "Realism" should be defined first before this topic can make any sense.



I actually agree.  I beleive the term "Well detailed" would be far more suited.  Unless you would refer to some animation as to photorealistic.. then that would make more sense.  In my personal opinion photorealism for animation makes no sense and makes an animation less beleiveable but now we're just dabbling in schools of thought.

So anyway, let's make "realism" into "well detailed"


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## tacticalsnake (Jul 5, 2008)

The human face is incredibly difficult to draw. It's flat, it has very subtle features, it's got this weird nose that looks funny, the ears are strange, etc. 
I had to force my self to learn how to draw humans way back when (it was furries only up to that point, and when I did start drawing humans? I used _south park_ as a reference. XD;;; It was simple enough to start with, so...). It was not an easy task, no. D: I can certainly do it now with out any problems, although it wasn't until recently that I learned how to properly draw a nose... 
(5.5 years of art at a university, and how do I learn how to draw properly? looking at comic books and video game art.....) 

Animals simply have easier features to draw, I guess. Their faces are more bold and have a lot less delicacy to them. Although a lot of people will have problems drawing them front-on, the faces.  
(Although there are people who can't draw animals at all)

But that's just my take on it. 

I also wouldn't say that anime necessarily lends its self to realism. Not just because some popular styles in Anime are far removed from it, like any other cartooning style, but because, well, I draw teh anime and I suck at realism. Photorealism, anyway. And I still make a lot of mistakes with anatomy in my drawings as it is anyway, even though they're certainly more realistic than most cartoons. I tend to draw faces way too long with way long noses.


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## Donryu (Jul 5, 2008)

tacticalsnake said:


> The human face is incredibly difficult to draw. It's flat, it has very subtle features, it's got this weird nose that looks funny, the ears are strange, etc.
> I had to force my self to learn how to draw humans way back when (it was furries only up to that point, and when I did start drawing humans? I used _south park_ as a reference. XD;;; It was simple enough to start with, so...). It was not an easy task, no. D: I can certainly do it now with out any problems, although it wasn't until recently that I learned how to properly draw a nose...
> (5.5 years of art at a university, and how do I learn how to draw properly? looking at comic books and video game art.....)
> 
> ...


 



Spend a good few years doing cartooning and sculpting the human face, and you'll learn just how flat it is.  You work with just as many features.  You start to learn the face isn't this flat thing with stuff on it.  Cheeks portrude, the lips help receede.  Spend some years drawing everything dude.   Then it just becomes a matter of taste, not what's easier.


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## Amber (Jul 6, 2008)

Well, Personally I first started drawing dragons.  They fascinated me because there really wasn't a set way to draw a dragon (In my mind anyway). Of course I still drew the occasional animal person (I knew nothing about the whole furry fandom back then).  Then I began to realize there was more possibilities in furrys then dragons. I did get into attempting to draw anime back then but was never any good at it. 

I actually just recently decided to try my hand at anime again to see if I could (And because the boys in my class wanted to see naked girls vs naked furries). I don't know if it would be classified as anime but it turned out better then I thought it would! 

Want would you say? Anime?
http://www.ambersdragonlair.com/test/girl.png


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## Kattywampus (Jul 6, 2008)

I drew a lot of anthro-y characters growing up, and then studied Disney-style drawing in school, trained in it more in College.. I also started picking up on anime-style when I got to College, too.  I used to draw a crap ton of anime/manga stuff when I would frequent the cons back then.  Now my stuff is like a hybrid of everything.  I have no issues drawing any of it.  I also draw realism, but I can say it's because of school, and anime style had jack to do with it.


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## tacticalsnake (Jul 6, 2008)

Donryu said:


> Spend a good few years doing cartooning and sculpting the human face, and you'll learn just how flat it is.  You work with just as many features.  You start to learn the face isn't this flat thing with stuff on it.  Cheeks portrude, the lips help receede.  Spend some years drawing everything dude.   Then it just becomes a matter of taste, not what's easier.



Well, I know that, and its not like I have a problem with drawing humans now, I just used to and I was citing the reasons why.


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## EchoetheCoon (Jul 6, 2008)

Heh. I actually feel a bit of a reversal on this topic... I mean. In my opinion, anthro is more applaudable than regular human anime. Though I shall admit here, I have a bit of a combo going on. On sites like gaia, however, the anime artists don't have any ability past anime. The vast majority won't even try anything past a cliche'd anime chick, but only from what I've viewed. Chances are, if you ask someone who normally draws anime humans to attempt anthro, they'll either politely decline or tell ya to yiff in hell. ^^;; I believe it comes from where you start and what you're willing to do. I mean. The only limits you have are the limits you give yourself. I'm sure anyone who really tried and wanted to could do both decently. I've even asked this question to anime artists about furry art. Don't give artists of one style all the credit. We all got the same level of talent, but different ways of expressing it.

