Introduction:
Itachi Uchiha, A Character From The Popular Anime And Manga Series Naruto, Is Known For His Complex Personality And Striking Visual Design. Drawing Itachi Can Be A Rewarding Experience For Fans And Artists Alike. In This Guide, We’ll Explore The Steps To Create A Cool Itachi Drawing, From Initial Sketches To Final Details, Ensuring You Capture His Iconic Look And Enigmatic Presence.
Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts: the first is set in Naruto’s pre-teen years (volumes 1–27), and the second in his teens (volumes 28–72). The series is based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), which earned Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha’s monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto (1997).
Naruto was serialized in Shueisha’s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 1999 to November 2014, with its chapters collected in 72 tankōbon volumes. Viz Media licensed the manga for North American production and serialized Naruto in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Part I of the manga was adapted into an anime television series by Pierrot and Aniplex, which ran for 220 episodes from October 2002 to February 2007 on TV Tokyo. A second series, which adapts material from Part II of the manga, is titled Naruto: Shippuden and ran on TV Tokyo for 500 episodes from February 2007 to March 2017. Pierrot also developed 11 animated films and 12 original video animations (OVAs). The franchise includes light novels, video games, and trading cards developed by several companies. The story of Naruto continues in Boruto, where Naruto’s son Boruto Uzumaki creates his own ninja way instead of following his father’s.
Naruto is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, having 250 million copies in circulation worldwide in 47 countries and regions, with 153 million copies in Japan alone and remaining 97 million copies elsewhere. It has become one of Viz Media’s best-selling manga series; their English translations of the volumes have appeared on USA Today and The New York Times bestseller list several times, and the seventh volume won a Quill Award in 2006. Reviewers praised the manga’s character development, storylines, and action sequences, though some felt the latter slowed the story down. Critics noted that the manga, which has a coming-of-age theme, makes use of cultural references from Japanese mythology and Confucianism.
Plot:
Part I:
A powerful fox known as the Nine-Tails attacks Konoha, the hidden leaf village in the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries in the Ninja World. In response, the leader of Konoha and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, at the cost of his life, seals the fox inside the body of his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki, making him a host of the beast. The Third Hokage returns from retirement to become the leader of Konoha again. Naruto is often scorned by Konoha’s villagers for being the host of the Nine-Tails. Due to a decree by the Third Hokage forbidding any mention of these events, Naruto learns nothing about the Nine-Tails until 12 years later, when Mizuki, a renegade ninja, reveals the truth to him. Naruto defeats Mizuki in combat, earning the respect of his teacher, Iruka Umino.
Shortly afterward, Naruto becomes a ninja and joins with Sasuke Uchiha, against whom he often competes, and Sakura Haruno, on whom he has a crush, to form Team 7, under an experienced sensei, the elite ninja Kakashi Hatake. Like all the ninja teams from every village, Team 7 completes missions requested by the villagers, ranging from doing chores and being bodyguards to performing assassinations.
After several missions, including a major one in the Land of Waves, Kakashi allows Team 7 to take a ninja exam, enabling them to advance to a higher rank and take on more difficult missions, known as Chunin Exams. During the exams, Orochimaru, a wanted criminal, invades Konoha and kills the Third Hokage for revenge. Jiraiya, one of the three legendary ninjas, declines the title of Fifth Hokage and searches with Naruto for Tsunade whom he chooses to become Fifth Hokage instead.
During the search, it is revealed that Orochimaru wishes to train Sasuke because of his powerful genetic heritage, the Sharingan. After Sasuke attempts and fails to kill his older brother Itachi, who had showed up in Konoha to kidnap Naruto, he joins Orochimaru, hoping to gain from him the strength needed to kill Itachi. The story takes a turn when Sasuke leaves the village: Tsunade sends a group of ninja, including Naruto, to retrieve Sasuke, but Naruto is unable to persuade or force him to come back. Naruto and Sakura do not give up on Sasuke; Naruto leaves Konoha to receive training from Jiraiya to prepare himself for the next time he encounters Sasuke, while Sakura becomes Tsunade’s apprentice.
