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.