To answer your question: Hard? Naw. Too easy. XD 
I can draw anime fine. But... basic human anime is kind of boooorrriing so anthro is a personal preference and of course, most often drawn.


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## redstarr (Jul 6, 2008)

I personally started out as an anime artist, then moved into fantasy and anthro art. I go through phases of what I draw more, it depends. 

I've also never had a problem drawing realism, but I really have more fun with stylized characters instead. My problem now is trying to give my human artwork a more stylized, non-anime look (think vert-is-ninja on DA) but it always ends up looking too anime. :/ Practice makes perfect though!


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## Anbessa (Jul 7, 2008)

when I was young, in germany manga simply didn't happen. anime were some series in TV, but the comics were widely ignored. so I grew up with francobelgian comic art, Rolf Kauka, and cartoons like Pink Panther, Tom&Jerry, Disney, Hanna-Barbera stuff to accompany the few good anime series that found their way to here.
when I started to draw anthros I aimed to make them as realistically as possible (duh! sue me if you want! I was young and others needed money, too!), and since manga was nowhere in sight I oriented myself along aforementioned comic styles.
I simply have no interest in drawing anime style. most of times the figures are simplified inbetween very realistic environments (of course, animating the figure is more expensive that a bachground which is used for the next thousand frames. look closely at older, cheaper anime and you'll see what I mean). still I like to watch some of them; cartoon is cartoon, and as long as the characters aren't downright ugly I can enjoy the story and antics only cartoons can deliver. I even read a small number of mangas (space and money restrictions are in place, so I have to pick carefully).
and I have seen some things that makes manga less appealing to me... while say we, the cover illu is all good and dandy, with full colour and all, the face... well, the (highly oversized) eyes look flat, lifeless, and fail to follow the tilt of the head. thus, the whole character falls lifeless. 
besides, when you see a whole new delivery of manga put out on a table, everything seems to look the same. it seems to me german publishers race for who brought out the most titles at all, while the market itself stagnates.

but I digress, sorry for that.
simply put, I believe it's not a matter of can or can not, it's one of talent and personal preferences. (because I believe to draw manga that looks _right_ you need the approbiate talent to help with it)


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## PinkPikachu (Jul 7, 2008)

=/ I never really liked the idea of broad classification, as it cant make the word very black, white, and otherwise uninteresting. I mean, if Anthro is its own artstyle, then does that mean that anthromorphic creatures drawn is a different style are not really anthromorphic? To me, it might be more prudent to say 'Popular Anthro Style' because the word 'popular' lets one know that there are more than that style (For something to be popular, there has to be less popular things).

And not all contemporary art of anime or manga is what people call 'Anime'. Looking at the works of Amano can provide such an example. So again, I believe it would be more prudent to say 'Popular Anime Style', or 'Popular Manga Style'.

= / But, then again, I could just been a newb with problems with classification, restriction, and orderliness in general. But I do believe I am entitled to my two bits. Anyways, if you read this entire post, thanks for giving me the time of mind to do so. Hope you have a wonderful day ^_^.


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## Unnie (Jul 7, 2008)

Thank you everybody with your input once again.  I just see some people who simply say, "I can't do anime" rather than, "I prefer not to do anime". Often these people say it's impossible for them. This confused me greatly.

I believe that realism is linked to each style, I mean, how could it not? Basics come from real life/realism. 

I'm an artist. I won't say that I'm specifically an anime artist or anything else because I can honestly tell you that I think I'm fairly good at anything you throw me. Realism? Easy as pie, for me it's extremely basic and is the root of all types of art. Anime? A little bit harder, that's why I do it. Anthro? Easier than anime.

I guess I'm one of those 'anime' artists whom have dared to try out anthro, although, just recently. I always love to try something new and it gave me more opportunities. An open and experimental artist is a good one. It means they want to learn, to try new things, and to further opportunities.

Just my 2 cents.

Remember, nobody's opinion is wrong.


