Diagrammatic/Chibi Technique/Lexicon

Introduction

diagrammatic drawing is the art of drawing using combinations of recurring bits/forms and symbols, it's how comics/manga are drawn. it's what sets manga/comics apart from realism You remember relationships between lines, not shapes.
Use the drawing software of your choice.
Use symmtery tool A LOT!
Chibi manga is like crack cocaine to me(based on what I've heard about crack cocaine)
You probably remember diagrammatic technique from devianart, with heavy reuse of angles and shapes between characters.

I learn/teach drawing in the following order:
Emojis -> Chibis -> Semi-Chibis -> Realism

Manga definition: japanese comics style, watercolor, clear fine lines, clear color fields, diagrammatic construction

I will add more and more construction as you go deeper into this guide.
I will not cover realism, this guide ends at semi-chibi.

Chibi Inspo:
* Tintin(Best manga ever, especially early)
* Mulle Meck(Semi-Chibi)
* Pettson och Findus(Semi-Chibi)
* 90s PC games, SNES games
* Toon Zelda
* Mii Channel

Emojis

First you should learn how to draw emojis, draw some everyday, if you can't figure one out just look on your smartphone. If you can't copy emojis you are screwed and I can't help you. Don't try drawing specific faces/people, that's for later.

*symbols heads, Chibi heads, "Mii-heads"*(Extremely important chapter)

Second you should learn how to draw symbol heads from front and side(like the ones on the wii). A symbol head is composed of a head-shape and a couple of symbols, you can also add a neck if you are fancy. Good symbol heads are all about capturing essential details of someones face.
Write down the details of the face before making it is my advice.
I memorize peoples faces based on their deviances.
I will make a lexicon of my favorite head-shapes, symbol facial features.
This is a big step, being able to draw symbol heads is one the most important skills of a manga artist.
It takes time, I do recommend learning from Chibi makers such as the mii creator.
Im planning on making my own Chibi maker as well.
Notice the headband, most tutorials don't cover the importance of the headband, it becomes even more important later in racial drawing in realism.(Asians have a leaning headband, germanics have a horizontal headband for example)
While it's not that important in chibi since the jaw never changes position and mouth is just a symbol, later you have to understand the underlying skeleton, so I also have a graphic on that.
As said the first few chapters of this guide is focused on diagrammaticism, so very lite construction, more of that in the semi-chibi chapter.
Headband is a circle that goes around the head and connects the eyes, ears, and back of skull.
When I draw a head I basically always start with the headband.
Skull-line are two lines that mark the sidecuts of the skull, not the same as the headband.
There is more or less always a dip-in at the eyes above the nose when drawing head from side.
...
Important terms:
* Headband(band around head, connects eyes, nose, neck, brain-sphere)
* Skull-sides/lines
* eye area out-carve
* Jaw-line
* neck-connection
* brain-sphere(part that contains the brain)
* "box"(attached to brain-sphere)

Egyptian torso

next you will need to learn how to add the egyptian torso, male and female, from front and side.
Widen the mans chest for greater gender emphasis.
Narrow the womans waist for greater gender emphasis.

Egyptian arms/legs and clump hands/feet

Next you will learn how to add the limbs, this basic figure will be used to draw all other angles later.
* bumps on very top of arms representing delts
* strong middle bump representing the bicep on the upperarm and the lesser middle bulge representing the tricep on the upperarm.
* interior towards elbow bump representing the extensor muscle on the lower arm.
* bulge around knee representing kneecap
* middle bulge on thigs representing thigh muscles.
* Upper bulge on lower legs representing calf muscle.
The first example Im making just have tube arms and legs.

The headband is the centerpiece of the head, the torso is the centerpiece of the human.
Build the head from the headband, build the human out from the torso.
When making an entire human start with the torso, not the head.

90* from side

From this angle right arm and leg are bigger and infront while left arm and leg are narrower and behind.

45* looking down

From this angle limbs are shorter, more of the hair and shoulder are seen. face is compressed. Please do it in both directions.

45* 45*

Combination of both above, limbs are shorter, more of the hair and shoulders are seen,
right arm and leg are bigger and infront while left arm and leg are narrower and behind.
Please do it in both directions.
"This looks yank as f*ck"
Indeed it does, that is diagrammatic technique for you.

Oblique Skew

adding a bit more to the sides to give it slight perspective.
Extremely yank, as yank as it gets.

Semi-Chibi

I still haven't reached this step. This is where you start to use symbol heads with construction.
Especially symbol heads, I've needed to practice making those A LOT. As said, *very* important skill to master in manga.
Until now you have learnt how to draw people in very stiff poses from very specific angles, that's a big part of chibi, now in semi-chibi things get more realistic.
We will start drawing our characters at slightly more realistic proportions, poses and angles.
We will learn how to rotate our chibi-heads more and attach it to a more dynamic body.