How to draw anime character

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How to draw anime character

How to Draw Anime Characters

Many beginners choose anime/manga as their first drawing style, because it looks very simple and appealing. However, if you want to draw a manga character from scratch, you need to understand the proportions and structure of the body. And if you want to draw anime bodies from imagination, you even need to know human anatomy. So while drawing anime characters is easier than drawing realistically, it’s still not easy!

In this tutorial, I will show you the basics of drawing the bodies of anime characters. I’ll show you how to start a manga drawing—how to define a pose for your character and how to make sure the proportions are correct. Then I’ll show you how to turn this «skeleton» into a 3D structure and how to add muscles to it.

You’ll learn everything you need to know to draw an anime character from scratch—the gesture, proportions, forms, and anatomy. It’s all explained on a beginner level!

1. Anime Body Proportions

Anime characters don’t have very strict proportions—each creator has their own style, and it’s impossible to create one correct sheet of proportions for a manga body. However, while there are no right and wrong proportions, there are intentional and unintentional ones.

To give your proportions an intentional look, you must keep them consistent. For this, it’s best to follow certain rules while you’re drawing. The most universal rules for drawing a proportional anime body would be:

Once you remember your proportions like this, it’s much easier to implement them than when you use so-and-so-many-heads-long rule. Let’s be honest—how do you start a manga drawing when the only thing you know is how it’s supposed to look when it’s finished? Are you supposed to draw a head, then multiply it six and a half times, and then draw a dynamic body over it somehow? This method of measuring proportions always looked ridiculous to me. So let me show you a much more straightforward method!

Step 1

To draw a dynamic pose for your anime character, it’s good to use a reference. Even pros do it, because it’s not so easy to imagine a natural pose. You can use a drawing dummy or a photo reference. I used this photo of two boxers, but you can find many others on Envato Elements.

Once you have your reference, search for the main line of action. If you were to reduce the whole pose to a single line, what would it look like?

Did you find it? Draw it with a quick, smooth motion.

Step 2

That was easy, wasn’t it? Let’s complement this main line with another one. Usually, it will be the other leg. Again, draw it quickly and smoothly, ignoring the details.

Step 3

Time for the arms! Don’t worry too much about their length; the curve is more important here.

This is where you may meet your first problem—where to put the shoulders? It doesn’t really matter that much, as long as there’s some distance between them and the crotch. We’ll adjust it all later!

Step 4

Draw the head now. It should be placed close to the main line of action. Its size will help us work out the other proportions.

Step 5

Do you remember the rule about the half of the body? You know where the head ends, and you know where the legs end (roughly), so now find the middle point—this will be the crotch area of our anime character. Of course, feel free to modify this proportion for your intended effect!

Step 6

To make this skeleton clearer, add «the chest» and «the hips», like an hourglass. This is where you can play with the proportions to create a more characteristic body. One of my characters will be a ridiculously muscular male, and the other a young, fit female. Notice how the shape of the «hourglass» reflects their bodies at this early stage.

Step 7

Time to incorporate the other rules. Find the ankle and mark the middle of the distance between it and the crotch to find the knee. Find the elbow and mark the end of the palm.

Step 8

Finally, draw the actual «bones» over these dynamic, but slightly inaccurate lines.

2. How to Draw an Anime Body

This «skeleton», though so simple, is actually half of the job—once you have set the proportions the way you want, there’s not much you can do wrong! But a correctly drawn skeleton is just a skeleton, so let’s see how to fill it and create a body.

An anime body can be reduced to simple forms, like spheres and ellipsoids. They introduce another level of proportions, although they’re much looser and easier to keep right. It’s important to remember that although they look like circles and ellipses in your drawing, they’re actually 3D objects, and they are subject to perspective.

Let’s take a look at the body parts separately. The torso still looks very much like an hourglass. You just have to remember about the tilting of the chest and hips towards the waist in the back.

The limbs are a little more complex, but still easily understandable. Just imagine them as the limbs of a drawing dummy! Also, pay attention to the joints.

Step 1

Let’s put it all into practice now. First, draw the torso. You must be very careful here—adjust the perspective to the pose. Dynamic anime characters rarely utilize simple views like pure front or side!

Step 2

Next, locate the joints and mark them as spheres.

Step 3

Add the big muscle masses now. Feel free to adjust their size and shape to the style of the character’s body. My male is supposed to be ridiculously muscular in opposition to a slim female.

Step 4

Finally, add the buttocks, the crotch, and the breasts.

3. How to Draw an Anime Torso and Breasts

The whole body is well established, so now we only need to add the details. Even if you don’t care much about showing the muscle definition, the anatomy still influences the final look of the body, so you can’t ignore it. So let’s take a closer look at the anatomy of anime bodies.

The torso is the simplest to draw because it has big, clear muscle masses, and it doesn’t change shape too much. The abs and the pectorals are the muscles known even to laymen, so make sure to mark them.

Step 1

Let’s see how these muscles can be simplified into easy to draw lines. First, the waist must be smoothed. The woman has a narrower waist.

Step 2

The chest can be divided into a few areas horizontally: the top and bottom of the pectorals, the bottom of the rib-cage, and the navel level.

Step 3

The middle line looks straight only in the front view. In other views it envelopes the muscles it crosses, accentuating their shape. There’s a little hump under the navel, clearer in females.

Step 4

The whole six-pack can be neatly outlined, suggesting the placement of its component. The pectorals go towards the armpits, and they are covered slightly by the arm muscle, which affects their shape.

