How to make a Manga character

Our final image

The Manga comic style is epitomised by over-sized eyes, which are generally out of proportion when compared to the rest of the facial features. While the style is associated with comics and animated films, it can be easily translated to photography.

In this Photoshop tutorial we’ll take a look at how to use Photoshop’s Liquify command to manipulate an image to reshape and mould a model into our own Manga-styled character.

Liquify is a powerful command that can be applied directly to localised areas of the image. So rather than the more common filter sliders, the Liquify command uses brushes that can be adjusted to apply the effect directly to the image. These brushes enable you to stretch and morph areas into new shapes, and as you become familiar with the command you’ll see why it’s commonly used in fashion and portrait photography.
Our aim here isn’t realism. We’ll use the Liquify command to reshape both the face and body to get the Manga look.

Our original image

How to make a Manga character in Photoshop

01 Open Liquify
Duplicate the Background Layer using Cmd/Ctrl+J, then go to Filter>Liquify. Select the Brush tool and set Brush Size to 100 and Brush Density to 100. This helps to get a smooth shift of pixels and avoids any points. Zoom into the image so you can see both eyes on the canvas.

02 Enlarge the eyes
Click the sclera (the white of the eye) and start to enlarge the area. Work your way around the eye, enlarging a little section at a time and ensuring that the outline of the eye remains smooth. Once finished, use the same technique to tackle the other eye.

03 Pinch the nose and lips
Reduce the size of the brush to 50 then click one side of the nose. Using the same technique as with the eyes, slowly work around the nose reducing the size, working in rather than out. Once done, use the brush to reshape the lips and to reduce the size of the mouth.

04 Sculpt the face
Reduce the brush pressure to 30, this will give you a little more control over the effect of the Liquify command as it’s applied. Now carefully use the brush around the edges of the face to reduce the width of the chin and give the model a Manga makeover.

05 Reshape the body
Increase the brush size to 200, and then working around the body from the left shoulder down, start to reduce the width of the model. We’re looking to reshape the model to reflect the delicate build in Manga females. Slowly work around the body and reduce the waist.

06 Tonal enhancement
Click the Background Layer and click the New layer icon. Go to Edit>Fill and select white. This blank layer will hide the overlap of the original image. Once the reshaping of the model is complete, use the Lasso tool to quickly select the eyes. Click refine and feather the edge by 5, then use Levels to brighten.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 21st, 2012 at 7:00 am and is filed under Tutorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.