I had a teacher tell once that the biggest difference between realism and stylized is that realism has a lot of time spent rendering, and can be easily seen by non artists in the final product. Stylized art on the other hand will often have more time spent in the planning phases and it not understood as easily by the average person. Great video as always, keep up the work.
Stylized art can require an incredible amount of time rendering. The difference between stylized and realism has nothing to do with detail or the amount of time rendering
@@PinoPrime i think they meant that it was easier to see the effort put into realism compared to stylistic art. For the average person it's easy to imagine how much effort was put into realism, stylized art also requires effort. But the average person might not see all the hidden effort put into it like exaggerating faces, bodies, etc. while still making it look good.
@@PinoPrime conversely, the BEST stylized artists usually have mastery over realism. Best way to break the rules is to know what exactly rules you’re breaking
realism will always be beautiful, but personally I love when a piece of media is stylized, or has a style that’s a satisfying aesthetic. It doesn’t have a significant effect with the quality of the show (unless the visuals are so bad that it’s difficult to enjoy), but I do have to admit that I’m biased towards stylized media. This is a very interesting topic for you to cover, excited to see more videos like this one.
I think I lean toward stylisation more too, but not as a negative toward realism, just I like it more in general 😂 Which is why spiderverse and arcane were an instant click with me! Still love a good realistic artstyle though, especially in manga.. Anyways, rambling haha, thank you for watching!
not true, realism in the hands of a uninteresting person can be awfully boring, and my god is more common than people thinks, the most of the time when people see realism as the ultimate art form is because they are so blind what they like about the art piece is not the "realism" but the way the artist represents his ideas, there's so much more on a well done art piece than "it's well draw."
Personally, I feel "realism" has universal appeal, which is why it's so widely accepted. If it looks realistic, people will instantly accept it and not judge it as "childish". Most non-artists will see something realistic and look upon it with praise. There are those who might say "a well just take a photo" but you can't say that about something that was created from the imagination yet still achieves the "realism" realm. I know many people who hate all things "cartoon" and won't even give it the time of day, but this isn't so with realistic art...it has the ability to bridge artificially created gaps in cultures and viewpoints. Stylized art, however, has the chance to do something a little extra, it has the chance to create is own rules of what is acceptable within its own world (I always think about Luffy's mouth dropping exaggeratedly-- when this happens in a styled story like One Peice, is accepted because it follows the rules of the world, do this in a realistically drawn story and you'll just creep people out.) I feel that both have their benefits and detriments, but in the end, for manga at least, what's most important to me is how the realism or stylization effects the tone, mood and impact of the story. Some stories simply wouldn't work if made realistic, and others simply wouldn't work as well if made stylized.
100% agree, and good points on the realism intro paragraph, it is arguable to say realism is more accepted by the masses in general. Maybe because it's grounded more to its original inspiration, so it's not something that needs "thinking" to understand? Very good points!
@@linesinmotion I believe it's got to do with the fact that in general, people have the impression that high technical ability = better anything. Which is understandable since for a lot of other endeavors, having a high level of technicality is necessary like in doctors and engineers. This sort of mentality doesn't really hold well in a medium like art where everything is subjective. But for the common folk it's easier to praise something when it's realistic because it's familar and the amount of detail required to make it so would need a high level of technicality, aswell as a higher understanding of the fundamentals that the viewers can't understand or do. Meaning in their mind that the artist is obviously better than them. This is why people prefer to praise da Vinci or Michelangelo rather than Picasso despite the fact that the man is more than capable of drawing realistically but just chooses not to.
I feel that someone not accepting style can be either for the idea that it doesn't need as much effort, and yeah, in a way, that CAN be true, and someone can hide lack of effort or something. HOWEVER There is also a lot of misconception and prejudice involved, people who deem something stylized "childish" just because a more simple artstyle is often used for children (for a purposeful and good design-wise reason) are quite not the people to take seriously, because as an artist myself that started with anatomy studies for a long time but always loved stylized cartoonish drawings, I can ASURE people that creating artstyle (even if more simple) and following it with consistency can be as hard. Sure, you don't need to follow and spend as much time drawing all the facial imperfections, hair, anatomy, etc. But inconsistency can be easier to read in a way, color, abstract poses, how shadows work, unique facial expressions, how to make things abstract and clear, dynamicity, etc. Also, there is something obvious that people forget but, the more details and realism something have, the more time it takes for it to be made. I know people think that it's always a plus, but I really kind of like comics that have the freedom to be long and take time for characters and story to develop naturally BECAUSE the artist planned how the artstyle should look and gave a specific visual personality that can be simple and effective for what they wanted to tell, within the time limitations said artist is aware of. Also, it's not like all stories would use realistic artstyle by default, it gives a entirely different vibe for different purposes.
The "relistic art is pointless, just take a picture " have always bothered me, because art is so much more than the need to communicate an idea, they are undermining the draftsmanship the nuance it takes to create something like this
Very true!! I think some people assume that realism is super easy because you're just "copying real life" as if drawing super realistic is the easiest thing in the world and not something that can take years of practise and refining 😒
@@linesinmotion like, even pwople like arinze Stanley and oscar ukonu who "copy" real life are still fucking savants coz the amount of knowledge it takes to do that properly is maddening, Loved the video your editing is class
@@AI_00 For me it's just that stylized art can create his own world giving meaning to things in his own drawn pattern than realism that needs to convey meaning to his draw,but still respecting the rules of our world
My art teacher is one of the best teachers ever. When I was younger, I was often told that my drawings weren't good and that I didn't have talent just because I used to draw cartoons, so I grew up hiding my drawings and thinking that being a good artist means making realistic art. However, I never stopped drawing in a stylised mode because it made me happy, but I did tried combining both the stilised and the realistic world to get to a point where I'm finally proud of my creations, thus helping me build the confidence to show my art teacher my drawings. Since I showed them, my art got a lot more recognition. He made a whole exposition in my school, supporting my art style and my drawing techniques. He is one of the best art teachers in my opinion. Very supportive, like how all adults should be with children, especially when it comes to their hobbies.
I find it relatable because , i used to draw alot in lockdown only anime nothing else i made over 100 drawings, some months ago when my school started after maybe 2 years, i bought the file in which i kept all those drawings just to show my friends No one else i started to show them to my friends (actually my friends r some that one "popular kids" in class but i am just some random idiot to most of the people) they litrally took one of my best drawing called mam n told about how good i make art (only some people in my class knew i even did some art) so then mam took the art out of their hand and showed it to the whole class which had over 50-55 students FR my anxiety gone like 💹 and they all started clapping i felt happy that someone was appreciating what i drew even tho it was just anime and like litrally every person who knew who knew what anime was started to be friends with me it was the best day ever in school
Even the “realistic” paintings and drawings we make still have a distinct style that separate the creation from the reference. Some styles have more attention to detail and focus on accuracy or believability, and other styles push details to the extreme in order to show contrast or character. Both are beautiful and should be loved for their distinct differences, but make sure we are all focused on making good art that resonates with us and others, not worrying about “our style” or “their style”.
@@linesinmotion well, most ppl dont like pure realism, reasoning they see it everywhere hence liking semi-realism. i.e Loish, Ilya Kuvshinov, rossdraws etc.
Yeah, IMO semi realistic just looks the best. Balanced as all things should be. A lot of manga nowadays can be considered to be semi realistic, actually most
@َ َ Idk If I would call this a trend, It’s been the most popular for a really long time. Just a lot of people naturally find It the best looking. Looks prettier than reality but isn’t unrealistic, It kind of let’s you escape
For me as a realist artist drawing stylized character hella difficult. Because it must be different to the reference, mostly drawing from imagination. Drawing realistic is just drawing from the reference. There's no need to think or imaginate anything, just follow the reference. Big respect to illustrators, cartoonist, manga artist, and more. 🙏
I may have to disagree to this. That "drawing realistic is just drawing from reference" is a misunderstanding, because the trend nowadays is that your drawing HAS to look exactly the reference for it to be considered 'good'. Which is wrong because drawing exactly from the reference actually limits an artist's potential. This is why some who can draw a carbon copy of portraits cannot create without reference, it's because they're too focused on 'copying' rather than 'understanding' the fundamentals. Realism is actually good way to train your observation skills, this is why it is always advised for beginners to study from life before moving on to a stylized style. Stylized artists do not draw solely from imagination, it's because they understood the fundamentals that they are able to manipulate it at will. As the video says, neither is inferior to another. They both have the understanding, whether one wants to stay to realism or stylized style is just matter of preference now.
Like nixie said, stylized is not just imagine, it has realism elements in it thats how we artists bring life to our art. Many cartoon artist does use real person's expression to exaggerate and many manga artists did exploration in their environment to create a beautiful background. Nowadays many artists learned from images whether photo or art , but observating things closely in person gives more visual depth & memory. And thats why, ghibli studio animation is very satisfying to watch and many da vinci's art is used as a study.
@@nixiedus yes as me who is learned the muscles and forms it's easy for me because looking for reference is hard and take too long and for me I'll choose tool look for reference often if I only needed and imagine a pose than relying on a reference because it's gave me more freedom and makes me learn something
I believe each style has its appeal, realism can look bad if not done properly, and the same goes to stylized art. For me, the best examples would be one piece (the manga), it is heavily stylized, but the artist knows how to use his media and with style, accomplishes a level of fluidity and story telling that is hard to find in this media. Meanwhile we have series like vagabond, in wich the appeal comes from the expression, the sumiê and the way the lines convey emotion by themselves. The same can be seen in a series like Berserk, the best panels aren't (always) the most realistic ones, but the ones with the most expression on it, like the moments of rage of guts and the nightmare-ish creatures and locations the manga presents. One thing important however, is that, in any style (realistic or stylized) one thing's really important and is always the difference between an artwork that tells a story and succeeds, from one that doesn't: it is the composition, that's the biggest point for me, visual clarity and balance is the biggest thing for me, the appeal of the series I mentioned wouldn't matter if the composition wasn't used to it's best.
I think that Boku No Hero Academia is a great example of a good stylised artstyle, because it is heavily stylised, especially the faces and expressions - yet the anatomy, poses and backgrounds are very realistic, which makes it very appealing!
my personal preference definitely leans more towards stylized. In part its the fantasy lover in me - I can see real life by going outside or looking at pictures, but I tend towards aphantasia so I appreciate any visual help. It's also probably the trends of any media company that is pushing for more realistic art and discrediting anything thats stylized and/or 2D that just boils my blood and make me want to root even more for those styles. I love the freedom it gives to artists to express an emotion outside of the norm that is possible in the real world (give me blushes that spread past a characters face, give me funny poses that are not bodily possible, give me tears that look like kaleidoscopes) and allows for "mistakes" to exist comfortably without disrupting your reading experience. When it comes to the more realistic style, it is far easier to tell if something is off and can quickly fall into the uncanny. I can appreciate detailed, more realistically drawn manga but I always feel like its too much. With around 200 pages per volume, I feel it looses it purpose after a while which I rarely feel happens with other stlyes and while the art is of course important, if I spend 1 minute closely appreciating the details, the story would suffer.
