Tokyo: Manga Drawing Workshop with a Pro Artist in Nakano

Step into a real manga school in Tokyo and discover how Japanese manga artwork is created by hand.

This two-hour workshop takes place at Manga School Nakano, a specialist school that has offered manga drawing lessons in English since 2013. Its current international program uses a curriculum developed by professional manga artist Nao Yazawa and is taught by a team of English-speaking artists.

Whether you draw regularly or have never used a manga pen before, learn step by step as you sketch a character, try traditional manga tools, ink your lines, and add finishing techniques such as black fills, white corrections, and screentones.

At the end, take home the artwork you created during the class.

Learn inside Manga School Nakano

The workshop takes place at Manga School Nakano, around a 10-minute walk from Nakano Station.

The school opened in Nakano in 2011 and began offering English-language manga lessons in 2013.

Nakano is also closely associated with manga, anime, collectibles and Japanese pop culture, making it a fitting setting for a hands-on drawing experience.

Learn from an experienced manga instructor

The school currently has four instructors teaching its English-language two-hour trial curriculum.

The teaching program was created by Nao Yazawa, a Japanese manga artist known for works including Wedding Peach, which was adapted into an anime series. She has taught manga in English at Manga School Nakano since 2013.

Depending on scheduling, another member of the school’s current artist team may lead your class.

For this reason, the public listing should only promise a professional manga artist on every booking if Alva can guarantee that instructor category for every session.

Start with manga character basics

Begin by learning how manga artists approach character drawing.

Depending on your level, the instructor may introduce:

• Face construction

• Eyes and facial features

• Hair

• Expressions

• Character proportions

• Line quality

• Simplification and exaggeration

The exact focus can be adjusted to the participant’s experience and interests.

Manga School Nakano’s official programs specifically offer character drawing, facial expressions, chibi characters, character design, backgrounds, and manga composition as different learning subjects.

Sketch your character

Use pencil to build the basic character drawing.

Beginners may work from examples or reference material provided by the school, while more experienced participants can develop their own ideas.

The official beginner program allows sample drawings or prepared line art to be used according to the student’s level.

The goal is not to make every participant draw in exactly the same style.

Your instructor helps you understand the process while leaving room for your own creative choices.

Try real manga drawing tools

Move from pencil sketching into traditional black-and-white manga production.

The school provides manga tools, so you do not need to bring your own equipment. Its current two-hour curriculum specifically includes manga pens and screentones.

Depending on the confirmed Alva setup, tools may include:

• Manga paper

• Dip pens

• G-pen

• Maru-pen

• Black ink

• Screentones

• White correction materials

• Pencils and erasers

Only list individual tools as guaranteed when the school confirms they are provided in every Alva session.

Learn how inking changes the drawing

Trace and refine your pencil lines using a manga pen and black ink.

Unlike a pencil, ink makes every line feel more deliberate.

Experiment with line thickness and pressure and see how different lines can change the expression, hair, clothing, and overall energy of your character.

Your instructor will demonstrate techniques and give individual feedback where group size allows.

Add traditional manga finishing techniques

After inking, learn some of the techniques associated with black-and-white manga artwork.

The school’s official beginner curriculum includes black fills, white corrections, and screentone work.

Screentones are patterned sheets traditionally used to add shades, textures, shadows, and visual effects without full color.

Apply them to your own drawing when time and your progress allow.

Learn the manga-making process

The class is not only about copying a face.

Manga School Nakano teaches the wider production process, including rough sketches, line drawing, finishing work, storyboards, character development, backgrounds and final publication depending on the course.

In this short two-hour experience, you will focus on the parts of that process that can be explored practically within one session.

Create at your own level

Beginners and experienced artists do not need to produce the same result.

If you are new to drawing, your instructor can simplify the process and provide examples.

If you already draw manga or anime-style characters, use the session to ask more specific questions about line work, expressions, proportions, tools, or finishing techniques.

The school officially states that course content can change according to the student’s level and experience.

Take your artwork home

At the end of the class, take home the physical artwork you worked on.

Do not guarantee that every participant will complete an identical “finished original character illustration.”

Manga School Nakano’s beginner course notes that, depending on a participant’s level, a work may not always be completely finished within one class.

A safer promise is:

Take home the manga artwork you create during the workshop.

Original characters are encouraged

Guests can use examples and references for learning, but an original final character is recommended.

The current listing’s statement that participants retain “full copyright including commercial use” should be removed unless reviewed and formally guaranteed.

Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that fan art or other adaptations based on existing copyrighted works may require permission from the original rights holder, particularly when they are published or otherwise used beyond private enjoyment.

Creating your own original character avoids much of that confusion and gives you a more personal souvenir.