How to Draw Anime ? [A Complete Guide for Beginners]

SahilSharma
Updated on 2021-03-16
How to Draw Anime ? Here we have a complete guide for beginners, including the way to draw head, hands, feet, eyes, hair, mouth, nose...

 

Part 1: Introduction

Anime is a short-form for animation that originated in Japan. Anime style has been circulating for more than forty years now. Before becoming a popular genre, it was used as a local art form for storytelling purposes.

Having got a general introduction of animes, in this guide we are going to tell you how to draw anime. The below sections will give you a good idea of how to draw anime step by step using the manga and anime style. We will also share some tips on how to draw anime for beginners to help you learn easily. So, let us get started on how to draw anime characters. 

Besides drawing anime, you could also make your own anime charactes wth 30 Best Anime Avatar Makers to Create Avatar Online.

Draw Anime

Start with Light Line Drawings

This tip will prove to be very useful for beginners wanting to know how to draw anime. Drawing lighter lines is suggested, because it not just they are easy to omit, and are also easy to make. Use this technique especially for complex and large drawings. 

Use Construction Lines

This is another important tip on how to draw anime for beginners. Use guidelines to ensure that the width of both halves of your anime character’s face is even. Now draw one or multiple horizontal lines to ensure that eyes and ears are on the same plane.

Plan out The Drawing

Another important thing that you need to know on how to draw anime is to estimate the ratio before beginning to draw an anime. A good technique is to compare the size of different body parts in the drawing to reduce the possibility of mistakes.

Plan out The Drawing

Part 2: A Guide to Drawing a Perfect Anime Steps by Steps 

How to draw an Anime head?

To draw the anime head, start by drawing a vertical line to ensure both sides of the head are equal. Now draw the top region of the head so that it forms a shape of a semicircle. From that draw two lines that point in a downward direction towards one another. Draw one more set of lines using those lines that meet at a point to form the chin.

How to Draw Anime Hands?

  • Start by drawing anime hands in an open palm fashion.

  • Now draw the thumb base and hands palm of the anime in such a way that they are in the right proportions.

  • Next analyze the proportions of the anime’s hand and fingers.

  • The tip of the thumb should make a 45-degree angle with the hand. It should reach a little below the index finger’s knucklebone. With some practice you will get to know better about how to draw anime hands.

How to Draw Anime Feet?  

  • To learn how to draw anime feet, you will need to consider the following things.  

  • The feet of an anime comprise the toes and the foot. Where the toes are mobile and can move easily, they remain fixed during normal foot movement.

  • Start drawing the overall shapes of the foot. A good practice to draw the foot accurately is to zoom the foot section over the entire body. Consider the little details to draw the right shape of the foot.

  • When learning how to draw anime feet, take note of the placement of the legs with respect to the position of the feet. Many a time when you are focused on drawing only the feet, you lose the track of the placement of the legs. So, keep the placement of both legs and feet in mind to form a proper design of the anime character.

  • It is a good practice to start by drawing the overall ratios of the anime character first, and then draw the actual foot part.

Draw Anime Eyes

How to Draw Anime Eyes?

The biggest blunder that beginners make is making one eye smaller/bigger than the other. Even the slightest difference is noticeable. So, follow the below steps accurately on how to draw anime for beginners.

Draw the perfect shape of the eyes. Note that the eyes of anime are usually wider and bigger than real eyes. The distance between the eyes should be such that you could easily draw a third eye in that space.

To draw the eyes, you should use the horizontal line and run it through the midsection of the head. Make sure you draw the eyes right below this horizontal line. Note that your real eyes are drawn either above or on this line. How to draw anime boy eyes who is young?

In this case, you should make them wide and tall. This is because wider and bigger eyes give an illusion of a younger appearance. Also, the eyebrows have to be slightly above the level of the eyes. A hint of the eyelids in between the eyes and eyebrows will give a proper look to the eyes of your anime character.

For a general expression, the iris has to be a little covered by the top eyelid and the eyebrows should be a little above the eyes making an even curve. For different expressions such as bored, scared, angry, happy, etc. you need to draw the eyebrow and the pupils differently. You can also shade the eyes to make them look more appealing.  You can get better on how to draw anime eyes with keen observation skills.

How to Draw Anime Hair  

In a typical anime/manga style, the female anime has a fairly short hair length with large clumps. How to draw anime hair with that style? For this, you will need to split the hair into three parts:

  • Front section

  • Side sections

  • Top/ back section

To do the splitting, you need to make light lines from the pencil and trace them over to make them dark.