Very interesting points! I forgot to mention about the uncanny effects the attempts at realism can have, though you don't really get that with manga, thankfully haha. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
@@linesinmotion To be fair, even the more stylized works can fall into that sometimes. Cause let me tell you, every mangaka I've seen draws horses differently but none of them resemble their real life counterparts ;D
I think it serves a great purpose in keeping a story bound to its rules that the author puts on to it, the boundless detail is what keeps the story alive, the characters feel real. Stylized art just gets boring after a while (in my opinion) since the shapes just melt into everything as the story goes on. Funnily enough, i think the overall agreement that non-artists have (well, at least in my country) is that realistic art is normally considered ugly and stylized is the way to go lol Can't tell you how many times i tried to show Vagabond or Berserk to my friends and their reaction was that the art style was ugly or "that character is ugly". With stylized art its like the author creates rules and expects the viewer to understand, which makes it harder to connect to the story since the rules are so random and its like the author creates a world in their own little bubble leaving the consumer to just look at distorted pictures trying to piece them together. There is still stylized art media that i think its done perfectly: One piece, Soul eater or hollow knight (not a manga but imma add it either way) but i think it's really hard to showcase beauty from a stylized artstyle. I really don't find Owl house's artstyle enjoyable and pretty like i did with adventure time for example. But its just my opinion, sorry for the long text lol
One of my favorite things about Houseki no Kuni's art style is that Ichikawa has basically made "notan" the manga. "Notan" being a Japanese term for light/dark harmony. Notan is essentially a method by which Japanese artists can build up paintings--by reducing details and focusing chiefly on light and dark tones with amazing composition. So many times reading her manga I've been so impressed with her ability that I've considered if I could get prints framed lol.
Well, I was taken aback by ep-i-tome. I love this Chanel and it makes me want to go look some of the manga I just saw. Thank you Japan for graphic stories that are not all about super heroes. And some that are. Still don’t agree with the way she said epitome. ;-)
I love realistic art, and when i use to do stylized art, i got a lot of commissions and likes. Ppl where only interested in my art when it was stylized. But when I started doing semirealism and realism it went silent. I kept going tho because i liked it. I put a lot more work into my art, but people dont care about the work u put into your art, they care about the outcome. And I actually noticed how other realism artist dont get a lot of love for their art even if its really good. And when i see realistic art posted on popular reposting accounts, the comments have a lot of hate in them, like “why would you put so much work in that” “people have too much time on their hands” just take a picture” i dont understand why ppl hate it. the art community is a pretty chill and supportive community, it’s usually non artist. People Gravitate towards stylized/ cartoon artwork. And thats the kind of jobs that are usually available. Its kinda stressful because i want to be an artist but dont know what path there really is to take and still make a good amount of money without changing the art style to fit what other ppl like.
This hit home. And yeah often times realistic art tend to not get recognition as much as they do. Tho often times i do see some of relistic art get recognition.
It's kinda the opposite for me. I grew up resenting artists who could perfectly draw realistic things. I would just hate every single person who would post a Billie eilish or Arian grande sketch. This was because where I grew up, realism is appreciated more, and people will likely consider you more talented if you were to color and draw a realistic portrait, despite the fact that I realistic one would take just as much effort and time. People just wouldn't love it because you have to "grow up" and "like adult things more" even my father who has been supportive of me, still asks me when I will move out of my cartoon phase. Which is all what led me to hating realistic artists, because to me, all they did was pick up a hobby when they were bored (not talking about lifelong artists here) and just spend their time drawing still Life, which I could never like even if I tried. It really lowered my view of my own art.
But now I guess stylised versions are now becoming more lovable and required, leaving out realism, which is honestly just sad, because all the skills and mastery required in them is amazing. I may not like it, but I do recognize it as another form of art
@@killme5630 yeah i get a sense that stylized artists like try to discard realism artists work. lmy realistic art style. I usually get more engagement or just as much with my cartoon style art, than my realistic art, (i do both i just mainly like my realistic art) and i see that with other realism artist. people think realism is nice they can put all that detail, but they dont like all that detail😭 they also wont pay for your work. If you go out and see art on stuff 90% of the time it’s stylized/cartoon art. When it comes to cards, books, a box of cereal, a brands logo, tv shows. thats the art style you mainly see. People just dont want realism art. And cartoon/stylized artist think their art isn’t appreciated, but i can tell you for sure it is. And as u can see most the people in the comments are saying they like stylized art better. Its much easier for you guys to be a freelance artist and get work. I was definitely there, the only art style i did was stylized cartoon art, and people always wanted a drawing of them in my stylized art, and I wasn’t even good art it lmao💀. The latest commission i got was stylized because thats what they wanted. and wish we could equally have the same opportunity to become artist as a living or on the side. art is supposed to be relaxing and a positive thing, this is the most supportive community i know of, but feel like there’s little bit of a competition with cartoon and realism art.
“...when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another . But when you enter the world of the cartoon , you see yourself.” ― Scott McCloud,
@@linesinmotion Mc Cloud has a very interesting POV about stylization that I think gets to the core of what's great about each approach - I highly recommend his work in general. His magnum opus is "understanding comics", but "making comics" says mostly the same thing in more approachable ways.
One thing I love about your channel is how you choose to pick apart a fresh set of under-talked topics. Especially "how" the story is told and the narrative structure, not only "what" is told. The form is as important as the story itself for me. I look forward to more!
For me the main thing to distinguish is "realism" as in copying a photo without creating anything or exaggerating, and "realistic rendering" which is something that is universally appreciated because you are combining both your vision with reality; creativity and skill are both difficult beasts to tame. Stylised drawing are beautiful, and so realistic drawings made by pure references, but i wanted to give a bit of love to the grey areas that don't completely rely on just one aspect.
Yeah, realism has different types too, like higher-realism is different to other forms of realism, just like how there's different forms of stylised art. I feel like that differentiation isn't talked about enough!
@@linesinmotion exactly. Putting all of them in the same category feels more like a staircase to the podium of "most life like" rather than a branching in styles like in stylised manga, where no style is "better, just more polished. I appreciate a lot you acknowledging that :)
Of course! It would have felt unfair to realism's "side" (if you will) had I not mentioned the whole variety realism has to offer. Glad others think so too!
I’m not going to lie, I’m one of those people who’s often said, “Just take a picture” in regards to hyper-realistic art. The strange thing though is that I’ve never NOT enjoyed such art. I absolutely love Gantz, Vagabond, and Green Blood (also by Masusumi Kakizaki) BECAUSE they’re so incredibly realistic. I was actually surprised you said there are people who say realistic stuff all looks the same. None of the manga I just named look alike at all despite being fiercely on the realistic side. Also, you made a really interesting point about Berserk, with Miura realistically rendering things that don’t actually exist. I think “realistic” art in my mind meant just drawing stuff that I saw everyday, which bored me as an idea. Kinda weird considering I’ve read Berserk myself, but… guess I needed somebody else to connect the dots for me. Also, I like how you used Houseki no Kuni and Vagabond for the thumbnail as the two ends of the spectrum. Great video
I absolutely love comments like this the most!! I'm glad I was able to share a new view point on some topics that made you re-think certain things. Glad to hear it! Thank you so much 😊😊😊
Man you're heavily underrated. Ever since I saw your video about blue period I've been obsessed with your editing style and presentation. It's immaculate. Plus your voice is very suitable for these types of commentary videos.
I think itd be interesting to also discuss a similar topic in webtoons! Personally I favor stylised works more than realistic. It lets me immerse myself into the world that the mangaka has created. I appreciate the work it takes for both but realism sometimes doesn't allow me to immerse myself as much if that makes sense 🤔
I'd LOVE to cover webtoons more, I did do one video based on one called Realta, but it's unfortunately hit a copyright claim atm. A lot of webtoon's get copyright striked because of how strict Webtoon is, which is SO frustrating because i read so many and want to cover some!
I'm kinda confused on the whole video because all the "realistic" art is also stylized on some level. Maybe some are more subtle but they push each of the fundamentals of art in a certain direction for appeal. Also I think Berserk, especially the creature design and art, kind of matches the same feel of old engravings from the witch hat atelier style but in a different way.
No, you're right! Unless a mangaka was literally given unlimited time, you're never going to have a hyper-realistic manga, One Punch Man might be the closest sometimes, but it's not throughout the whole manga. I o think certain styles are more realistic than stylised though. But there's this funny middle ground, like you mentioned with Miura's creatures But I wouldn't say they're abstractical in design, you can definitely see their references to real life inspiration
Yup - ping pong being classified as stylized when in fact it's one of the rare manga where the character are clearly identifiable as ethnically east asian for instance, shows that what qualifies as realistic and stylized is often somewhat arbitrary. Stylization builds upon an understanding of reality - the funny thing being, artists get to choose which aspect(s) of reality that is.
@@linesinmotionno way. One punch man is not realstic at all. It’s faces look very anime, their eyes, their hair, their body’s. It’s all stylised. Not a bad thing, but they def are not realstic. A realstic manga would be something like Real, or innocent, or The summit of gods
I cannot even explain why, but I could not see Vagabond having another art style than hyperrealistic. And the same goes for Houseki no Kuni: I personally feel like the composition of this one is the GOAT. Lovely video, as always!
For real, it'd feel like a completely different story if it didn't have the iconic art that is does, same with HNK, their styles make the story that much more special
@@terrancevanliew1814 Perhaps hyperrealistic isn't the best word to describe what I wanted to say. I just feel like Vagabond's realism does wonders for the manga, though I don't really know how to put it into words :/
@@UseTheLess00 this is the problem with framing it as "stylised" vs "realism" Vagabond has a very distnct style with incredible line work, subtle indications of form and a controlled chaos that guides the eye of the reader. It's just not a cartoon. The proper distinction imo should be "cartoony syles" vs "Realistic styles"
@@terrancevanliew1814 This may just be me, but I feel like cartoonish style, for most people, may remind them of old school Disney movies, which were fairly realistic.
Excellent as always! Actually, this is a very interesting topic for discussion. But somehow I have noticed that in manga community and industry stylised art is preferable and more popular than realistic. In Shounen Jump there is a clear preference in stylized art while the manga that have a more realistic art are often falling into the "Cult" category. Bakuman portrays that very well. Also, as an illustrator myself, when I sent my portfolio in America I received an offending answer calling my artwork too detailed and pointing out that they go for plain lines and simplistic minimal cartoonish forms that are mainstream, while manga is for "geeks" (they literally said that) and my works are full of shades, highlights and details, so I don't match their standards. So...my experience is different when it comes to which is considered "better", but I agree with you, each has its own beauty and grace.
It's interesting because shounen definitely has more stylised art whilst seinen has more realism, wonder if that difference in target audience in age is something the editors are strict towards Japanese magazines, maybe? But wow, that's actuakly really interesting (not you getting offending replies of course) but that *that* was the comments...
@@linesinmotion Indeed. I believe too it has to do with the target audience and the votes each manga takes. They also have a strict policy on the rules of serialization from what I know. If you can't keep the numbers up, your manga will end. And as it was mentioned in the video that pushes mangaka to their limits. They need to keep it going, keep it interesting, and keep it high in ranks. I have kept that e-mail because it felt so unreal this actually is how American industry sees things. I mean...they used such an offending underrating tone and yet all the "bad things" they said about my work are basically compliments to me. And apparently in my country, in Europe, those things got me a stable job in a magazine, many book illustration works and my own manga styled fairytales series.
@@linesinmotion children have a hard time understanding complex art work and prefer simple shapes, adults like high detail anatomically correct art since the realism allows them to take the story seriously in a way cartoony art can't. think berserk vs dragon ball one is a childhood classic while the other is a classic of one becoming an adult.
@@killme5630 it's bad but not as bad as hunter x hunter and mushuko tensai those guys are even worse while haveing badly written trash writing to bout.
I see what you did there at 11:40 with the Kakukaku Shikajika panel on the background. These manga choices are so clever and on the point I want to watch these slowed down just to catch them all
As an artist, I just want to be able to draw everything and anything! Thats why I go for realism!!! I consider Igarashi Daisuke the best mangaka when it comes to style!! He mixes realism and stylized drawings whenever he wants!
