From hugs to piggybacks and intimate kisses, this reference manual is filled with romantic male-on-male love scenarios.

Artists in Japan are absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to reference materials for improving their illustrations, with a large number of books on the market providing assistance for all sorts of poses, covering everything from characters lazing about the house to fighting schoolgirls.

Now, fans of yaoi and boys’ love anime and manga genre are rejoicing over a new compilation of reference poses covering a variety of romantic scenarios featuring all-male characters. Illustrated by Ebimo, an experienced artist specialising in boys’ love manga, the new collection contains 112 pages, plus a CD-ROM, to help you with all your romantic boys’ love scenes.

Some of the topics covered include high and low angles, and sketches based on childlike characters, known in Japan as “deformed characters”.

▼ There are seated and standing kisses…

▼ And more intimate scenarios played out on the floor.

▼ There’s also a section devoted to piggybacks…

▼ And scenes where one character leaps into the other’s arms.

There are even tips for how to add detail to basic sketches to create a professional-looking result. According to the artist, the basic sketches help to provide accurate proportions for different scenarios, but when drawing pictures like these, it’s important to imagine the characters as living beings, to create a feeling of life and energy in the image.

Reference books for sketching boys’ love poses appear to be highly sought after, as Emoji recently announced that a second edition is currently in the works.

▼ The artist thanked followers for their support with a signed “thank you” message on Twitter.

The Boys’ Love Pose Sketch Compilation – Hugs and Close Scenes Coupling Extra went on sale on 25 April, and can be purchased online or at bookstores around the country for 2,400 yen (US$21.56).

Source: Net Lab 
Featured image: Amazon/えびも
Insert images: Amazon/えびも