Part II:
Two and a half years later, Naruto returns from his training with Jiraiya. The Akatsuki starts kidnapping the hosts of the powerful Tailed Beasts. Team 7 and other Leaf ninja fight against them and search for their teammate Sasuke. The Akatsuki succeeds in capturing and extracting seven of the Tailed Beasts, killing all the hosts except Gaara, who is now the Kazekage. Meanwhile, Sasuke betrays Orochimaru and faces Itachi to take revenge. After Itachi dies in battle, Sasuke learns from the Akatsuki founder Tobi that Itachi had been ordered by Konoha’s superiors to destroy his clan to prevent a coup; he accepted, on the condition that Sasuke would be spared. Devastated by this revelation, Sasuke joins the Akatsuki to destroy Konoha in revenge. As Konoha ninjas defeat several Akatsuki members, the Akatsuki figurehead leader, Nagato, kills Jiraiya and devastates Konoha, but Naruto defeats and redeems him, earning the village’s respect and admiration.
With Nagato’s death, Tobi, disguised as Madara Uchiha (one of Konoha’s founding fathers), announces that he wants to capture all nine Tailed Beasts to cast an illusion powerful enough to control all humanity and achieve world peace. The leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to help him and instead join forces to confront his faction and allies. That decision results in a Fourth Shinobi World War between the combined armies of the Five Great Countries (known as the Allied Shinobi Forces) and Akatsuki’s forces of zombie-like ninjas. The Five Kage try to keep Naruto, unaware of the war, in a secret island turtle near Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), but Naruto finds out and escapes from the island with Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tails. At that time, Naruto—along with the help of Killer Bee—gains control of his Tailed Beast and the two of them head for the battlefield.
During the conflict, it is revealed that Tobi is Obito Uchiha, a former teammate of Kakashi’s who was thought to be dead. The real Madara saved Obito’s life, and they have since collaborated. As Sasuke learns the history of Konoha, including the circumstances that led to his clan’s downfall, he decides to protect the village and rejoins Naruto and Sakura to thwart Madara and Obito’s plans. However, Madara’s body ends up possessed by Kaguya Otsutsuki, an ancient princess who intends to subdue all humanity. A reformed Obito sacrifices himself to help Team 7 stop her. Once Kaguya is sealed, Madara dies as well. Sasuke takes advantage of the situation and takes control of all the Tailed Beasts, as he reveals his goal of ending the current village system. Naruto confronts Sasuke to dissuade him from his plan, and after they almost kill each other in a final battle, Sasuke admits defeat and reforms. After the war, Kakashi becomes the Sixth Hokage and pardons Sasuke for his crimes. Years later, Kakashi steps down while Naruto marries Hinata Hyuga and becomes the Seventh Hokage, raising the next generation.
Production:
Development:
In 1995, Shueisha released Karakuri, a one-shot manga by Masashi Kishimoto that earned an honorable mention in the Hop Step Award in 1996. Kishimoto was unsatisfied with his subsequent drafts for a follow-up, and decided to work on another project. The new project was originally going to feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of Naruto for the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump based on the idea. Despite the positive feedback it received in a readers’ poll, Kishimoto was unhappy with the art and the story, so he rewrote it as a story about ninjas.
The first eight chapters of Naruto were planned before it appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump, and these chapters originally devoted many panels of intricate art to illustrating the Konoha village. By the time Naruto debuted, the background art was sparse, instead emphasizing the characters. Though Kishimoto had concerns that chakra (the energy source used by the ninjas in Naruto) made the series too Japanese, he still believed it is an enjoyable read. Kishimoto is a fan of Godzilla, and the tailed beasts mythology was introduced because Kishimoto wanted an excuse to draw monsters. He has said that the central theme in Part I of Naruto is how people accept each other, citing Naruto’s development across the series as an example.