That is a really good way of going about it, realism covers quite a lot of fundamentals which you still have to apply to stylised, or purposefully don't do (if that makes sense)
Another author that does that is Yusuke murata, the artist for One punch man. The characters are totally stylized but the world around them is so realistic, it's insane. Even though the art styles dont match, they really feel like they belong to that world.
Damn, you're quite fortunate then! I was stuck with a teacher who was very disgusting by stylised work sadly. But working with fundamentals rather than style is a great approach!
You're so underrated it's frustrating, been following you for like two years, and I just love the quality of your videos, I haven't seen a lot of manga videos as well done as yours, all the animations you do, the music and the narration is just perfect
honestly i love both, as long as their style and their love is in their art and as long as it’s a good story, it should be interesting to watch and/or read.
Great overview. And one thing is when you see the combo/use of the two from certain Mangaka you can at glance recognize their other works at times. I feel you can't do that as easily with photos/film.
I think it shows a real uniqueness to be able to pull off that recognisable identity off so well. To be able to see a snippet of a drawing and be like "oh, that's ____ work!" must be an incredible feeling for the artists
I love the poetic way this video was done. For me, I have always drawn in a stylistic way - I was told by my art teacher that "anime isn't art" and that comment has stayed with me even now. It's also why I don't dare to show my art to people readily. I appreciate all forms of art, from Takehiko Inoue to Yoshitoshi ABe, because every master draws their current style from the basics (meaning time and effort). In my case, it is easier to look at stylistic styles because I love surrealism and abstract art forms - it is easier to look at the faces in stylized forms because reality is just too hard!
What makes art so good is you find each person's finger prints on them. How they see and figure out the world around them. No matter what kind of style used. I haven't heard it a lot but you don't need to like every kind of art or art styles and no need to feel ashamed of it. Ocean of arts there is always something for someone. If you like something, support them if possible. Even if admiring is all you can do ^^
Great video! Realistic does take a lot of time, but it's hard to draw completely realistic. The artist's style will always shine through to some degree. That’s part of what makes manga great.
especially since getting lost in the detail and minutia can result in the art being stiff - a level of abstraction, to give dynamism and clarity, is always required - while an understanding of perspective, volume, anatomy, people's attitudes and expressions, is required to make highly stylized art really work.
I love the diversity in examples you brought out on this video, especially seeing Okazaki Kyoko's work pop up. I personally feel like even most "realism" isn't particularly realistic - the Shirahama example shows this perfectly. Maybe not that it isn't realistic, but the specific things an author chooses to accentuate are themselves stylistic choices even if it's achieved through realism. Sakamoto's drawings show so much human vulnerability. Boichi's art uses realism to feel sexy. Murata's art uses realism to show scale. Azuma uses realism to feel like ordinary life. The idea that realism is as boring as just a photograph doesn't hold up when you look at how many ways it's used. Though I'll always personally prefer the extreme stylization of surrealist mangaka like panpanya and Abe Youichi.
I ADORE kyoko's work, I wish more of her work was licenced, she's legendary to me. But I wholeheartedly agree with everything you mentioned, even with realism you have to think about different art rules that'll make your art 'stand out', even though so many consider realism to be the same across the board. And wow, I hadn't heard of abe youichi but having quickly looked at his art, I'm upset I didn't know about him sooner!
@@linesinmotion I don't think you can name a GOAT mangaka, but Kyoko is definitely one that should be talked about it for it. I wish more was licensed too. A couple more do have fan scans, one of which (River's Edge) is my favorite from her. Abe Youichi is an interesting case of realism vs. stylization I think, because he has a really distinct way of detailing and shading things that gives them a sense of physical texture you don't see often. Like it would feel rough against your hand. Most of his stuff is worth reading but I recommend his series Chimoguri Ringo (and its sequel specifically) for where he really goes all out with the art. Tho he's definitely on the more weird and offputting side of surrealism.
This is such a great video! I initially clicked thinking about how much i prefer stylised drawnings, but now I feel a new level of appreciation for more realistic artstyle. The topic is not new at all, but you managed speak about it in a way that feels really refreshing to me! Thank you so much!
It's so interesting how at the you basically are having the same discussion people were having between modern art and neoclassical art (stylized x realistic). As an art teacher to kids I always encourage their anime and cartoon styles but I do find it important that they try to reference reality sometimes. There a big difference in understanding what something is and simplifying it and then just imitating something already simplified without understanding how that happens visually. I have students who can draw some awesome weirdcore art but don't know where the characters knees are, which is an example of not understanding how the process works in total. All in all if people enjoy making art than it's all good.
Yes!!!!! This is a really good point, it's kinda why I referenced how stylisation should be knowing art rules, but breaking them purposefully. You should still need to know rules on say, anatomy, which is where the learning of realism comes into play. I'm glad to hear that's the way you're teaching your students, I'm sure they'll learn a lot like that!
i really loved this video, really makes you appreciate the manga artists more for the level of skill, amount of time, thought and patience they put in each panel. I've also been introduced to so many mangas all thanks to you. Really appreciate the extra effort you put in listing the manga titles in the video description instead of me having to look for them one by one !!
Really good video and thank you for these points and for presenting so many beautiful mangas I didn't know. I think there's something to be said about how the perception people have towards those types of art sometimes negatively warps how we view the stories they present. People tend to praise "seinenish" realistic stories for being deeper and more "adult" and I came to realise that many are conflating the aesthetic with the message. Because it's rendered realistically, they assume that the story is better. I think that's why unfortunately people will dismiss the maturity of many shounen and why josei and shojo are so under represented in the community. From the little I read, those categories tend to push more towards stylisation that conveys complex intangible emotions really well. But I fear that many will see that as lazier and not as good as seinens and thus fail to see the incredible stories behind it. I wish people would give more credit to stylised art as a key to convey stronger messages, not in spite of it.
I absolutely agree!!! Josei and Shoujo, like you mentioned, for some reason don't get the time of day in comparison to many realistically designed Seinen, whether it's because the style is "too girly" or perceptions like that, I'm not sure. But people really do underestimate how beautiful the art it within manga of those demographics. And you're right, some people are under the impression that more realism makes for a better story, which isn't inherently the case!
@@linesinmotion yeah almost every time i see a goat discussion it revolves around the same seinen titles with the same aesthetic and rare are the people who are shojo/josei cultured. The time it hit me is when miura cited shojo as one of his main inspirations. It took me that much years into manga to realise that the other side has been putting out influential works for decades we never hear of and it's a shame. Also I just watched your video on visual metaphors and it actually brought me to tears. Really thank you for sharing those stories with people like me outside that experience in such a beautiful way 🙏🏽🙏🏽 good luck with everything
Ouff this one hit me hard personally because lately as a university student learning animation I've slowly but surely been forced to acknowledge that realism comes more naturally to me and I'm more suited to that. The tragically part is that in my home country art isn't really treated as that serious of a career nah more like it's just recently gotten a bit of attention. So realism is seen as the end all be all of peak artistic ability which I've wanted to go against as some of my fan Japanese artists are stylised and I've always loved and wanted to draw stylised illustrations. So overall it really sucks butt and it's really confusing nevertheless I enjoyed your video on the topic a whole lot. Thanks so much for working so hard on these they're lovely.
This is the most underrated channels I see I wish to see more subscriber. So many people watch but doesn't subscribe. I think this channel have potential for a big channel one day. Keep it up lines in motion!!.
Amazing content! I really love the editing and motion of the manga spreads! I recognize a lot of the amazing manga used and how great as examples for a lot of points you've provided all throughout, there are some mangas I hadn't been really familiar with that I want to know and have a look at them myself.
Thank you! And yeah, there's a *lot* of manga there haha, its impressive you know just a good amount though, I put a list of all the manga in the description if that helps!
When I just got into manga I used to prefer the realistic art over the stylized art cuz it was way easier to read but as time passed, I started to enjoy and treasure stylized art in manga. Realistic art will always be popular and widely accepted by majority of people because 90% of time it just works with the medium of manga while the stylized art could be considered as an acquired taste, I really enjoy when a mangaka takes the effort and risk of doing an stylized art as the art style of that manga becomes memorable.
There's also the constant debate about the shift in art styles in manga and/or even anime. One person would claim that certain art style is/was "better" than other said art style. (Ex: Haikyuu, One Punch Man, etc.) Not saying that people have to like both. I actually find it reasonable to dislike a style if it seems to lack or contain certain aspects that makes another style more preferable, and some works may have styles that differ in quality due to circumstances, but it's interesting how in most cases, it's either one or the other. I think that I can appreciate an art style if I know what the creator(s) is trying to express. Maybe the style was changed for a wider array of expression, or a shift in realism. All I know is that either takes both skill and time.
Oohh, Haikyuu is a good one, that change was quite a slow progression, which I'll only assume is where Furudate improved over the 10 years of Haikyuu run, but that is a good point about art style change. The manga Ajin actually had an artstye change after volume 1, which ironically is when the writer left and the artist became the sole creator of the series. So there might also be limitations from editors or partners mangaka work with that decide on the art style too?
This is a beautiful video just to watch and admire all the art on display. The variety really helps drive home that there is no one right way to draw. Gives me something to mull over re: my own art. Great work!
As a reader of both Manga and Western comics, there defiantly stories when realise is key is defiantly the character or the story/genre that argues for realism or stylised. For example the Lazrus by Michael Lark and Greg Rucka is heavily realistic science fiction epic but compared to that to something like Kyle Barker's Plastic Man and its cartoony and almost plastic in its nature. I'm a sucker for art mostly in comics, I defiantly drawn to either.
Same here! Western comics is a whole different beasts where you have the big publishers and then the indie companies where more experimentation is allowed. You definitely see a lot of different styles in comics, even moreso with the added layer of colouring too!
I'm honestly speechless every time I watch your videos. I have nothing to say other than great job, your hard work has very much payed off and you're practically a master in your own creative field. The transitions between each animatic, topic and specific point are smooth and everything is always portrayed clearly to further your argument, your pacing is near perfect and I can't help but stay engaged for the whole duration of the video xd not many content creators have such a solid grasp over each aspect of their work such as analysis, writing, editing, narrating and even though making video essays isn't my art of choice I really respect your work, how satisfying and passionate you make the end product be and I honestly look up to progressing as much as you have in my own hobbies! I'm gonna stop here because I can keep going on and on for hours but genuinely thank you for the great content lines and I hope you keep making stuff that inspires people like this and I hope even just a few people more can come here to appreciate what you've put your soul into :D
This is the first comment I've read after waking up this morning and honestly I am so, so touched. Thank you so much for such lovely words, they've truly made my morning 😭😭
Beautiful work your animation and composition are gorgeous as always, I know you used some of Bleach panels and it always has bothered me when people like to mention Bleach has no BGS (ignoring the fact it was a weekly manga), Kubo had a very stylistic take on negative and positive spaces, framing to make the panels or some fights feel even more epic, for a shonen, fights are everything and whenever he wasn't using a BG he was using the space VS Tokyo Ghoul who had a more semi-realistic art style with a few fights that were quite hard to follow through because of the "messy" style and details Ishida liked to draw.
I take criticism toward weekly stories with a pinch of salt.. Like, they're *weekly*, I'm not expecting museum-esque prices every week, and Kubo's art massively improved as time went on. He's a brilliant artist!