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## Anbessa (Jul 9, 2008)

> I guess I'm one of those 'anime' artists whom have dared to try out anthro, although, just recently. I always love to try something new and it gave me more opportunities. An open and experimental artist is a good one. It means they want to learn, to try new things, and to further opportunities.



extra karma points to you for this mindset. serious.

here at my hometown there is a "Theatre Painter" (the profession who creates and paints theatre backdrops and sceneries) who showed what he does in TV. and boy, I would NEVER have had the ideas and creativity he has, making ART out of virtually anyhing! he sees something and creates art... if I recall right he also had stuff on display at MoMA in New York.
he tries soemthing new all the time.

I know I should, too, but there are interests in my way. so, sue me. 
I think the reason why people say "cartoon/anime has nothing to do with realisms" is because these art styles are sometimes heavily stylized, sometimes beyond recognition. of course you are right, it all roots in reality one way or another. and at least I can try to root the things I draw in reality as deep as possible; I want my stuff to look believeable.


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## Mavu-chan (Jul 9, 2008)

I can draw pretty much everything on the same level, I think. I just can't sculpt worth shit. >:


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## stefstef (Jul 9, 2008)

I don't like drawing muzzles for whatever reason :S so anime is easier for me


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## Dalehan (Jul 10, 2008)

I'd say "take a look at my gallery, it's perfectly possible", but yeah, FA's down right now huh.  Funny things is,, I too was one of those anime artists who began experimenting with anthro about half a year ago, and grew fond of it. 
Perhaps Dr. Comet would be a great example how some artists can manage to draw both in anthro and anime style. It's a matter of how far you're going in stylizing the faces. While I'm inclined to give males a more realistic approach by giving them proper muzzles etc, when I draw females they're far less animal-like but tend to look more like the girls of my casual anime style.
Something that tends to happen in Disney cartoons as well, Goof Troop for example. Males have their typical animal-like appearance, while the women could look like regular people if you'd just replace their nose with a human one.
Which is what I tend to do most of the time after reading Blacksad too much XD. Juanjo Guarnido does the exact same thing in that trilogy. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





So, basically, it really depends which kind of anthro you're aiming for, since even within anthro there's a LOT of diversity.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 10, 2008)

Anime style is just as diverse as anthro. There's the stereotypes in both. IE BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) and the Disney/ Looney Toons/ Bluth styles people use in anthro. People only want to practice what they find "Asthetically pleasing" but most good anime artists, actually know how to go outside the style because they know and understand *Life Drawing* most animators in Japan study life drawing. Anyone who works in animation knows this too. 

Most of this "I can't do this or that" comes from people stuck on the aesthetics of a drawing and not understanding foundations, so a lot of bullshit posts appear because people like to stay within their limitations and not learn the hard stuff. It's like wanting to earn a lot of money and not being able to count it because you didn't study basic math....because math is *boring*...

_
Life drawing is "boring" can't do cool character designs. No one cares about a building! So my characters float in space! Photoshop will fix it with a colorful background. They want to see my coloring, this cool sheath I designed. If my character is popular! I want to make sure I get a lot of favorites and watches. I want to be talked about!_

Granted the thing is that people have their personal goals in what they like doing in drawing, however, you do still have to recognize you're only limiting yourself when you try to make excuses for what is only accomplished through experimenting, making mistakes and practice. You're held back because of the fear of failing, you need to fail in order to succeed. It's a hobby for you, that's fine, state as such but this "I can't do this" because of X is only because you're not working hard enough and trying to make comparisons of why one style is harder only boils down to...

You only care about the aesthetics of one thing to stick with it.


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## Dalehan (Jul 10, 2008)

Arshes Nei said:


> Anime style is just as diverse as anthro. There's the stereotypes in both. IE BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) and the Disney/ Looney Toons/ Bluth styles people use in anthro. People only want to practice what they find "Asthetically pleasing" but most good anime artists, actually know how to go outside the style because they know and understand *Life Drawing* most animators in Japan study life drawing. Anyone who works in animation knows this too.
> 
> Most of this "I can't do this or that" comes from people stuck on the aesthetics of a drawing and not understanding foundations, so a lot of bullshit posts appear because people like to stay within their limitations and not learn the hard stuff. It's like wanting to earn a lot of money and not being able to count it because you didn't study basic math....because math is *boring*...
> 
> ...



And still newcomers at my former college question the purpose of life drawing... "we'll be drawing cartoons and comics, we don't need to be able to draw realistic nudes!".


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## Donryu (Jul 10, 2008)

Arshes Nei said:


> Anime style is just as diverse as anthro. There's the stereotypes in both. IE BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) and the Disney/ Looney Toons/ Bluth styles people use in anthro. People only want to practice what they find "Asthetically pleasing" but most good anime artists, actually know how to go outside the style because they know and understand *Life Drawing* most animators in Japan study life drawing. Anyone who works in animation knows this too.
> 
> .


