Drawing Tutorials: Anime Style

These step‑by‑step guides will help you practice the fundamentals of drawing manga‑style characters. Each tutorial is SFW and focuses on construction and proportions. Use these diagrams as starting points and adapt them to develop your own style.

Faces

1. Draw a circle for the cranium and a vertical line down the centre. Add a horizontal line halfway down to mark the eye level. Manga eyes sit lower on the head than many Western comic styles.
2. Sketch the jawline by drawing two angled lines from the sides of the circle down to the chin. Use soft curves for feminine faces and sharper lines for masculine faces.
3. Place the eyes along the eye line, leaving approximately one eye‑width of space between them. The nose sits halfway between the eye line and the chin, and the mouth sits halfway between the nose and the chin.
4. Add the ears between the eye line and the nose line. Refine hair and details.

Face drawing guidelines showing head proportions and placement of eyes, nose and mouth — Guide for drawing manga faces.

Hands

1. Begin with a rough box to represent the palm. Divide the box into four vertical sections for the fingers.
2. Draw the thumb as a separate cylinder attached to the side of the palm. Note that the thumb begins lower on the hand than the fingers.
3. Sketch the fingers as tapered cylinders. The middle finger is usually the longest, with the index and ring fingers slightly shorter and the pinky shortest.
4. Refine the shapes by adding knuckles and fingernails. Use reference photos to capture realistic gestures.

Hand drawing guidelines showing finger proportions and palm structure — Guide for drawing manga hands.

Bodies

1. Use the seven‑head rule to establish overall proportions: a typical manga character’s height is about seven heads tall. Start with a vertical guideline and mark off equal segments.
2. Draw the head in the top segment, then sketch the torso using two additional segments. The shoulders are roughly two heads wide for an adult male and slightly narrower for an adult female.
3. Add the pelvis region in the next segment and use the remaining segments to lay out the legs. Manga characters often have longer legs and slim bodies.
4. Add arms, keeping them roughly three heads long from shoulder to fingertip. Refine shapes and add clothing.

Body proportions chart showing the seven‑head rule for manga characters — Guide for drawing manga body proportions.

These guidelines are only starting points. Manga encompasses a variety of styles—from super‑deformed chibi characters to hyper‑realistic seinen art. Experiment with proportions and line work to find a style that resonates with you. For a deeper look at visual language conventions, read Analyzing the Manga Art Style.