@@linesinmotion i find his style the most aesthetically pleasing from the big 3 or even the early 2000s, SS arc to the end of the manga his art becomes beautiful (without mentioning his sharp fashion sense) . I wish more people understood the horrible life mangakas are living, I'm honestly surprised we don't see more talking openly about wrecking their wrists and other health issues, even when they go mainstream they still do the bulk of the work instead of relying on more assistants
I agree realistic and stylized art are beautiful in their own ways, but when it comes to stylized art there's just something about it that usually catches people's eyes, especially artists that want to get into drawing. That's because realistic art is basically 'real life' in a sense. We see it everyday, and are used to it, so when an artist captures all of its beauty on a simple medium, people are ridiculously impressed. However, stylized art in a sense is new, different, and unique. There is no one way to draw in a stylized manner, because there is no limit to proportions and details. There is no bar of realism that the artist's are supposed to reach because they can create their own bar for themselves. I personally prefer semi realism because it mixes both of these together in a way that just, works. Be it the detail to make the art more realistic (eg. Fabric, shading, facial features), or the way they can draw characters moving in more exaggerated manners with more exaggerated facial expressions, it gives the drawing some strange sorta life In a sense. Or maybe I'm just to lazy to pick a side ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ooohhh, very good points! I will say, for the first section about realism, one of the hard things of drawing realistically, is that you're essentially challenging people's eyes. So if something is off, even just a millimeter, you'd be surprised how easy it is to pick up on that 😵 But I completely agree overall, and I quite like a semi-realistic look too!
@@linesinmotion I totally agree because I'm always that person that studies the overall look on realistic art, and whenever I see something even slightly off I will forever remember it lol. Also I love your editing skills, they're some of the best I've seen :D
i really love these kind of essay video. sometimes theres a thought that you just need to fathom it more so you can fulfill your curiosity thus watching this feels fulfilling in the absurdity of the mind thinking. thank you
I've always appreciated stylistic art in storytelling more, as I think it's the mark of a good artist to make a fake reality look and feel real. The key being that the artist has to be comfortable and consistent in their style. For me, hyperrealism in manga often falls into "uncanny valley" because they just can't get it *exactly* right so it comes off...wrong.
This was such a thoughtful video and I really enjoyed it but honestly, the fact that you listed all the manga shown in the description makes my heart sing. I often come away from videos like this glad and filled with thoughts yet I'm disappointed that I won't be able to read the beautyful manga from timestamp so and so. Thank you so much for a great video and a bunch of manga suggestions!
@@linesinmotion Haha I'm glad it made you laugh^^ And I really enjoy your channel so keep up with the good work.👍🏻 Nice to see fellow amrys support you as well.😊
The editing and the work you put behind your videos is astounding to watch everytime. I have seen this video multiple times by now just because of how neatly it flows. May I say this is some good stylistic editing on your part ;) On the video's topic, I believe whichever style of art suits and enhances the story is the best. I honestly cannot pin Vagabond's hyper-realistic art against the stylistic art of 'The girl from the other side'. They are both beautiful and have made me feel so many emotions that I would not have felt if their art style was different. Love me some good realistic and stylised art that ultimately compliments the world of the story better than anything else :)))
Your videos are just SO great :"D They have so much vibe to them, I also love the topics that you bring up, they might seem obvious on one hand (like that realism and stylised art have no superiority on each other) but on the other hand the way that you analyze it is like a very fresh and new look on it :D and all the metaphors and comparings that you make are spicing it up even more Thanks for this amazing channel and the effort that you put in your videos!!
I can draw both realistic and stylized art, but I prefer to draw stylized art, unfortunately, most people I know look down on stylized art and see it as nothing but childish and prefer it if I continue drawing realistic art instead, but at this point, I don't really give a shit, I hold the pen, why do you decide what I can and cannot draw?
Semi-realistic for me. I dunno, heavy stylised style often weirds me out. I dunno why, but it almost creepy sometimes and it makes it harder for me to appreciate the art itself because I just cannot look past that cartoony look. When it comes to realism, it's a bit similar too. Like, having everything be very hyperrealistic is just too much for me. I mean, it can look soo cool with just inking - like the example on the miniature (oh my inking ability goals), but when it straight up looks like a picture.. I dunno, I don't see the point if it comes to copying a photo for example, other than maybe exercise and flexing on your skills, but I personally think that art is not about replicating the world - we already have cameras that are better at it - but for me it's about creating something that's in your head that otherwise couldn't be seen. And also, drawing something form your imagination in realism is in my opinion a bit different than than just tracing the photo. I mean it's so cool to like be able to see the Disney characters in hyperrealism just to know how they would look like, but even then, often times those realistic drawings can be a bit boring at times :/. I like to mix both. For my drawings I like to use the stylised form while drawing more realistic proportions, adding some details here and there. I dunno, but, I really like to add to stylised eye a waterline for example, it just adds some nice flow to it in my opinion :0
when i tell you i gasped when i saw Ran to Haiiro no Sekai- stunning work, i love hearing your voice, i love watching the way you edit and composite art, i love your analysis. i learn about a lot of other manga just watching your videos. i recently started and finished Boys Run the Riot upon your recommendation, actually! i have to say, i adored its beginning but thought it flailed and flopped in the end. may be off tangent, but how did you learn how to edit your videos? how would a complete noob like me start to learn?
haha, the art in that manga is stunning!!!!! But thank you so much, that means a lot 🥺 I think the ending was okay, but I found the story and representation so touching to my personally that I let that slide. As for how I edit my video, literally all through Adobe After effects. I'm all self taught and pretty much did trial and error and watching UA-cam tutorials haha
One of my art teachers in high school once told me that in order to break the rules you first have to know the rules. Realism is the foundation and “rule set “ and once you understand realism to a certain degree you can then proceed to break those rules to find style. Both exist due to the other and both require skill/knowledge
@@linesinmotion Both, I've read them both fully and they're like completely yin and yangs. Although completely opposites the artists are similar in a way as Ichigawa makes such perfect use of her simple style to create incredible and abstract imagery to her story as Takehiko his art style through crosshatching bringing not only a realistic art style but a realistic story to make the story ( at least to me ) even more touching. They both take complete use of the mediums and it's why they're both so top tier 👌👌
I believe the answer to this question comes down to what story do you want to convey. I'll use manga as an example, death note berserk Vinland saga etc. are very dark stories with characters that can make you question your beliefs. Such a story benefits a lot from realistic artform, as it amplifies the emotion and fear we feel in those moments of questioning ourselves. Mangas like one piece , on the other hand, although being dark and sad a lot of the time, still portrays a fantasy. It's like a dream that a child has when dawn is nearing. Such stories need stylised artform, to give is grandiose and that awe-struck feeling.
I feel like this argument is mostly made by people who don’t work with art on a regular basis. Art is one of the only places where value is not equivalent to the materials used and time spent on creating a product, where we are free to take from it what we find valuable. So, we can’t apply the same lens on it as, say, a luxury car. Rich people try to, assigning value based on arbitrary things like if something looks laborious and detailed, or wether the artist is dead or not, but that entire sphere simply surrounds glib ways of avoiding taxes. I am of the opinion that most any way of viewing art is valuable, but distilling art through a capitalist lens is probably one of the most boring ways to go about things.
This is a good counterpoint too, for people not in the know with art, they will bound to have a different perspective on how they view the value of an art piece. Being from a very artistic background myself, it's very hard to see it from a non-artistic way haha
I had a teacher tell once that the biggest difference between realism and stylized is that realism has a lot of time spent rendering, and can be easily seen by non artists in the final product. Stylized art on the other hand will often have more time spent in the planning phases and it not understood as easily by the average person. Great video as always, keep up the work.
Ooohhh, this is a really good way of looking at it actually 🤔🤔 But ty! Appreciate the comment and support!
Stylized art can require an incredible amount of time rendering. The difference between stylized and realism has nothing to do with detail or the amount of time rendering
@@jachariah4694 Yeah that is a good point.
@@PinoPrime i think they meant that it was easier to see the effort put into realism compared to stylistic art.
For the average person it's easy to imagine how much effort was put into realism, stylized art also requires effort. But the average person might not see all the hidden effort put into it like exaggerating faces, bodies, etc. while still making it look good.
@@PinoPrime conversely, the BEST stylized artists usually have mastery over realism. Best way to break the rules is to know what exactly rules you’re breaking
realism will always be beautiful, but personally I love when a piece of media is stylized, or has a style that’s a satisfying aesthetic. It doesn’t have a significant effect with the quality of the show (unless the visuals are so bad that it’s difficult to enjoy), but I do have to admit that I’m biased towards stylized media. This is a very interesting topic for you to cover, excited to see more videos like this one.
I think I lean toward stylisation more too, but not as a negative toward realism, just I like it more in general 😂 Which is why spiderverse and arcane were an instant click with me! Still love a good realistic artstyle though, especially in manga.. Anyways, rambling haha, thank you for watching!
Agree
It doesn’t need to be satisfying, art is not just satisfaction. Art must reflect all aspects of life. Specially the dark side of it.
not true, realism in the hands of a uninteresting person can be awfully boring, and my god is more common than people thinks, the most of the time when people see realism as the ultimate art form is because they are so blind what they like about the art piece is not the "realism" but the way the artist represents his ideas, there's so much more on a well done art piece than "it's well draw."
@@PEDROGARCIA-qj3gr you're grammar is giving me a headache
Personally, I feel "realism" has universal appeal, which is why it's so widely accepted. If it looks realistic, people will instantly accept it and not judge it as "childish". Most non-artists will see something realistic and look upon it with praise. There are those who might say "a well just take a photo" but you can't say that about something that was created from the imagination yet still achieves the "realism" realm. I know many people who hate all things "cartoon" and won't even give it the time of day, but this isn't so with realistic art...it has the ability to bridge artificially created gaps in cultures and viewpoints.
Stylized art, however, has the chance to do something a little extra, it has the chance to create is own rules of what is acceptable within its own world (I always think about Luffy's mouth dropping exaggeratedly-- when this happens in a styled story like One Peice, is accepted because it follows the rules of the world, do this in a realistically drawn story and you'll just creep people out.)
I feel that both have their benefits and detriments, but in the end, for manga at least, what's most important to me is how the realism or stylization effects the tone, mood and impact of the story. Some stories simply wouldn't work if made realistic, and others simply wouldn't work as well if made stylized.
100% agree, and good points on the realism intro paragraph, it is arguable to say realism is more accepted by the masses in general. Maybe because it's grounded more to its original inspiration, so it's not something that needs "thinking" to understand?
Very good points!
@@linesinmotion I believe it's got to do with the fact that in general, people have the impression that high technical ability = better anything. Which is understandable since for a lot of other endeavors, having a high level of technicality is necessary like in doctors and engineers.
This sort of mentality doesn't really hold well in a medium like art where everything is subjective. But for the common folk it's easier to praise something when it's realistic because it's familar and the amount of detail required to make it so would need a high level of technicality, aswell as a higher understanding of the fundamentals that the viewers can't understand or do. Meaning in their mind that the artist is obviously better than them.
This is why people prefer to praise da Vinci or Michelangelo rather than Picasso despite the fact that the man is more than capable of drawing realistically but just chooses not to.
Is that why I see realism so much?
I feel that someone not accepting style can be either for the idea that it doesn't need as much effort, and yeah, in a way, that CAN be true, and someone can hide lack of effort or something.
HOWEVER
There is also a lot of misconception and prejudice involved, people who deem something stylized "childish" just because a more simple artstyle is often used for children (for a purposeful and good design-wise reason) are quite not the people to take seriously, because as an artist myself that started with anatomy studies for a long time but always loved stylized cartoonish drawings, I can ASURE people that creating artstyle (even if more simple) and following it with consistency can be as hard.
