Sailor Moon, DragonBall-Z and Pokemon all have a few things in common - their characters have large eyes, big hair, elongated limbs and exaggerated facial expressions.
This distinct style is called manga and amine, a type of animation originating in Japan that has become popular enough in the Western World to influence a number of television shows, movies and video games.
So popular in fact, that youth in Squamish now have the opportunity to learn how to draw these characters themselves at Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
Resident art teacher Michael Sherlock is a painter and has been teaching art for 12 years. He arrived in Squamish from Ontario in 2006 and wasted no time before becoming involved in teaching various types of art at the Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
Sherlock, who also teaches watercolor and portrait drawing, is offering a manga and anime drawing class to youth between 10 and 15 years old. It's the second time he has offered the class and he said this specific type of art really appeals to youth.
"Young people have a lot of imagination and some art tends to stifle this rather than encourage it," said Sherlock. "Paint within the lines and all that."
He prefers to teach them to use those imaginative and unique ideas to their advantage in creating characters and drawings.
Sherlock refers to manga and anime as the "latest fad" because they're easier to draw and very dynamic.
"If I ask them to draw my face it will just frustrate them because it won't look the same, but when they look at an anime cartoon and say 'I can do that.'"
This art program that started Monday (April 12) is suitable for all skill levels and runs for five weeks on Mondays from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. Immediately following this course, another five-week manga and anime drawing course will start.
Four youth are currently signed up for the class and most have already taken some form of art class from Sherlock.
He started the class by outlining the fundamental structure of an anime head, and 15 minutes into the class all the students had their own drawings well on their way.
"I've been drawing since I was like two," said Aiden Forsyth. "I mostly draw comic figures, some from comics and some I make up myself.
Sherlock said people often see manga and anime drawing as a stepping-stone to more realistic drawing, but that's not always the case.
"Some of these kids could move on to other types of art," he said, "but others really love this genre."
For more information about registration and drop-in, contact Brennan Recreation Centre.