To learn how to draw anime girl hair for characters with large hair, follow the below steps:

  • Draw the basic outline of the head.

  • Now add the hairline to the above outline.

  • Now draw the front section of the hair.

  • Draw the mid clumps in a way that it points downwards and the side clumps should point in the direction of respective sides.

  • Next, draw the side section of the hair

  • Follow it up by placing the top and back section of the hair

  • Once you have completed the drawing, you can erase unwanted drawings to get a clean drawing. You can also check YouTube videos on how to draw anime hair styles.

Anime Mouths

How to Draw Anime Mouths?  

The mouth is another important feature of the anime face that you should learn to draw it perfectly. For this, you will need to draw a horizontal line between the horizontal line that you had used to drawing for the chin and nose.

A good tip on how to draw anime mouths, you should draw the mouth a little above this line in place of drawing it directly on the line. The sole reason for it is that it will get you the right placement of the bottom lip that is not present in the facial design of a majority of animes.

How to draw Anime Nose?  

The nose is another vital part to learn how to draw anime faces. The right placement and length of the nose are important. For placing the nose, you will first need to draw a horizontal line between the chin and the face. It is drawn such that it partitions the two halves of the face.

Once you have properly drawn the line, you will need to place the nose above it. Where the nose of a real human is drawn higher up on the face, in the case of anime, the nose is drawn farther from the face especially in younger animes with tall and big eyes. So, now you have understood how to draw anime.

Additional Resource for How to Draw Anime:

Draw Anime Tutorials

How to Draw Anime Eyes

Anime Boy Face Drawing Tutorials

Draw Anime

Part 3: Important Point to Consider for How to Draw Anime for Beginners

A. Tips to draw a perfect Anime  

Study Real-Life Anatomy   

To learn how to draw anime characters, first understand that anime characters show similar attributes as real-life human beings. They do all those body movements that a human does. So, by learning the basic anatomy tenets, you can learn how to draw anime.

Be Ready to Face Failure   

While learning how to draw anime characters, you can fail and make mistakes. It will hone your skills and make you perfect in drawing animes. So, if you want to learn how to draw anime bodies, then embrace failures and learn from them.

Be Open to Criticism   

Do not feel discouraged during the phase of learning how to draw anime characters. You need critics and their honest feedback to improve your skills. Take people’s criticism positively while you learn how to draw anime step by step. 

Draw Different Kinds of Characters   

Every artist has a certain “type” of character he/she wants to draw, whether it be a chibi, a pretty boy, or a pretty girl. As you practice your anime drawings, it is important to branch out and start drawing all types of characters and people. This will vastly improve your drawings skills.

Keep Experimenting   

If you do not try, you will not succeed. This holds true when you are learning how to draw anime girls and how to draw anime boys. Improvisation in planning, design, drawing, etc. comes with experimentation. Try using different styles, clothes, makeup, etc.

Keep Experimenting

B) Tips to avoid drawing a perfect Anime  

No Plagiarism   

Be original in your creation. When you are learning how to draw an anime body, do not copy exact details of anime characters. Form your ideas and create a unique anime. You can take ideas of other animators when learning how to draw anime face, but do not copy it as it is. Add your imagination and creativity to make it original and impressive.

Avoid Shortcuts   

There is no quick path to successful anime creation. When you are learning how to draw anime characters, you need to keep practicing. No matter if you find it hard to draw a certain body part, you should keep trying.

Eventually, you will succeed. While you are learning how to draw anime eyes, you may come up with a terrible design but keep working on it. With practice, you will get better at drawing anime.

Do Not Get Demotivated   

What makes you feel discouraged? Is it few little mistakes here and there while learning how to draw anime faces? These little mistakes are what will make you an expert at drawing an anime. Don’t bog down by anyone’s remarks. Believe that one day you will make better anime than your friends and everyone will praise you.

Stop Comparing   

If you aim to learn how to draw anime girl hair, then the most important tip is to stop the comparison. A lot of people do that and they fail.

To keep moving ahead, you should stop comparing your anime creation with others. Also, you should not become overconfident when people praise you. Move with the mindset that there is a lot more to learn and improve on this mission, if you wish to become an expert on how to draw anime.

Part 4: Conclusion

Being regarded as a global phenomenon, Animes are seen to have immense potential to attract millions of fans all across the world. Owing to the distinctive look and feel, these multilingual animes have got popular in the West, which is why people are keen on knowing about how to draw anime characters. The above step-by-step tutorial, tips, and guidelines will help you how to draw anime boys and how to draw anime girls easily.

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