Sure, you don't need to follow and spend as much time drawing all the facial imperfections, hair, anatomy, etc. But inconsistency can be easier to read in a way, color, abstract poses, how shadows work, unique facial expressions, how to make things abstract and clear, dynamicity, etc.
Also, there is something obvious that people forget but, the more details and realism something have, the more time it takes for it to be made. I know people think that it's always a plus, but I really kind of like comics that have the freedom to be long and take time for characters and story to develop naturally BECAUSE the artist planned how the artstyle should look and gave a specific visual personality that can be simple and effective for what they wanted to tell, within the time limitations said artist is aware of.
Also, it's not like all stories would use realistic artstyle by default, it gives a entirely different vibe for different purposes.
Imagine berserk in the one piece art style lmao
The "relistic art is pointless, just take a picture " have always bothered me, because art is so much more than the need to communicate an idea, they are undermining the draftsmanship the nuance it takes to create something like this
Very true!! I think some people assume that realism is super easy because you're just "copying real life" as if drawing super realistic is the easiest thing in the world and not something that can take years of practise and refining 😒
@@linesinmotion like, even pwople like arinze Stanley and oscar ukonu who "copy" real life are still fucking savants coz the amount of knowledge it takes to do that properly is maddening,
Loved the video your editing is class
But creativity is still more attractive, in my opinion.
@@AI_00 Realism can still be used much more creatively,but people just not explore this so much
@@AI_00 For me it's just that stylized art can create his own world giving meaning to things in his own drawn pattern than realism that needs to convey meaning to his draw,but still respecting the rules of our world
My art teacher is one of the best teachers ever. When I was younger, I was often told that my drawings weren't good and that I didn't have talent just because I used to draw cartoons, so I grew up hiding my drawings and thinking that being a good artist means making realistic art. However, I never stopped drawing in a stylised mode because it made me happy, but I did tried combining both the stilised and the realistic world to get to a point where I'm finally proud of my creations, thus helping me build the confidence to show my art teacher my drawings. Since I showed them, my art got a lot more recognition. He made a whole exposition in my school, supporting my art style and my drawing techniques. He is one of the best art teachers in my opinion. Very supportive, like how all adults should be with children, especially when it comes to their hobbies.
That sounds like such a supportive teacher, I'm glad you had someone like that backing up your style!
I find it relatable because , i used to draw alot in lockdown only anime nothing else i made over 100 drawings, some months ago when my school started after maybe 2 years, i bought the file in which i kept all those drawings just to show my friends No one else i started to show them to my friends (actually my friends r some that one "popular kids" in class but i am just some random idiot to most of the people) they litrally took one of my best drawing called mam n told about how good i make art (only some people in my class knew i even did some art) so then mam took the art out of their hand and showed it to the whole class which had over 50-55 students FR my anxiety gone like 💹 and they all started clapping i felt happy that someone was appreciating what i drew even tho it was just anime and like litrally every person who knew who knew what anime was started to be friends with me it was the best day ever in school
Chad art teacher
Wish you all the best!!! 🙏❤
Even the “realistic” paintings and drawings we make still have a distinct style that separate the creation from the reference. Some styles have more attention to detail and focus on accuracy or believability, and other styles push details to the extreme in order to show contrast or character. Both are beautiful and should be loved for their distinct differences, but make sure we are all focused on making good art that resonates with us and others, not worrying about “our style” or “their style”.
I usually try to make things look 3 dimensional and making them look like they can exist in real life
You ought to see the difference between Norman Rockwell's paintings and the references he uses. His subtle exaggeration really highlights character.
I love all art styles, but semi realistic is the current trend for me.
There's a lot of semi-realistic fans in this comments section! Very interesting 🤔
@@linesinmotion well, most ppl dont like pure realism, reasoning they see it everywhere hence liking semi-realism. i.e Loish, Ilya Kuvshinov, rossdraws etc.
Yeah, IMO semi realistic just looks the best. Balanced as all things should be. A lot of manga nowadays can be considered to be semi realistic, actually most
@َ َ Idk If I would call this a trend, It’s been the most popular for a really long time. Just a lot of people naturally find It the best looking. Looks prettier than reality but isn’t unrealistic, It kind of let’s you escape
@@everythingsfinett3903 you put it into words!
For me as a realist artist drawing stylized character hella difficult. Because it must be different to the reference, mostly drawing from imagination. Drawing realistic is just drawing from the reference. There's no need to think or imaginate anything, just follow the reference. Big respect to illustrators, cartoonist, manga artist, and more. 🙏
I may have to disagree to this. That "drawing realistic is just drawing from reference" is a misunderstanding, because the trend nowadays is that your drawing HAS to look exactly the reference for it to be considered 'good'. Which is wrong because drawing exactly from the reference actually limits an artist's potential. This is why some who can draw a carbon copy of portraits cannot create without reference, it's because they're too focused on 'copying' rather than 'understanding' the fundamentals. Realism is actually good way to train your observation skills, this is why it is always advised for beginners to study from life before moving on to a stylized style. Stylized artists do not draw solely from imagination, it's because they understood the fundamentals that they are able to manipulate it at will. As the video says, neither is inferior to another. They both have the understanding, whether one wants to stay to realism or stylized style is just matter of preference now.
@@nixiedus well said, friend !!
Like nixie said, stylized is not just imagine, it has realism elements in it thats how we artists bring life to our art. Many cartoon artist does use real person's expression to exaggerate and many manga artists did exploration in their environment to create a beautiful background. Nowadays many artists learned from images whether photo or art , but observating things closely in person gives more visual depth & memory. And thats why, ghibli studio animation is very satisfying to watch and many da vinci's art is used as a study.
@@nixiedus yes as me who is learned the muscles and forms it's easy for me because looking for reference is hard and take too long and for me I'll choose tool look for reference often if I only needed and imagine a pose than relying on a reference because it's gave me more freedom and makes me learn something
@@nixiedus but my talented friend who draw strictly realistic say the same thing as OP too. They can NOT for the life of them draw stylistic style
I believe each style has its appeal, realism can look bad if not done properly, and the same goes to stylized art. For me, the best examples would be one piece (the manga), it is heavily stylized, but the artist knows how to use his media and with style, accomplishes a level of fluidity and story telling that is hard to find in this media. Meanwhile we have series like vagabond, in wich the appeal comes from the expression, the sumiê and the way the lines convey emotion by themselves. The same can be seen in a series like Berserk, the best panels aren't (always) the most realistic ones, but the ones with the most expression on it, like the moments of rage of guts and the nightmare-ish creatures and locations the manga presents. One thing important however, is that, in any style (realistic or stylized) one thing's really important and is always the difference between an artwork that tells a story and succeeds, from one that doesn't: it is the composition, that's the biggest point for me, visual clarity and balance is the biggest thing for me, the appeal of the series I mentioned wouldn't matter if the composition wasn't used to it's best.
I think that Boku No Hero Academia is a great example of a good stylised artstyle, because it is heavily stylised, especially the faces and expressions - yet the anatomy, poses and backgrounds are very realistic, which makes it very appealing!
@@hsojuu honestly, style is the hardest thing to judge because it really depends on preference, but I personally like the style of the manga a lot
@@hsojuu same with black clover. It gives each creator their identity. I totally like the mix of both
@@hsojuu The thing I like most about Mia’s art is probably the sense of gesture in my opinion
give an example of something not done properly. Because everything not done properly is always gonna give something bad...
my personal preference definitely leans more towards stylized. In part its the fantasy lover in me - I can see real life by going outside or looking at pictures, but I tend towards aphantasia so I appreciate any visual help. It's also probably the trends of any media company that is pushing for more realistic art and discrediting anything thats stylized and/or 2D that just boils my blood and make me want to root even more for those styles.
I love the freedom it gives to artists to express an emotion outside of the norm that is possible in the real world (give me blushes that spread past a characters face, give me funny poses that are not bodily possible, give me tears that look like kaleidoscopes) and allows for "mistakes" to exist comfortably without disrupting your reading experience. When it comes to the more realistic style, it is far easier to tell if something is off and can quickly fall into the uncanny.
I can appreciate detailed, more realistically drawn manga but I always feel like its too much. With around 200 pages per volume, I feel it looses it purpose after a while which I rarely feel happens with other stlyes and while the art is of course important, if I spend 1 minute closely appreciating the details, the story would suffer.
Very interesting points! I forgot to mention about the uncanny effects the attempts at realism can have, though you don't really get that with manga, thankfully haha. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
@@linesinmotion To be fair, even the more stylized works can fall into that sometimes. Cause let me tell you, every mangaka I've seen draws horses differently but none of them resemble their real life counterparts ;D
I think it serves a great purpose in keeping a story bound to its rules that the author puts on to it, the boundless detail is what keeps the story alive, the characters feel real. Stylized art just gets boring after a while (in my opinion) since the shapes just melt into everything as the story goes on. Funnily enough, i think the overall agreement that non-artists have (well, at least in my country) is that realistic art is normally considered ugly and stylized is the way to go lol
Can't tell you how many times i tried to show Vagabond or Berserk to my friends and their reaction was that the art style was ugly or "that character is ugly". With stylized art its like the author creates rules and expects the viewer to understand, which makes it harder to connect to the story since the rules are so random and its like the author creates a world in their own little bubble leaving the consumer to just look at distorted pictures trying to piece them together. There is still stylized art media that i think its done perfectly: One piece, Soul eater or hollow knight (not a manga but imma add it either way) but i think it's really hard to showcase beauty from a stylized artstyle. I really don't find Owl house's artstyle enjoyable and pretty like i did with adventure time for example. But its just my opinion, sorry for the long text lol
You can't go outside and see a realistic dragon or some sea monster. Same goes for stylized.
One of my favorite things about Houseki no Kuni's art style is that Ichikawa has basically made "notan" the manga. "Notan" being a Japanese term for light/dark harmony. Notan is essentially a method by which Japanese artists can build up paintings--by reducing details and focusing chiefly on light and dark tones with amazing composition. So many times reading her manga I've been so impressed with her ability that I've considered if I could get prints framed lol.
You’re right! Every single page she makes are satisfying to look at due to simplicity and the contrast she creates. It’s a lovely technique 😊
Anything this woman say I would immediately agree without hesitation.
Be careful now, you don't know what I'll say in future videos 🤭🤭
@@linesinmotion Can't wait for next one (◍•ᴗ•◍)
Well, I was taken aback by ep-i-tome. I love this Chanel and it makes me want to go look some of the manga I just saw. Thank you Japan for graphic stories that are not all about super heroes. And some that are. Still don’t agree with the way she said epitome. ;-)
Simp
theres a mangaka called Takeshi Obata
who is really amazing at both, so its always fun to see which direction his next project will go
I love realistic art, and when i use to do stylized art, i got a lot of commissions and likes. Ppl where only interested in my art when it was stylized. But when I started doing semirealism and realism it went silent. I kept going tho because i liked it. I put a lot more work into my art, but people dont care about the work u put into your art, they care about the outcome. And I actually noticed how other realism artist dont get a lot of love for their art even if its really good. And when i see realistic art posted on popular reposting accounts, the comments have a lot of hate in them, like “why would you put so much work in that” “people have too much time on their hands” just take a picture” i dont understand why ppl hate it. the art community is a pretty chill and supportive community, it’s usually non artist. People Gravitate towards stylized/ cartoon artwork. And thats the kind of jobs that are usually available. Its kinda stressful because i want to be an artist but dont know what path there really is to take and still make a good amount of money without changing the art style to fit what other ppl like.
This hit home. And yeah often times realistic art tend to not get recognition as much as they do. Tho often times i do see some of relistic art get recognition.
