A Tutorial for How to Draw Anime People
- 1). Draw a circle on the paper. This is the area in which you will draw the character's face from the nose up. About two-fifths of the way up the side of the circle, draw half a vertical oval extending down below the bottom of the circle. This is the area containing the lower part of the character's face. Draw a vertical line bisecting these two shapes, extending down to the bottom of the page.
- 2). Draw a rough rectangle slightly below, this is the basic outline of the torso of the character. Then draw long ovals representing the upper arms of the character. Do the same for the lower arms, upper legs and lower legs. Use smaller ovals for the hands and feet. Use the bisecting line to maintain the character's symmetry. Building up the character in this way makes it easier to pose the character and get proportions right before drawing in the final detail.
- 3). Draw two horizontal lines bisecting the vertical line within the circle. One line should be just below the halfway point in the circle, while the other slightly shorter line should be just above one-quarter of the way up the circle. This is where the eyes will be drawn. Just above the halfway point between the bottom of the semi-oval and the bottom of the circle, draw another horizontal line - this is where the mouth will be.
- 4). Draw the character's eyebrows along the uppermost line in the circle. The eyebrows will be about five times the thickness of the pencil line and will extend from the outer ends of the line for about one-third of the full length of the line. At this point, the ends will taper down slightly pointing toward the bottom of the circle. Just below the lower line in the circle, draw a line deviating slightly from the central vertical line. At the bottom of the circle, join this new line and the vertical to form a sharp nose. Just above the line in the oval draw a thin lip.
- 5). From the same level as the eyes, draw the traditional choppy fringe of an anime character. Draw a jagged line starting at eye level then going higher and covering the forehead. At random intervals, draw a long bang that reaches down to eye level. Above the hairline, disrupt the top of the circle by drawing overlapping lumps of bunched hair. Separate these lumps with defined pencil curves that extend from above the top of the circle to about midway through the hair. Suggest other hairs with thinner pencil lines, moving in the same direction as these lines. Now the head is beginning to take shape.
- 6). Draw a curve from the outside edge of the eye, forming an almost complete outline of each eye. There should only be a slight gap between the end of this curve and the tapered ends from step 4. Thicken these up until they are like the eyebrows. Within the curve, draw large eyes, the top edges of which are straight. Within these large eyes - characteristic features of anime drawings - draw large black pupils. Draw small ears just below the eyeline and add a dimple just below the mouth level.
- 7). Draw a slender neck down to the torso and begin filling out the shape of the character. Use thicker pencil lines to build up the shapes and details of limbs and other body parts. Use the eraser to erase any construction lines, leaving you with the finished anime character.
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