For Part II of the manga, Kishimoto tried to keep the panel layouts and the plot easy for the reader to follow, and avoid “overdo[ing] the typical manga-style”. He considers that his drawing style has changed from “the classic manga look to something a bit more realistic.” Because of wishing to end the arc involving Sasuke Uchiha’s search for his brother, Itachi, in a single volume, Kishimoto decided that volume 43 should include more chapters than regular volumes. As a result, Kishimoto apologized to readers for this since volume 43 was more expensive than regular volumes.
Gather Your Materials:
Before You Begin, Make Sure You Have The Necessary Materials. You Will Need:
- Pencils (HB For Sketching, 2B Or 4B For Shading)
- Erasers (A Standard Eraser And A Kneaded Eraser)
- Drawing Paper Or Sketchbook
- Fine-Tip Black Ink Pen Or Markers
- Colored Pencils Or Markers (Optional For Coloring)
Study Itachi’s Character Design:
To Accurately Draw Itachi, Familiarize Yourself With His Character Design. Note Key Features Such As:
- His Distinctive Hair: Long, Dark, And Parted In The Middle
- The Uchiha Clan Symbol On His Clothing
- His Sharingan Eyes, Which Are Central To His Character
- The Akatsuki Cloak With Red Cloud Patterns
Start With Basic Shapes:
Begin By Lightly Sketching Basic Shapes To Outline Itachi’s Form. Use Circles, Ovals, And Lines To Map Out The Head, Torso, And Limbs. Focus On Getting The Proportions Right:
- Draw An Oval For The Head, Keeping In Mind The Angle And Tilt
- Add Guidelines For Facial Features: Horizontal And Vertical Lines To Place The Eyes, Nose, And Mouth
Draw The Face And Hair:
Once The Basic Shapes Are In Place, Start Adding Details To The Face:
- Sketch The Eyes, Making Sure To Capture The Shape Of The Sharingan
- Draw The Nose And Mouth, Ensuring They Are Proportionate And Aligned
- Outline The Hair, Focusing On The Parting And The Way It Frames His Face
Outline The Clothing:
Itachi’s Akatsuki Cloak Is An Essential Part Of His Design:
- Sketch The Collar And The Flowing Lines Of The Cloak
- Add The Red Cloud Patterns, Being Careful To Place Them Correctly On The Cloak
Refine The Drawing:
Go Over Your Sketch, Refining The Lines And Adding More Details:
- Use A Finer Pencil Or Pen To Define The Eyes, Hair, And Clothing
- Erase Any Unnecessary Guidelines And Clean Up The Drawing
- Add Details Like The Headband, The Uchiha Clan Symbol, And Any Visible Accessories
Add Shading And Texture:
To Give Your Drawing Depth And Dimension, Add Shading And Texture:
- Use A Softer Pencil (2B Or 4B) To Shade Areas Like The Hair, Cloak, And Facial Features
- Consider The Light Source And Add Shadows Accordingly
- Use Cross-Hatching Or Stippling Techniques To Add Texture To The Hair And Clothing
Ink The Drawing:
If You Want A More Polished Look, Go Over Your Final Pencil Lines With A Fine-Tip Ink Pen:
- Carefully Trace The Outlines And Key Details
- Allow The Ink To Dry, Then Gently Erase Any Remaining Pencil Marks
Optional Coloring:
If You Prefer A Colored Drawing, Use Colored Pencils Or Markers:
- Start With A Base Color For Each Section (Skin, Hair, Clothing)
- Add Layers Of Color To Create Depth And Highlights
- Blend Colors Smoothly To Avoid Harsh Lines
Final Touches:
Review Your Drawing And Make Any Final Adjustments:
- Add Highlights To The Eyes And Hair For A More Dynamic Look
- Ensure All Elements Are Cohesive And Balanced
- Sign Your Artwork
Conclusion:
Drawing Itachi Uchiha Can Be A Gratifying Experience, Especially When You See The Final Product. By Following These Steps, You Can Create A Cool Itachi Drawing That Captures His Essence And Iconic Look. Whether You’re A Seasoned Artist Or A Beginner, Practice And Patience Are Key To Improving Your Skills. Enjoy The Process And Keep Experimenting With Different Techniques To Bring Your Favorite Characters To Life On Paper.