It's kinda the opposite for me. I grew up resenting artists who could perfectly draw realistic things. I would just hate every single person who would post a Billie eilish or Arian grande sketch. This was because where I grew up, realism is appreciated more, and people will likely consider you more talented if you were to color and draw a realistic portrait, despite the fact that I realistic one would take just as much effort and time. People just wouldn't love it because you have to "grow up" and "like adult things more" even my father who has been supportive of me, still asks me when I will move out of my cartoon phase. Which is all what led me to hating realistic artists, because to me, all they did was pick up a hobby when they were bored (not talking about lifelong artists here) and just spend their time drawing still Life, which I could never like even if I tried. It really lowered my view of my own art.
But now I guess stylised versions are now becoming more lovable and required, leaving out realism, which is honestly just sad, because all the skills and mastery required in them is amazing. I may not like it, but I do recognize it as another form of art
@@killme5630 yeah i get a sense that stylized artists like try to discard realism artists work. lmy realistic art style. I usually get more engagement or just as much with my cartoon style art, than my realistic art, (i do both i just mainly like my realistic art) and i see that with other realism artist. people think realism is nice they can put all that detail, but they dont like all that detail😭 they also wont pay for your work. If you go out and see art on stuff 90% of the time it’s stylized/cartoon art. When it comes to cards, books, a box of cereal, a brands logo, tv shows. thats the art style you mainly see. People just dont want realism art. And cartoon/stylized artist think their art isn’t appreciated, but i can tell you for sure it is. And as u can see most the people in the comments are saying they like stylized art better. Its much easier for you guys to be a freelance artist and get work. I was definitely there, the only art style i did was stylized cartoon art, and people always wanted a drawing of them in my stylized art, and I wasn’t even good art it lmao💀. The latest commission i got was stylized because thats what they wanted. and wish we could equally have the same opportunity to become artist as a living or on the side. art is supposed to be relaxing and a positive thing, this is the most supportive community i know of, but feel like there’s little bit of a competition with cartoon and realism art.
@@Hiidolly no I do agree stylised art is now getting loved, I'm just talking about growing up in a place like mine lol
“...when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another . But when you enter the world of the cartoon , you see yourself.”
― Scott McCloud,
Ooohh, haven't heard that quote before 😮
@@linesinmotion Mc Cloud has a very interesting POV about stylization that I think gets to the core of what's great about each approach - I highly recommend his work in general. His magnum opus is "understanding comics", but "making comics" says mostly the same thing in more approachable ways.
LolWoW
@@maximeteppe7627 i own oth of them they're amazing book
Your editing never disappoints ,keep up the good work.👍
Glad you like it, thanks for watching and the support!
One thing I love about your channel is how you choose to pick apart a fresh set of under-talked topics. Especially "how" the story is told and the narrative structure, not only "what" is told. The form is as important as the story itself for me. I look forward to more!
Thank you so much, I'm glad you picked up on that because that's my goal, really! To pick apart topics that have a lack of discussion
can i just say that i LOVE the thumbnail- land of the lustrous has my favorite style ever 😭😭 and the editing in the video is astonishing!
Thank you very much!!😭
Same for me man LotL's art style hits different
@@misamagica as hard as when Jade hit the pillar
@@yourmincemeat5233 WHYYYY 😭
@@yourmincemeat5233 BAHAHAHAHAH
*cries*
For me the main thing to distinguish is "realism" as in copying a photo without creating anything or exaggerating, and "realistic rendering" which is something that is universally appreciated because you are combining both your vision with reality; creativity and skill are both difficult beasts to tame.
Stylised drawing are beautiful, and so realistic drawings made by pure references, but i wanted to give a bit of love to the grey areas that don't completely rely on just one aspect.
Yeah, realism has different types too, like higher-realism is different to other forms of realism, just like how there's different forms of stylised art. I feel like that differentiation isn't talked about enough!
@@linesinmotion exactly. Putting all of them in the same category feels more like a staircase to the podium of "most life like" rather than a branching in styles like in stylised manga, where no style is "better, just more polished.
I appreciate a lot you acknowledging that :)
Of course! It would have felt unfair to realism's "side" (if you will) had I not mentioned the whole variety realism has to offer. Glad others think so too!
I’m not going to lie, I’m one of those people who’s often said, “Just take a picture” in regards to hyper-realistic art. The strange thing though is that I’ve never NOT enjoyed such art. I absolutely love Gantz, Vagabond, and Green Blood (also by Masusumi Kakizaki) BECAUSE they’re so incredibly realistic. I was actually surprised you said there are people who say realistic stuff all looks the same. None of the manga I just named look alike at all despite being fiercely on the realistic side.
Also, you made a really interesting point about Berserk, with Miura realistically rendering things that don’t actually exist. I think “realistic” art in my mind meant just drawing stuff that I saw everyday, which bored me as an idea. Kinda weird considering I’ve read Berserk myself, but… guess I needed somebody else to connect the dots for me.
Also, I like how you used Houseki no Kuni and Vagabond for the thumbnail as the two ends of the spectrum. Great video
I absolutely love comments like this the most!! I'm glad I was able to share a new view point on some topics that made you re-think certain things. Glad to hear it! Thank you so much 😊😊😊
Well berserk is pretty stylized. But it’s also more three dimensional than any of the others you mentioned.
Man you're heavily underrated. Ever since I saw your video about blue period I've been obsessed with your editing style and presentation. It's immaculate. Plus your voice is very suitable for these types of commentary videos.
Thank you so much for sticking around after my BP video, I appreciate that a lot and your lovely words 😊
I saw Phos on the miniature and immediatly hopped in. Wasn't dissapointed, great video!
I think itd be interesting to also discuss a similar topic in webtoons! Personally I favor stylised works more than realistic. It lets me immerse myself into the world that the mangaka has created. I appreciate the work it takes for both but realism sometimes doesn't allow me to immerse myself as much if that makes sense 🤔
I'd LOVE to cover webtoons more, I did do one video based on one called Realta, but it's unfortunately hit a copyright claim atm. A lot of webtoon's get copyright striked because of how strict Webtoon is, which is SO frustrating because i read so many and want to cover some!
@@linesinmotion Aw noooo 😭I wish webtoon would be less strict haha. I read a ton as well 😂
Webtoons are gay
I love both styles
End of discussion.
Fair enough! Easy and straightforward 😂😂
So THAT's how Inio Asano got those stunning backgrounds in Goodnight Punpun! How brilliant is that!!
I'm kinda confused on the whole video because all the "realistic" art is also stylized on some level. Maybe some are more subtle but they push each of the fundamentals of art in a certain direction for appeal. Also I think Berserk, especially the creature design and art, kind of matches the same feel of old engravings from the witch hat atelier style but in a different way.
No, you're right! Unless a mangaka was literally given unlimited time, you're never going to have a hyper-realistic manga, One Punch Man might be the closest sometimes, but it's not throughout the whole manga. I o think certain styles are more realistic than stylised though. But there's this funny middle ground, like you mentioned with Miura's creatures But I wouldn't say they're abstractical in design, you can definitely see their references to real life inspiration
Yup - ping pong being classified as stylized when in fact it's one of the rare manga where the character are clearly identifiable as ethnically east asian for instance, shows that what qualifies as realistic and stylized is often somewhat arbitrary. Stylization builds upon an understanding of reality - the funny thing being, artists get to choose which aspect(s) of reality that is.
@@linesinmotion well, no detail doesn’t mean realistic. Murata is highly stylized. Realistic is something like I am Hero.
@@linesinmotionno way. One punch man is not realstic at all. It’s faces look very anime, their eyes, their hair, their body’s. It’s all stylised. Not a bad thing, but they def are not realstic. A realstic manga would be something like Real, or innocent, or The summit of gods
I cannot even explain why, but I could not see Vagabond having another art style than hyperrealistic.
And the same goes for Houseki no Kuni: I personally feel like the composition of this one is the GOAT.
Lovely video, as always!
For real, it'd feel like a completely different story if it didn't have the iconic art that is does, same with HNK, their styles make the story that much more special
I wouldn't call Vagabond hyperreal. It's very obviously a pen and ink drawing and it's not really trying to fool you into thinking otherwise.
@@terrancevanliew1814 Perhaps hyperrealistic isn't the best word to describe what I wanted to say.
I just feel like Vagabond's realism does wonders for the manga, though I don't really know how to put it into words :/
@@UseTheLess00 this is the problem with framing it as "stylised" vs "realism"
Vagabond has a very distnct style with incredible line work, subtle indications of form and a controlled chaos that guides the eye of the reader. It's just not a cartoon.
The proper distinction imo should be "cartoony syles" vs "Realistic styles"
@@terrancevanliew1814 This may just be me, but I feel like cartoonish style, for most people, may remind them of old school Disney movies, which were fairly realistic.
I can't imagine the time spent on editing this video. Amazing work, as usual. Great job!
ha, quite a bit, but very much worth it! The pay off is always lovely to see and viewing all your lovely comments, thank you!
One thing I've learned about manga is that if it has a super realistic art style, it's most likely a seinen.
Depends
Excellent as always!
Actually, this is a very interesting topic for discussion. But somehow I have noticed that in manga community and industry stylised art is preferable and more popular than realistic. In Shounen Jump there is a clear preference in stylized art while the manga that have a more realistic art are often falling into the "Cult" category.
Bakuman portrays that very well.
Also, as an illustrator myself, when I sent my portfolio in America I received an offending answer calling my artwork too detailed and pointing out that they go for plain lines and simplistic minimal cartoonish forms that are mainstream, while manga is for "geeks" (they literally said that) and my works are full of shades, highlights and details, so I don't match their standards.
So...my experience is different when it comes to which is considered "better", but I agree with you, each has its own beauty and grace.
It's interesting because shounen definitely has more stylised art whilst seinen has more realism, wonder if that difference in target audience in age is something the editors are strict towards Japanese magazines, maybe?
But wow, that's actuakly really interesting (not you getting offending replies of course) but that *that* was the comments...
@@linesinmotion Indeed. I believe too it has to do with the target audience and the votes each manga takes. They also have a strict policy on the rules of serialization from what I know. If you can't keep the numbers up, your manga will end. And as it was mentioned in the video that pushes mangaka to their limits. They need to keep it going, keep it interesting, and keep it high in ranks.
I have kept that e-mail because it felt so unreal this actually is how American industry sees things. I mean...they used such an offending underrating tone and yet all the "bad things" they said about my work are basically compliments to me. And apparently in my country, in Europe, those things got me a stable job in a magazine, many book illustration works and my own manga styled fairytales series.
Lol I lowkey hate the cult following berserk has, their kinda annoying.
@@linesinmotion children have a hard time understanding complex art work and prefer simple shapes, adults like high detail anatomically correct art since the realism allows them to take the story seriously in a way cartoony art can't.
think berserk vs dragon ball one is a childhood classic while the other is a classic of one becoming an adult.
@@killme5630 it's bad but not as bad as hunter x hunter and mushuko tensai those guys are even worse while haveing badly written trash writing to bout.
I see what you did there at 11:40 with the Kakukaku Shikajika panel on the background. These manga choices are so clever and on the point I want to watch these slowed down just to catch them all
YEESSS, SOMEONE CAUGHT THAT! it was a subtle little thing, but I'm glad you noticed it, good eye! haha, ty!
I saw Houseki no kuni in the thumbnail and I clicked. I loved that you mention Ichikawa's art!
