Why Learn To Draw Anime
A lot of us grew up watching shounen anime. You know, those wild and sometimes violent shows with crazy fight scenes, unique stories, crazy competitive sports and a kid in a funny outfit and spiky hair. Admit it, we love them. The West grew up with ’80s action-adventure cartoons, and the arrival of shounen anime offered a unique twist. The anime boys of the ’90s appealed to a broad audiencefrom kids to young adults. They vary from nice guys with earth-shaking furies to hotblooded competitors , from hyperactive ninja to space cowboys . Even today, shounen anime never lose their spark, and they will continue to charm future anime geeks for years to come.
And yes, they are fun to draw.
Shoujo characters might be the first anime figures I learned to draw, but once I got the hang of it, I upgraded to doing shounens. They seem to reflect a hotblooded side of me, and I have fun sketching them with oversized weapons . With that said, lets do shounen characters this time. I will draw my character based on my preferences .
The sausages and eggs method.
Drawing A Crazy Looking Anime Yandere Character
This particular crazy face is one a tsundere tends to make for someone she is obsessed/in love with.
For the crazy expression draw the eyes slightly wider than normal with small irises/pupils/highlights and no shadows.
Draw the eyebrows in upside down curves with the inner sides of the eyebrows raised.
Draw the mouth open in a sort of relaxed state . Remember to draw the chin slightly lower down for the open mouth.
Drawing An Angry Antagonist/villain Anime Male Character
This is an expression the villain tends to make when they are ticked off/angry/upset.
For an angry look draw the eyebrows closer together and very low down on the face . Give a hint of wrinkles between the eyebrows to further indicate they are being squeezed together. Draw the eyes squinted and draw the irises of the eyes smaller then normal with tiny pupils and no reflections.
Not drawing reflections will make the eyes appear more cold and uncaring.
Draw the mouth open and shaped similar to the number 8 thats been flipped on its side with the teeth showing. You can also make the mouth slightly wider on one side and give a hint of the split between the top and bottom rows of teeth with curved lines on each side.
For more on drawing anime teeth see:
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Drawing An Antagonist/villain Anime Character
The antagonist or the main villain is usually the direct opposite of the protagonist. A negative character with few to no good traits.
To draw an unfriendly looking anime character like this example draw the pupils of the eyes and irises fairly small with the top eyelids covering a good portion of the eye.
Do not add any shadows to the top of the irises . Also draw fewer highlights in the eyes and make them fairly small for an even less friendly look.
Draw the bottom eyelids and the mouth in reverse curves .
Position the eyebrows lower down in wave like shape for a sort of semi-permanent frown.
You can use what is often referred to as a Hime Cut for the hair. As Hime means princess combined with a look like the one above it can reinforce the idea of a stuck up or spoiled character.
Next Sketch A Simple Outline Of The Hairstyle
How to get anime male hairstyles? Learn how to draw anime hair for boys and girls. This tutorial will show you how to draw male and female anime hair. This will help you see the effect of the hair on the . Because we’re seeing the character from the profile view. This is an anime hair drawing tutorial for beginners so we will focus on the simple anterior view. They are often used on merchandise for popular anime series. Above, you could see basic sketches, with the help of which you can draw absolutely any male and female haircuts. A chibi is a form of stylized character drawing that originates in japan. For example, below you can see several . In this tutorial you will see how to easily draw manga hair and come up with new hairstyles . The back is much more prominent and the hair will appear thicker than if we were to see it from the . Next, sketch a simple outline of the hairstyle.
This will help you see the effect of the hair on the . This tutorial will show you how to draw male and female anime hair. For example, below you can see several . Learn how to draw anime hair for boys and girls. Front, side, back, 3/4 view animated character.
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Male Anime Face Shape Breakdown
Before going into drawing specific character archetypes its a good idea to first analyze the characteristic features of male anime faces. While there is quite a bit of variation in the anime and manga style generally all anime characters tend to have large eyes, small noses amd simplified mouths with no lips.
