Do you want to learn different action poses to make your manga more interesting? The books we have listed here help you to learn how to draw action manga and anime in no time.
If you want to learn to draw manga characters parts by parts (both male and female) and master every single body part of a character; check our best picks of manga drawing books category wise.
Best Books to Learn How to Draw Anime/ Manga Fighting Poses & Action Poses
- Our #1 Choice: The Complete Guide to Drawing Action Manga: A Step-by-Step Artist’s Handbook
- Best Value Pick: How To Draw Manga: Illustrating Battles
- Best Budget Pick: How to Draw Action Manga (Ultimate Manga)
1. How To Draw Manga: Illustrating Battles
Explains and provides step-by-step instructions on how to draw manga battle scenes, covering fighting, blows, punches, kicks, slaps, throws, grabs, and grappling.
This book also illustrate the aftermath of fighting like swelling, bruises, cuts, marks, etc.
Author assumes you already know human anatomy, so it’ll point you out more to focus on the self-consciousness of the position of character.
Check out our compilation, “Best Books to Learn Manga Anatomy” to learn about basic human body anatomy of manga and anime characters.
2. How to Draw Action Manga (Ultimate Manga)
How can you create the illusion of movement in a drawing? What are simple action poses young artists can draw on their own? You will discover the answers to these questions and many more about the world of action manga as they draw characters as diverse as heroic boys and cyborg assassins.
Each step-by-step drawing project is presented through clear text and detailed illustrations. Tips are also included to help readers build on the basic techniques they have learned about the art of action manga. Colorful illustrations are presented as examples for readers to refer back to as they draw.
3. The Complete Guide to Drawing Action Manga: A Step-by-Step Artist’s Handbook
Whether your character is jumping for joy or grappling with an opponent, this book provides all the essential techniques to draw more lifelike action figures in the classic Japanese manga style.
The comprehensive introduction first shows the reader the physical anatomy of male vs. female figures and gives important tips on proportions, perspective and small but often-overlooked details such as the relative differences between male and female hands, fingers and feet.
Five subsequent chapters cover over 40 action poses in the following categories:
- Action (e.g. running and jumping)
- Martial Arts (e.g. punching and kicking)
- Interacting (e.g. judo holds and high fives)
- Weapons (e.g. swords and knives)
- Reacting (e.g. dodging a punch or taking a punch)
Each pose and movement is illustrated with a rough sketch outline followed by a highlighted manga drawing containing detailed annotations by the author.
After studying the sketches, you practice the drawing techniques in a tracing section at the end of each chapter. Each chapter also provides professional tips on the use of color and shading for greater realism.
4. Manga Action Figures (How to Draw)
This Manga Action Drawing Book provides step-by-step instructions on drawing manga characters and scenes, including a jumping fighter, a mecha giant robot, and a vampire fight.
See Our Other Best Pick of Manga Drawing Books:
- Best Books to Learn How to Draw Mecha
- Best Books to Learn How to Draw Anime and Manga Poses
- Best Manga Drawing Books That’ll Teach You Everything
5. Manga Drawing Books: How to Draw Action Manga
Learn how to draw Manga anyone who can hold a pencil can start drawing great manga right away.
This book shows how to draw the basic manga head and body, eyes, bodies, fashion, and more. Using step by step instruction on how to draw Japanese manga and anime eyes and face this book teaches you how to draw manga characters in actions. By the end of this big book, the new artist is ready to draw dramatic story sequences full of movement and life.