The amount of HnK fans in the comments!!! Let's gooo!!! And of course, her artstyle is one of my favourites ☺️
As an artist, I just want to be able to draw everything and anything! Thats why I go for realism!!! I consider Igarashi Daisuke the best mangaka when it comes to style!! He mixes realism and stylized drawings whenever he wants!
That is a really good way of going about it, realism covers quite a lot of fundamentals which you still have to apply to stylised, or purposefully don't do (if that makes sense)
Another author that does that is Yusuke murata, the artist for One punch man. The characters are totally stylized but the world around them is so realistic, it's insane.
Even though the art styles dont match, they really feel like they belong to that world.
Now that you've brought this up I feel lucky to have art professors that look at fundamentals not art styles :)
Damn, you're quite fortunate then! I was stuck with a teacher who was very disgusting by stylised work sadly. But working with fundamentals rather than style is a great approach!
first video and i'm truly amazed by how good the writing and editing of this video is
Thank you so much!!
You're so underrated it's frustrating, been following you for like two years, and I just love the quality of your videos, I haven't seen a lot of manga videos as well done as yours, all the animations you do, the music and the narration is just perfect
honestly i love both, as long as their style and their love is in their art and as long as it’s a good story, it should be interesting to watch and/or read.
Great overview. And one thing is when you see the combo/use of the two from certain Mangaka you can at glance recognize their other works at times. I feel you can't do that as easily with photos/film.
I think it shows a real uniqueness to be able to pull off that recognisable identity off so well. To be able to see a snippet of a drawing and be like "oh, that's ____ work!" must be an incredible feeling for the artists
Phenomenal editing as always! I personally prefer stylized art more :)
Thank you!! And same here, I *love* realism, but I'm more on the side of stylisation overall 😊
Ain't no way you just dropped that traumatizing PunPun panel out of nowhere. That caught me off guard. It's animated as well...
I love the poetic way this video was done.
For me, I have always drawn in a stylistic way - I was told by my art teacher that "anime isn't art" and that comment has stayed with me even now. It's also why I don't dare to show my art to people readily.
I appreciate all forms of art, from Takehiko Inoue to Yoshitoshi ABe, because every master draws their current style from the basics (meaning time and effort).
In my case, it is easier to look at stylistic styles because I love surrealism and abstract art forms - it is easier to look at the faces in stylized forms because reality is just too hard!
Thank you! And thanks for sharing your thoughts and point of view - it's interesting to see everyone's thoughts on the subject!
Seeing my girl Phos in the thumbnail:
*yes*
What makes art so good is you find each person's finger prints on them. How they see and figure out the world around them. No matter what kind of style used. I haven't heard it a lot but you don't need to like every kind of art or art styles and no need to feel ashamed of it. Ocean of arts there is always something for someone. If you like something, support them if possible. Even if admiring is all you can do ^^
Its such a joy when there's a new video from you! Like really, i always look forward to a new video, will be waiting for more greatness!
Thank you so much, that means a lot! 🥲🥲
Not paying attention to the video, just love how you included Houseki No Kuni in the thumbnail. 💞💞💞💞
Can we talk about the art that this video is with the phenomenonal Editing and smooth godly transitions.
Great video! Realistic does take a lot of time, but it's hard to draw completely realistic. The artist's style will always shine through to some degree. That’s part of what makes manga great.
especially since getting lost in the detail and minutia can result in the art being stiff - a level of abstraction, to give dynamism and clarity, is always required - while an understanding of perspective, volume, anatomy, people's attitudes and expressions, is required to make highly stylized art really work.
What a wonderful video essay!
Thank you!!
I love the diversity in examples you brought out on this video, especially seeing Okazaki Kyoko's work pop up. I personally feel like even most "realism" isn't particularly realistic - the Shirahama example shows this perfectly. Maybe not that it isn't realistic, but the specific things an author chooses to accentuate are themselves stylistic choices even if it's achieved through realism. Sakamoto's drawings show so much human vulnerability. Boichi's art uses realism to feel sexy. Murata's art uses realism to show scale. Azuma uses realism to feel like ordinary life. The idea that realism is as boring as just a photograph doesn't hold up when you look at how many ways it's used.
Though I'll always personally prefer the extreme stylization of surrealist mangaka like panpanya and Abe Youichi.
I ADORE kyoko's work, I wish more of her work was licenced, she's legendary to me. But I wholeheartedly agree with everything you mentioned, even with realism you have to think about different art rules that'll make your art 'stand out', even though so many consider realism to be the same across the board.
And wow, I hadn't heard of abe youichi but having quickly looked at his art, I'm upset I didn't know about him sooner!
@@linesinmotion I don't think you can name a GOAT mangaka, but Kyoko is definitely one that should be talked about it for it. I wish more was licensed too. A couple more do have fan scans, one of which (River's Edge) is my favorite from her.
Abe Youichi is an interesting case of realism vs. stylization I think, because he has a really distinct way of detailing and shading things that gives them a sense of physical texture you don't see often. Like it would feel rough against your hand. Most of his stuff is worth reading but I recommend his series Chimoguri Ringo (and its sequel specifically) for where he really goes all out with the art. Tho he's definitely on the more weird and offputting side of surrealism.
This is such a great video! I initially clicked thinking about how much i prefer stylised drawnings, but now I feel a new level of appreciation for more realistic artstyle. The topic is not new at all, but you managed speak about it in a way that feels really refreshing to me! Thank you so much!
Aw, thank you for giving my video a chance!!
These videos always make me slow down and really appreciate what I'm looking at. They stop my day and make me take a deep breath. Thank you!
This is such a lovely compliment, thank you 😭
Dang just starting the vid but already seeing the improvement in the editing and transitions! Still so amazing!
Thank you! I've seen little improvements with each video, happy to see you guys are noticing too ☺️☺️
It's so interesting how at the you basically are having the same discussion people were having between modern art and neoclassical art (stylized x realistic). As an art teacher to kids I always encourage their anime and cartoon styles but I do find it important that they try to reference reality sometimes. There a big difference in understanding what something is and simplifying it and then just imitating something already simplified without understanding how that happens visually. I have students who can draw some awesome weirdcore art but don't know where the characters knees are, which is an example of not understanding how the process works in total. All in all if people enjoy making art than it's all good.
Yes!!!!! This is a really good point, it's kinda why I referenced how stylisation should be knowing art rules, but breaking them purposefully. You should still need to know rules on say, anatomy, which is where the learning of realism comes into play. I'm glad to hear that's the way you're teaching your students, I'm sure they'll learn a lot like that!
I never draw in any other style because I hate drawing realistic and since I have no passion for It the drawing ends up lazy
i really loved this video, really makes you appreciate the manga artists more for the level of skill, amount of time, thought and patience they put in each panel. I've also been introduced to so many mangas all thanks to you. Really appreciate the extra effort you put in listing the manga titles in the video description instead of me having to look for them one by one !!
Really good video and thank you for these points and for presenting so many beautiful mangas I didn't know.
I think there's something to be said about how the perception people have towards those types of art sometimes negatively warps how we view the stories they present.
People tend to praise "seinenish" realistic stories for being deeper and more "adult" and I came to realise that many are conflating the aesthetic with the message. Because it's rendered realistically, they assume that the story is better.
I think that's why unfortunately people will dismiss the maturity of many shounen and why josei and shojo are so under represented in the community. From the little I read, those categories tend to push more towards stylisation that conveys complex intangible emotions really well. But I fear that many will see that as lazier and not as good as seinens and thus fail to see the incredible stories behind it.
I wish people would give more credit to stylised art as a key to convey stronger messages, not in spite of it.
I absolutely agree!!! Josei and Shoujo, like you mentioned, for some reason don't get the time of day in comparison to many realistically designed Seinen, whether it's because the style is "too girly" or perceptions like that, I'm not sure. But people really do underestimate how beautiful the art it within manga of those demographics. And you're right, some people are under the impression that more realism makes for a better story, which isn't inherently the case!
@@linesinmotion yeah almost every time i see a goat discussion it revolves around the same seinen titles with the same aesthetic and rare are the people who are shojo/josei cultured. The time it hit me is when miura cited shojo as one of his main inspirations. It took me that much years into manga to realise that the other side has been putting out influential works for decades we never hear of and it's a shame.
Also I just watched your video on visual metaphors and it actually brought me to tears. Really thank you for sharing those stories with people like me outside that experience in such a beautiful way 🙏🏽🙏🏽 good luck with everything
5:05 Kokou no Hito LESGOO.
I can't imagine how much work was put in this video, its great! Thanks!
Genuinely a phenomenal manga!!!! Glad you liked the video, thank you!
Good evening ! I must say that your tastes in manga are marvelous ! Your work on this video was great, keep going as always ! Greetings from France ^^
Thank you so much haha, I appreciate it!
I can't imagine how long it took to go through all that huge chunky list of manga, dammit. Absolutely stunning video, great work!
haha, a fair bit of time - but it was worth it!! Thank you for the support 🙏
Ouff this one hit me hard personally because lately as a university student learning animation I've slowly but surely been forced to acknowledge that realism comes more naturally to me and I'm more suited to that. The tragically part is that in my home country art isn't really treated as that serious of a career nah more like it's just recently gotten a bit of attention. So realism is seen as the end all be all of peak artistic ability which I've wanted to go against as some of my fan Japanese artists are stylised and I've always loved and wanted to draw stylised illustrations. So overall it really sucks butt and it's really confusing nevertheless I enjoyed your video on the topic a whole lot. Thanks so much for working so hard on these they're lovely.
Yoooo I loved this video. Style is such a fascinating concept and seeing so many examples of beautiful art made me wanna go on a manga binge
Thank you so much, and I hope you have some more manga to add to your list 😊
This is the most underrated channels I see I wish to see more subscriber. So many people watch but doesn't subscribe. I think this channel have potential for a big channel one day. Keep it up lines in motion!!.
For some reason youtube flagged this comment as spam? So apologies for the late reply, but thank you so much for the kind words!
@@linesinmotion I see I was feeling sad when I couldn't comment 😞😭 keepp it up 💪
Amazing content! I really love the editing and motion of the manga spreads!
I recognize a lot of the amazing manga used and how great as examples for a lot of points you've provided all throughout, there are some mangas I hadn't been really familiar with that I want to know and have a look at them myself.
Thank you! And yeah, there's a *lot* of manga there haha, its impressive you know just a good amount though, I put a list of all the manga in the description if that helps!
When I just got into manga I used to prefer the realistic art over the stylized art cuz it was way easier to read but as time passed, I started to enjoy and treasure stylized art in manga. Realistic art will always be popular and widely accepted by majority of people because 90% of time it just works with the medium of manga while the stylized art could be considered as an acquired taste, I really enjoy when a mangaka takes the effort and risk of doing an stylized art as the art style of that manga becomes memorable.
There's also the constant debate about the shift in art styles in manga and/or even anime.
One person would claim that certain art style is/was "better" than other said art style. (Ex: Haikyuu, One Punch Man, etc.)
Not saying that people have to like both. I actually find it reasonable to dislike a style if it seems to lack or contain certain aspects that makes another style more preferable, and some works may have styles that differ in quality due to circumstances, but it's interesting how in most cases, it's either one or the other.
I think that I can appreciate an art style if I know what the creator(s) is trying to express. Maybe the style was changed for a wider array of expression, or a shift in realism. All I know is that either takes both skill and time.
Oohh, Haikyuu is a good one, that change was quite a slow progression, which I'll only assume is where Furudate improved over the 10 years of Haikyuu run, but that is a good point about art style change.
The manga Ajin actually had an artstye change after volume 1, which ironically is when the writer left and the artist became the sole creator of the series. So there might also be limitations from editors or partners mangaka work with that decide on the art style too?
