Close-up black and white manga illustration of a fierce man with spiky hair and a cape, in high contrast style.

Absolutely — here’s a full breakdown of the style we’ve been using so you can replicate it or pass it to an artist without losing the essence. --- ## **1. Overall Tone & Medium** * **Type:** Seinen-style manga illustration, black-and-white. * **Mood:** Gritty, mature, and realistic — somewhere between *Berserk*’s dramatic depth and *Vagabond*’s raw pencil texture. * **Medium Imitation:** Looks like it was done with **inked linework** plus **pencil-like hatching and stippling** for texture and shadows. * **Contrast:** High contrast between pure blacks and bright whites, with midtones created using fine cross-hatching rather than gradients. --- ## **2. Line Work** * **Primary Outlines:** Clean but not sterile — varied line thickness to emphasize depth (thicker for shadows/foreground edges, thinner for facial detail). * **Hair:** Strands drawn individually or in grouped locks, with a mix of **solid black fills** and fine white highlights scratched in to imply shine. * **Facial Features:** Eyes and mouth lines are bold and expressive, with very thin detailing for wrinkles, stress lines, or shadows. --- ## **3. Shading Technique** * **Cross-Hatching:** The main shading method — lines are laid in varying directions and density to control darkness. * **Pencil Grain Texture:** The shading simulates the grit of graphite or charcoal, making even light tones feel “textured,” never flat. * **Shadow Blocks:** Certain areas (inside hair, deep folds of clothing, jawline shadows) are See more