INTRODUCTION
The term Manga is a defining term for graphic cartoons or comics in Japan. However, it has developed into a determined drawing style, and not only a "comic".
This is the drawing style we will learn in this course.
Manga, or Japanese comics, is a direct heir to the American comics. Nevertheless, it has evolved. It has developed its own distinctive criteria, both in regards to a dynamic story as well as its style; marked and traditional of Manga.
This doesn't mean there is a lack of authors with their own traits and characteristics, or that the Japanese comic offer isn't varied in its content. But, it's easy to isolate some general characteristics: a peculiar way to distort/deform the figure or a way to express emotions.
Everything that is emotional is usually exaggerated: the eyes are not proportionate, their heads are big in relation to their bodies. The expressions can even be cartoon-like to stress the feelings of the characters.
Being used to identifying these traits in cartoons for children in the west, you can sometimes confuse these comics with products intended for children. Actually, Manga products spread to all kinds of audiences.
As a matter of fact, another characteristic of japanese cartoons is a well-defined division of genres. They possess a specific denomination according to its content and intended audience: for girls, for boys, about robots, erotic, etc.