Younger anime and manga male characters are often drawn with almost the exact same faces as females. Older male characters are more likely to have longer faces, wider chins, and smaller/narrower eyes . For this tutorial we will use a very generic male face that can be either a high school student or a younger adult.
The generic shape of this type of male anime face can basically be broken down into the three simple shapes in the example above.
Draw The Face Center Line
Erase the half of the oval that will be facing towards the back of the head . From the forward facing part project a straight line that will represent the center of the face. This line should be on a slight angle towards the back of the head. It should also reach down to at least the point that will be the bottom of the chin.
Once done you should have a basic construction drawing to help you create the rest of the head and face.
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Anime Male Character Step By Step Drawing
For more details on drawing anime male facial features also see:
How To Draw Anime Step By Step Tutorials And Pictures
The art of drawing has been around since prehistoric times. Archaeologists still uncover different cave drawings showcasing the life of the First Men. Naturally, people have developed this way of expression and have turned it into actual art. Nowadays there are so many different ways of drawing and painting, it might be difficult for an artist to find their own style. Despite all of that, though, one style seems to be taking over the world. Which is why, today we are going to focus specifically on how to draw anime in particular. We have prepared some step by step tutorials, as well as some drawings to get inspiration from. So, even if you are just a beginner and are wondering where to start, we believe in you. You can do it!
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How To Draw An Anime Boy
wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 16 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 214,548 times.
Like manga or comics? Learn to draw your very own anime boy from scratch. All you need to do is follow these easy steps!
Alternative Female Anime Hair
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Drawing A Scared/nervous Loner Anime Male Character
This is a scared/nervous expression anime/manga loners tend to make. This can be when they are being bullied or simply when they are in an uncomfortable situation .
For a scared/nervous look for the loner draw the eyebrows raised and in reverse of their normal curves. Draw the eyes fairly wide open with smaller than normal irises. Leave the top of the irises covered by the eyebrows but just barely.
Draw the mouth with the teeth showing an a number 8 on its side kind of shape . Add a hint of the bottom lip in an upside down curve
Draw The Chest Muscles
Make the overall shapes of the chest muscles slightly narrower towards the center of the body and wider towards the outsides. They should start from just below the collar bones and go down well past the shoulders.
You can draw each side of the chest with four sets of curves. The first one should somewhat face towards the shoulders, the next one can follow the angle of the collar bones. The third curve can be along the center line drawn in the first step. Finally for the last curve draw its line going slightly downwards in a light curve and then going back up again in a fairly sharp curve towards the start of the first curve.
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Drawing An Alarmed Henchman Male Anime Character
The alarmed look is one that the henchman type characters are especially likely to get when they are guarding something and notices a break in.
For an alarmed looking face draw the eyebrows low down on the head and closer together but with one slightly higher than the other. You can also draw some wrinkles between the eyebrow to show that they are squeezed together. Draw the eyes looking slightly to one side with one eye squinted and one opened wider.
Draw the mouth with even more of an upside down curve than normal.
Drawing A Henchman Male Anime Character
The henchman is pretty much the most generic looking character type in anime and manga. If there is more than one of them they all tend to look almost the same. These are usually non-important characters that tend to be something like security guards or a villains minor minions.
A buzz cut may be appropriate for these types of characters.
For the normal look draw the henchman character with the eyebrows in their normal state. Draw the eyes with the bottom lids slightly lower down and the irises much smaller than normal. You can make the eyes look less caring by only drawing one tiny reflection in each. Give a hint of bags under the eyes with a pair of curved lines.
Finally draw the mouth in an upside down curve.
These combined features will give this character a fairly non-caring unfriendly and slightly tired look. For example like a guard thats been on a long shift.
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Anime Boy Hairstyles 3/4 View
Learn how to draw anime hair for boys and girls. This tutorial will show you how to draw male and female anime hair. In this tutorial you will see how to easily draw manga hair and come up with new hairstyles . For example, below you can see several . Front, side, back, 3/4 view animated character.