Thank you for listing all your reference images! Thats a lot of effort
This is a beautiful video just to watch and admire all the art on display. The variety really helps drive home that there is no one right way to draw. Gives me something to mull over re: my own art. Great work!
Every and all artstyles are great in everyway, do the art that makes you happy - there's no wrong, in that sense!
the editing is top notch as always!!! queen i love u
Thank you haha 👑
@@linesinmotion
I like when it's a blend of both, but overall I just prefer stylized art
I believe it's important to learn both because elements from each form can advance your skills for the other.
both realism and stylized art are amazing imo
Your videos always come at just the time I need them. Excellent.
Happy to hear 🥺🥺 thank you for watching!
As a reader of both Manga and Western comics, there defiantly stories when realise is key is defiantly the character or the story/genre that argues for realism or stylised. For example the Lazrus by Michael Lark and Greg Rucka is heavily realistic science fiction epic but compared to that to something like Kyle Barker's Plastic Man and its cartoony and almost plastic in its nature. I'm a sucker for art mostly in comics, I defiantly drawn to either.
Same here! Western comics is a whole different beasts where you have the big publishers and then the indie companies where more experimentation is allowed. You definitely see a lot of different styles in comics, even moreso with the added layer of colouring too!
I'm honestly speechless every time I watch your videos. I have nothing to say other than great job, your hard work has very much payed off and you're practically a master in your own creative field. The transitions between each animatic, topic and specific point are smooth and everything is always portrayed clearly to further your argument, your pacing is near perfect and I can't help but stay engaged for the whole duration of the video xd not many content creators have such a solid grasp over each aspect of their work such as analysis, writing, editing, narrating and even though making video essays isn't my art of choice I really respect your work, how satisfying and passionate you make the end product be and I honestly look up to progressing as much as you have in my own hobbies! I'm gonna stop here because I can keep going on and on for hours but genuinely thank you for the great content lines and I hope you keep making stuff that inspires people like this and I hope even just a few people more can come here to appreciate what you've put your soul into :D
This is the first comment I've read after waking up this morning and honestly I am so, so touched. Thank you so much for such lovely words, they've truly made my morning 😭😭
@@linesinmotion Ayyyy I'm glad :D hope u have an even better rest of your day
Beautiful work your animation and composition are gorgeous as always, I know you used some of Bleach panels and it always has bothered me when people like to mention Bleach has no BGS (ignoring the fact it was a weekly manga), Kubo had a very stylistic take on negative and positive spaces, framing to make the panels or some fights feel even more epic, for a shonen, fights are everything and whenever he wasn't using a BG he was using the space VS Tokyo Ghoul who had a more semi-realistic art style with a few fights that were quite hard to follow through because of the "messy" style and details Ishida liked to draw.
I take criticism toward weekly stories with a pinch of salt.. Like, they're *weekly*, I'm not expecting museum-esque prices every week, and Kubo's art massively improved as time went on. He's a brilliant artist!
@@linesinmotion i find his style the most aesthetically pleasing from the big 3 or even the early 2000s, SS arc to the end of the manga his art becomes beautiful (without mentioning his sharp fashion sense) . I wish more people understood the horrible life mangakas are living, I'm honestly surprised we don't see more talking openly about wrecking their wrists and other health issues, even when they go mainstream they still do the bulk of the work instead of relying on more assistants
This is exactly the kind of channel I was looking for. Great work. Can't wait for more
Thank you so much 🥺
I agree realistic and stylized art are beautiful in their own ways, but when it comes to stylized art there's just something about it that usually catches people's eyes, especially artists that want to get into drawing. That's because realistic art is basically 'real life' in a sense. We see it everyday, and are used to it, so when an artist captures all of its beauty on a simple medium, people are ridiculously impressed. However, stylized art in a sense is new, different, and unique. There is no one way to draw in a stylized manner, because there is no limit to proportions and details. There is no bar of realism that the artist's are supposed to reach because they can create their own bar for themselves. I personally prefer semi realism because it mixes both of these together in a way that just, works. Be it the detail to make the art more realistic (eg. Fabric, shading, facial features), or the way they can draw characters moving in more exaggerated manners with more exaggerated facial expressions, it gives the drawing some strange sorta life In a sense. Or maybe I'm just to lazy to pick a side ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ooohhh, very good points! I will say, for the first section about realism, one of the hard things of drawing realistically, is that you're essentially challenging people's eyes. So if something is off, even just a millimeter, you'd be surprised how easy it is to pick up on that 😵 But I completely agree overall, and I quite like a semi-realistic look too!
@@linesinmotion I totally agree because I'm always that person that studies the overall look on realistic art, and whenever I see something even slightly off I will forever remember it lol. Also I love your editing skills, they're some of the best I've seen :D
i really love these kind of essay video. sometimes theres a thought that you just need to fathom it more so you can fulfill your curiosity thus watching this feels fulfilling in the absurdity of the mind thinking. thank you
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy the videos 😊😊
NEW LINES IN MOTION VIDEO JUST DROPPED? SEATED!
Haha, enjoy!!!!!!
Time to time I rewatch this video . I'm really thankful with it, Thank you!
I've always appreciated stylistic art in storytelling more, as I think it's the mark of a good artist to make a fake reality look and feel real. The key being that the artist has to be comfortable and consistent in their style. For me, hyperrealism in manga often falls into "uncanny valley" because they just can't get it *exactly* right so it comes off...wrong.
This was such a thoughtful video and I really enjoyed it but honestly, the fact that you listed all the manga shown in the description makes my heart sing. I often come away from videos like this glad and filled with thoughts yet I'm disappointed that I won't be able to read the beautyful manga from timestamp so and so. Thank you so much for a great video and a bunch of manga suggestions!
My absolute pleasure!!!! I hope you find some manga you really enjoy out of the list 😊
I like both styles but stylized gives me often times a better feeling.
That's fair (also, omg your profile name made me laugh way more than i should have, I've had quite a lot of Army in my video comments now)
@@linesinmotion Haha I'm glad it made you laugh^^ And I really enjoy your channel so keep up with the good work.👍🏻 Nice to see fellow amrys support you as well.😊
The editing and the work you put behind your videos is astounding to watch everytime. I have seen this video multiple times by now just because of how neatly it flows. May I say this is some good stylistic editing on your part ;)
On the video's topic, I believe whichever style of art suits and enhances the story is the best. I honestly cannot pin Vagabond's hyper-realistic art against the stylistic art of 'The girl from the other side'. They are both beautiful and have made me feel so many emotions that I would not have felt if their art style was different. Love me some good realistic and stylised art that ultimately compliments the world of the story better than anything else :)))
Ngl clicked for Phos
Your videos are just SO great :"D
They have so much vibe to them, I also love the topics that you bring up, they might seem obvious on one hand (like that realism and stylised art have no superiority on each other) but on the other hand the way that you analyze it is like a very fresh and new look on it :D and all the metaphors and comparings that you make are spicing it up even more
Thanks for this amazing channel and the effort that you put in your videos!!
My boy KYARA
I love both styles, and I also love the fact that you explained this in a way that even an idiot like me can understand
I can draw both realistic and stylized art, but I prefer to draw stylized art, unfortunately, most people I know look down on stylized art and see it as nothing but childish and prefer it if I continue drawing realistic art instead, but at this point, I don't really give a shit, I hold the pen, why do you decide what I can and cannot draw?
Your video editing is amazing!! Thank you so much for this smart, nuanced analysis!
Semi-realistic for me. I dunno, heavy stylised style often weirds me out. I dunno why, but it almost creepy sometimes and it makes it harder for me to appreciate the art itself because I just cannot look past that cartoony look.
When it comes to realism, it's a bit similar too. Like, having everything be very hyperrealistic is just too much for me. I mean, it can look soo cool with just inking - like the example on the miniature (oh my inking ability goals), but when it straight up looks like a picture.. I dunno, I don't see the point if it comes to copying a photo for example, other than maybe exercise and flexing on your skills, but I personally think that art is not about replicating the world - we already have cameras that are better at it - but for me it's about creating something that's in your head that otherwise couldn't be seen. And also, drawing something form your imagination in realism is in my opinion a bit different than than just tracing the photo. I mean it's so cool to like be able to see the Disney characters in hyperrealism just to know how they would look like, but even then, often times those realistic drawings can be a bit boring at times :/.
I like to mix both. For my drawings I like to use the stylised form while drawing more realistic proportions, adding some details here and there. I dunno, but, I really like to add to stylised eye a waterline for example, it just adds some nice flow to it in my opinion :0
I was feeling a little low, but this video really rejuvenated my spirits. Thanks so much!!!!!
Happy to hear!! Thank you for checking out the video 😊
5:24 THIS IS SENDING ME 🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂😂 Trust me, even editing that bit got me cracking up
All the examples of art you've shown in this video are jaw-dropping!
when i tell you i gasped when i saw Ran to Haiiro no Sekai-
stunning work, i love hearing your voice, i love watching the way you edit and composite art, i love your analysis. i learn about a lot of other manga just watching your videos. i recently started and finished Boys Run the Riot upon your recommendation, actually! i have to say, i adored its beginning but thought it flailed and flopped in the end.
may be off tangent, but how did you learn how to edit your videos? how would a complete noob like me start to learn?
haha, the art in that manga is stunning!!!!! But thank you so much, that means a lot 🥺 I think the ending was okay, but I found the story and representation so touching to my personally that I let that slide.
As for how I edit my video, literally all through Adobe After effects. I'm all self taught and pretty much did trial and error and watching UA-cam tutorials haha
Putting aside the debate between the two styles; I love how well you've articulated your points clearly.
One of my art teachers in high school once told me that in order to break the rules you first have to know the rules. Realism is the foundation and “rule set “ and once you understand realism to a certain degree you can then proceed to break those rules to find style. Both exist due to the other and both require skill/knowledge
seriously one of my favorite mangas in the thumbnails kudos to that hahaha
Houseki no Kuni or Vagabond? 👀
@@linesinmotion Both, I've read them both fully and they're like completely yin and yangs. Although completely opposites the artists are similar in a way as Ichigawa makes such perfect use of her simple style to create incredible and abstract imagery to her story as Takehiko his art style through crosshatching bringing not only a realistic art style but a realistic story to make the story ( at least to me ) even more touching. They both take complete use of the mediums and it's why they're both so top tier 👌👌
I believe the answer to this question comes down to what story do you want to convey. I'll use manga as an example, death note berserk Vinland saga etc. are very dark stories with characters that can make you question your beliefs. Such a story benefits a lot from realistic artform, as it amplifies the emotion and fear we feel in those moments of questioning ourselves. Mangas like one piece , on the other hand, although being dark and sad a lot of the time, still portrays a fantasy. It's like a dream that a child has when dawn is nearing. Such stories need stylised artform, to give is grandiose and that awe-struck feeling.
Depends on the story that is being told really
I feel like this argument is mostly made by people who don’t work with art on a regular basis. Art is one of the only places where value is not equivalent to the materials used and time spent on creating a product, where we are free to take from it what we find valuable. So, we can’t apply the same lens on it as, say, a luxury car. Rich people try to, assigning value based on arbitrary things like if something looks laborious and detailed, or wether the artist is dead or not, but that entire sphere simply surrounds glib ways of avoiding taxes. I am of the opinion that most any way of viewing art is valuable, but distilling art through a capitalist lens is probably one of the most boring ways to go about things.
This is a good counterpoint too, for people not in the know with art, they will bound to have a different perspective on how they view the value of an art piece. Being from a very artistic background myself, it's very hard to see it from a non-artistic way haha