 
I agreed with just about everything in the post, just this particular paragraph struck me.  It's like weight lifting for the artist.  I make sure I go every week to maintain myself..  If I don't I get flabby and lazy ( stuck in style and  and not looking outside of my own habbits)  

I do beleive that anything Yasuhiro Nightow and Yoshiaki Kawajiri does can prove your point very well.  Although Nightow is in manga, his stuff is widely varied.


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## Anbessa (Jul 10, 2008)

Arshes Nei said:


> Anime style is just as diverse as anthro. There's the stereotypes in both. IE BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) and the Disney/ Looney Toons/ Bluth styles people use in anthro. People only want to practice what they find "Asthetically pleasing" but most good anime artists, actually know how to go outside the style because they know and understand *Life Drawing* most animators in Japan study life drawing. Anyone who works in animation knows this too.



well put. of course, you are right. I guess if I had the chance to learn Life drawing when I started to seriously draw anthro animals it wouldn't have taken me more than 14 years to produce something people would be willing to give me money for. I sometimes miss the ability to draw decent human beings, or a detailed background that really fits in.
but then again, it's a hobby for me, a creative outlet. if I were to become pro I'd have a serious problem now.

but, still.


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## Adelio Altomar (Jul 11, 2008)

I found this, and this. Though they both are pointless, this thread reminded me of these videos and I like the laughs I get from 'em. X3


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 11, 2008)

Adelio Altomar said:


> I found this, and this. Though they both are pointless, this thread reminded me of these videos and I like the laughs I get from 'em. X3



I like how butthurt this person is: http://comments.deviantart.com/1/1269495/744172032


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## Anbessa (Jul 14, 2008)

thank you for the links, Adelio. I had a good laugh out of them, especially since they aren't so far from the truth. XD

and yeah, somebody got butthurt. but, aren't those obligatory when you poke fun at your favourite fandom scenery? *gg*


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## baroncoon (Jul 17, 2008)

I don't think it makes any difference. The first step is to know how to draw well period. My day job for the last decade has been in art retail sales. Almost daily I have people approach me looking for some book or technique that will tell them the secret to draw or paint some style or topic. Recently the market for "How to draw Manga" books and Manga art materials has become quite profitable. The sad truth is that most these products do not give the young aspiring artists any real advantage, and unfortunately can cause troubles down the road for them since they do not instill a strong understand of art in general. Instead providing a good instruction in the fundamentals of drawing they instead just offer a bunch shortcuts and stylistic tips. 

This is why most studios looking for character animators and concept designers want to see good solid live drawing and sketching skills in portfolios. In the end there is one substitute to for years of practice and serious commitment to becoming a better artist.


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## baroncoon (Jul 17, 2008)

Yes and to my knowledge the Blacksad crew were part of the Paris Disney production team. the important thing here is that artist has a solid foundation in art. Give them a bowl of fruit and they create a solid still life drawing. Have a nude figure stand in front of them and they can probably whip out an excellent live drawing sketch. Give them an illustration assignment and they give you solid composition and good lighting and color balance. The important thing here is they understand art. Not furry art or anime/ manga art, but art in general. That is why I've loved and collected that series. Also they have done some very through research into the time periods the are portraying!


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## Anbessa (Jul 17, 2008)

absolutely. have you seen the "Making of" book they published? (at least I think they also published it in the US) it's fascinating, and chock full with how-to's in terms of composition and graphic storytelling.

as for the "How To Draw Manga" series out there, you are absolutely right. I bought them to give me ideas with mood-setting, composition, lighting, and such; the essentials are the same, and should be known beforehand. it shows in many newbie manga artists where the art style looks sloppy and 'unfinished', which is a pity.


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## Ribbonpaws (Jul 17, 2008)

i draw both... enjoy drawing both and in my opinion, draw both well... ^____^


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## Hanzo (Aug 3, 2008)

Unnie said:


> I was browsing and I found it extremely surprising that most furry/anthro artists have a very hard time with drawing anime. Now I _guess_ I would consider myself an anime artist. I can, however draw, just about anything else. If you can draw anime, then you can draw realism. And I thought the same applied for just about anything, if you can draw anthro/furry then you can draw anime. I thought they went kind of hand-in-hand but it seems I was wrong.
> 
> *So anthro/furry artists, what makes it so hard (I'm not sure if hard is the greatest word to describe it) to make anime? *
> 
> I'm very curious about this.



I draw both and have no problems. But I have yet more to improve


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