The Ultimate Guide on How to Draw Anime
You don’t have to be an anime fan to learn how to draw anime. But if you are, you’ll find this tutorial thrilling since it will be your first step towards being able to create some fan art one day.
We’re not promising that you’ll be a pro by the time you finish going through this guide. However, we think that you should be able to draw something decent enough to make you want to pat yourself on the back.
The guide will provide you with an overview of what you’ll need to do when drawing anime. It will also have links to detailed tutorials that break down the steps even further.
How to Draw an Anime Body
The first thing you’ll need to do is outline the character’s body proportions. You can make your character as tall or short as you need them to be. The character in this tutorial is going to be about six and a half heads tall.
When drawing the arms, make sure they fall horizontally at the body’s midpoint. The distance between the shoulder and the elbow should be the same length as the area between the elbow and the hand joint.
Remember, the legs should be half the length of the character’s body. Ensure that the area from the body’s midpoint to the knee is equal to the distance between the length of the knee to the bottom of the foot.
Once you’re done with the proportions, you can start drawing from the head as you work your way down to the rest of the body. Don’t focus on the small details; you can start with a light drawing of the character’s body shape and draw them later on.
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How to Draw Anime Head
There are different ways of drawing anime heads, so we’re just going to touch on the basics. One of the things that will determine the shape of your character’s head is their age.
So you should decide whether you want a young or older character. Older characters tend to have longer faces compared to younger ones. If you’re drawing a young anime character, draw a circle using your hands or a compass depending on your preferences.
How to Draw Anime Faces
Once you have the shape of your character’s head, you’ll need to make sure that the face is going to have some symmetry.
To ensure that both sides of the face are equal, draw a vertical line in the middle. You’ll also need to draw a horizontal line that will act as the guideline for the character’s eyes. And another below the circle to guide you when you’re drawing the jaw and cheeks.
How to Draw Anime Eyes
Even though anime eyes are based on real eyes, they are much larger and are vertically stretched. The eyes should be below the guideline, and the eyebrows should be slightly above. You can also give them different expressions depending on the look you want.
How to Draw Anime Nose
Drawing the nose is quite simple. You just have to draw it where the vertical and horizontal lines meet. That way, you’ll be confident that you’ve positioned it correctly on the face. Draw the tip of the nose, and you’re done.
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How to Draw Anime Mouths
Since we’re drawing the character in the front view, you won’t need to draw the bottom lip of the mouth. A curved line between the nose and the bottom of the chin will be more than enough. You’ll have a happy looking character, but you can change the character’s expression as you please.
How to Draw Anime Hair
You should always draw the hair after you’re done with the facial features. As you know, anime characters have tons of hairstyle options.
Let’s keep it simple and go for something with some volume. Keep some distance as you draw the hair along the top of the head. The ends should branch out into differently sized clumps. Try to curve them slightly in different directions to give it a fun look.
How to Draw Anime Hands
Drawing anime hands can be quite challenging, but we’re going to try to simplify the process.
Start with a rough shape of the palm and base of the thumb. Then, draw the outer shapes of the fingers and the thumb. The thumb should be 45 degrees from the hand and slightly below the middle finger’s knuckle bone. Afterward, clean up the drawing and add lines among other details.
How to Draw Anime Clothes
Once again, the clothes you choose should depend on the look you’re after. It will also depend on whether you’ve decided to draw a male or female character.
For female characters, clothes are often thin and tight. Let’s say you want your character to wear a shirt with a pair of shorts. You’ll need to draw smooth curved lines that indicate each of the clothes.
These curves will make it seem as if the clothes are hugging the body. Adding some folds also gives them a natural look. You can add some color to the clothes to complete the look.
How to Draw a Girl Anime
There are subtle differences between male and female anime characters.
If you choose to draw a girl anime, you should give your character an hourglass shape when drawing the body. You should make the face rounder, and the jaw shouldn’t be too long. Remember to draw a narrow neck and give your character a female build.
How to Draw an Anime Boy
If you’re drawing an anime boy, you can use the body proportions we mentioned earlier on in the guide. However, you should make the character slender if you’re planning to draw a teenage boy.
Make the face narrower by drawing a slightly long jaw. The neck should also be more muscular, so you should draw the necklines closer to the jaw.
Conclusion
Even though our guide focuses on the basics, you can still use this knowledge to sketch a few characters. But if you’re looking to hone your skills, you should stick around and go through our detailed tutorials. That way, you’ll learn how to draw anime step by step instead of making rough sketches.
Don’t forget to practice and share your art with fellow digital artists or other anime lovers.