West Nyack's Anime Drawing Class Lets Kids Build Their Own Characters

If your kid has been filling notebook margins with big-eyed characters and dramatic action poses, there's a structured place to take that energy this summer. Starting Thursday, July 2, a six-session anime and manga drawing class runs weekly from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in West Nyack, open to kids ages 8 through 13 of all skill levels.

The distinction between manga and anime is worth knowing before the first class: manga refers to Japanese-style comics, while anime is the animation tradition derived from them. Both share a recognizable visual vocabulary — expressive faces, stylized proportions, kinetic line work — and that's exactly what students will be learning to use. Instruction is individualized, so a child just picking up a pencil seriously for the first time will get different attention than one who's been sketching for a couple of years.

The approach leans on looking before drawing. Students study popular characters for reference and inspiration, then work toward originals of their own. That sequence — observe, internalize, create — is a solid foundation for visual art at any age, and it maps well onto how manga artists actually develop their style.

The supply list is refreshingly low-budget: a pencil, a fine-point black Sharpie, an eraser, plain paper, colored pencils, and markers. Nothing specialized. Most families probably have most of it already.

This is a good fit for kids who are already into anime or manga as fans — whether they watch it, read it, or both — and want to get to the other side of the page. It's also a reasonable entry point for kids who are just generally into drawing and haven't found a style that clicks yet. Six sessions over the summer is enough time to make real progress without a huge commitment.

For the full schedule and registration details, see the full listing.