Drawing An Average Guy Anime Male Character
The average guy character is usually meant to be someone the viewer can relate to or cheer for. These are often the protagonists of anime shows and manga or the lead male character if the protagonist is a female.
Somewhat messy medium length hair is very common for these types of characters.
To draw a male protagonist character with their normal expressions draw the eyebrows in their natural position and draw the eyes with fairly large pupils/irises.
If you want a friendly looking character draw the mouth with a light smile.
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How To Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
This tutorial explains how to draw female anime and manga style characters using eight popular anime character archetypes with three examples of each.
As the name states this tutorial is all about character. It shows how you can take one anime or manga style face and tweak its features and expression to give an appearance of a different personality. It also suggests some hairstyles that may be well suited for each character type.
The character archetypes included are:
- Ordinary Girl
Anime Male Character Face Proportions
These are the default proportions that the characters in this tutorial will refer to. So when you read something like draw the eyebrows lower down or make the eyes narrower it will usually mean in relation to this example.
Please keep in mind that they are just a guideline for getting male anime style looking characters. As already mentioned there is a lot of variation in the anime/manga style so this drawing template may not always apply.
For a detailed guide on drawing a male anime face see:
If you just want a quick breakdown of the placement of the facial features and drawing steps you can read below:
- Eyes make a horizontal line through the middle of the head and draw the eyes below that
- Ears make another horizontal line between the first line and the bottom of the chin and draw the ears between these two lines
- Nose position the nose with its bottom at the line used for the bottom of the ears
- Mouth draw the mouth with the bottom lip between the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin and the mouth itself slightly above it
Draw the eyebrows slightly above the eyes.
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Drawing A Daydreaming Shy Anime Character
As the shy girl characters tend to be loners they may often be daydreaming by themselves.
For the daydreaming expression draw the eye/eyes to one side of the face with both the top and the bottom eyelids slightly raised. You can also draw slightly raised eyebrows
Draw the mouth smiling with the teeth showing and add some blush below the eyes.
Drawing An Antagonist/villain Anime Male Character
The type of look shown in this example is common to the main villains of fantasy and sci-fi shows and manga. They are usually intelligent and strong and thus also usually calm and confident.
These guys often tend to have long hair.
For the villains normal look draw the inner ends of the eyebrows slightly lowered . Make the irises of the eyes slightly smaller than those of the protagonist character with the pupils even smaller in relation to them.
Draw the mouth and the hint of the bottom lip in light upside down curves.
The combined effect of the facial features drawn in such a way will give the villain a slightly confident yet unfriendly/stuck up look.
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Drawing An Ordinary Girl Anime Character
The ordinary girl character can be the childhood friend or the main girl in the story. In anime and manga they tend to be friendly and down to earth.
Ordinary long hair may be a good fit for the ordinary girl.
To draw the ordinary girl character with their normal expression draw fairly wide eyes and large irises/pupils. This will make the character look more friendly.
You can draw the mouth with a very light smile .
Draw the eyebrows in pretty much their natural state with smooth curves.
Drawing A Surprised Intellectual Male Anime Character
The intellectual may make a surprised face like the one in the example when they make some sort of a discovery.
To draw the surprised look for the intellectual character draw the eyebrows raised and draw the eyes wide open with small pupils. Draw the mouth open in an O type shape. Since the mouth is open you can also optionally draw the jaw slightly lower down.
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Draw The Outline Of The Body
Generally very muscular bodies will be wider towards the top and narrower towards the bottom. As the muscles are basically popping out from the body sort of like theyve been inflated almost everything will be drawn with some sort of a curve.
Draw the outline of the body as follows:
Drawing A Disgusted Wealthy Guy Anime Male Character
The disgusted look is one the wealthy character archetype tends to make when they look at someone or something they consider beneath them.
For a disgusted look draw the wealthy guys face with the eyebrows in reverse of their normal curves. Make the inner ends of the eyebrows raised and draw them just slightly closer together. Make the eyes themselves slightly squinted.
Draw the mouth like an upside down smile, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom with the teeth showing. Flip the bottom lip upside down as well.
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