For two years I’ve been trying to reverse engineer Miura’s traditional art and planning processes — down to the detail.
To figure out his art, I’ve tried different mediums, pencils, papers, and other little helpers. To figure out his planning methods, I have created a fancomic that imitates Miura’s emotional and cinematic style of writing and the things that are intertwined with it, e.g. the panel layout. The methods and tools I have tried may not be the exact same as Miura’s, but I think they will get you on the right path. Well, at least in terms of tools and technique — practice is a different thing entirely…
This post is going into detail for anyone who dares imitating his art and style. It will also show you why exactly Miura’s art is one of a kind.
Berserk Analysis 
Thank you for this. I have sakura microns but I will get a dip pen and pen nib. But I can’t decide which one. There are different pen nibs such as Maru, G-Pen and Saju. Which one do you suggest if you would pick one to imitate Berserk’s art? And just discovered this site, looks amazing. Sad that Miura is gone.
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Hey there, you are very welcome.
Sakura Microns aren’t a bad choice still as a drawing tool, they offer a nice full black and are relatively erase-resistant (I use a different brand which are of similar quality myself).
Using dip pens really hits different, though. I think you should go for a particular brand only if you want a certain quality. I have a few nibs from Brause and Hiro Leonhardt, which are very good. I haven’t used any of the brands you mentioned, so I cannot make a statement about those. I heard G-Pens are good for beginners. But in my experience, avoid really cheap nibs and you should be mostly fine.
Important is that you have a broad assortment of different shaped nibs with different hardness, so you can try out different shading techniques. Soft nibs give you a varying stroke size, but may not last for very long (most soft nibs I’ve bought are already unusable). Hard nibs are better for uniform stroke widths and have a longer life.
Depending on what you’re drawing in Berserk a different nib is used, and also certain stroke direction/pressure. E.g. I’m almost sure a soft nib is being used for Zodd’s fur, since you can see the two halves of the nib spreading apart on pressure, I’m still discovering this medium myself, so it’s hard to give you proper tips on the fly. Hope this helps you regardless.
Miura was already a legend in his life time, and this won’t change with his passing. He left a masterpiece behind. It’s unfinished state is my only concern
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Also there was a exhibition about Berserk a while ago and a backing promotion for the Zodd statue in Japan. Backers get rewards such as Miura’s sketches of the last chapters. Here are some of the sketches for the last chapters that Miura did:
In here we can see how Miura does the sketches. I’m trying to find the full booklet with good scans but no luck yet.
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whats the mechanical pencil inbetween the castell & Staedtler?
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Hey there draink, that’s a Rotring Tikky in 0.5mm. It’s my personal favorite because of how robust & solid it feels in one’s hand
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Hey was wondering what brand the chiseled nibs where? Awesome analysis btw.
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Hey there, if memory serves, the pictured chiseled nibs are of the brand Hiro-Leonardt. Thanks!
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