Step 5

The nipples can be found easily by going from the center of the clavicles. The muscles on the side have a serration that can be marked easily by following the rhythm of the bottom of the rib-cage.

Step 6

The neck is fairly straightforward: just draw a line from the center of the clavicles towards the ears, and fill the rest as a simple column. As for the back, don’t forget about the shoulder blades.

Step 7

The back muscles are big and quite simple. The upper one has the shape of a kite (it supports the neck from the back), and the lower one has the shape of a «V» (it’s connected to the arm).

Here’s a simplified diagram of all these guide lines. As you can see, despite their simplicity, they show the muscle definition quite successfully.

Step 8

Breasts can be tricky to draw, because they’re not really what they seem. They’re soft masses, affected greatly by gravity, not simply firm balls attached to the chest. They don’t really have one solid shape—it changes all the time with the pose.

When you start drawing the breasts, mark them as simple spheres of the intended size. Place the spheres partly inside the chest for a more natural effect.

To place the breasts correctly and symmetrically in every view, imagine them with «straps» tied behind the neck.

Because in my pose the woman is keeping one of her arms close, I moved the adjacent breast higher, as it gets slightly pushed.

Step 9

The nipples can be found just like in the male, except they’re lower and placed more in the front. This line will help you create a proper shape for the top of the breast.

Step 10

To better see the 3D shape of the breast, especially in difficult views, you can draw two lines under the nipple, creating a triangle.

Here’s a simplified diagram of breasts for your reference.

I mentioned earlier that breasts change shape, and this is something you need to pay attention to. Natural breasts rarely look round on top unless they’re pushed up or towards the middle.

4. How to Draw Anime Legs

Legs have many muscles of various shapes and lengths, going in various directions. They’re not easy to memorize, but luckily there’s really no need to. You just have to understand how they affect the general shape of the legs.

Step 1

Legs have a few linear rhythms hidden in them, and once you find them, you’ll never have a problem with drawing them again. Let’s start with the long «S» shape visible in the side view.

Step 2

This side view is complete with another pair of lines:

Step 3

The front and back views have another rhythm, with more curves:

Step 4

You can finish it with a long «3» shape.

Step 5

And that’s mostly it! You can add the buttocks now, finish the calf.

Step 6

. and add any details you need. In my opinion, the basic shape of the knee, the ankle, and the lower leg bone are the most important here. The rest can be safely ignored unless you’re drawing a superhero with muscles bulging out from every inch of their body.

Here’s a quick diagram of leg muscles for your reference.

5. How to Draw Anime Arms

Let’s be honest: arms are the most complex piece of anatomy, because they have many muscles and they’re very mobile, creating various poses of their own. But they can be simplified, too!

Step 1

First, you need to pay attention to the shape of the forearm. It’s not really an ellipsoid: it’s a less regular form that changes seemingly unpredictably during rotation. To understand it, take a look at your forearm, palm up. There’s a rounding between the thumb and the outer side of the biceps, and a flattening between the little finger and the elbow. It stays this way regardless of the rotation and the view.

Step 2

The arm muscle covers a part of the shoulder blade in the back and a part of the pectoral muscle in the front, like a big cap. This muscle is the easiest to understand.

Step 3

The biceps and triceps lie on opposite sides of the arm. The elbow is visible on the triceps side.

Step 4

When it comes to the forearm muscles, you mostly need only two of them: the one that goes from the outer side of the biceps to the thumb (the one creating the rounding).

Step 5

. and the one that goes from roughly the same place towards the top of the hand. In most cases, if the pose doesn’t let you use this one or the other, you can just split the forearm in half.

And here’s a simplified diagram of the arm muscles.

Once you’re done, you can draw the final lines. The best thing about using guide lines first is that you can clearly see any mistakes, and you get a chance to fix them—with a clear reference of the direction you must go away from. So ink your final lines, fixing any mistakes as you go.

Good Job!

Now you know how to draw anime characters—their bodies and anatomy. You know how to draw the torso, legs, and arms in manga style, and you know how to define the pose easily with correct proportions.

This was the first tutorial of a series on How to Draw Anime. Stay tuned for more, and in the meantime you can try our other tutorials. If you want to improve your knowledge of figure drawing, you’ll love this series:

And if you’re interested in drawing characters in Disney style, this is something for you:

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.

Anime character archetype drawing examples

As the name states this tutorial is all about “character”. It shows how you can take one anime or manga style face and tweak it’s 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:

For drawing male characters see:

Face Proportions for an Anime Character

The base character drawing proportions used in this tutorial are shown in the illustration above. If you’ve seen some of the other tutorials here on AnimeOutline you may already be aware of these.

If not the proportions are as follows:

You can draw the eyebrows and eyelids slightly above the eyes.

Please keep in mind that the size and position of the facial features in the examples below will change based on character type and facial expressions.

Also be aware that these are only suggested proportions for making a character look “anime”. Different anime styles can still have different proportions.

For a more detailed tutorial for each of the facial features see:

Basic Shape of an Anime Character’s Face

When drawing the outer shape of an anime face in the front view it may be helpful to think of it as being composed of three basic shapes as shown above (circle, quadrilateral and triangle).

Anime Character Face Drawing Step by Step

To draw any of the characters in this tutorial you can use the steps in the above illustration.

For an explanation of why you want to draw this way (showing the hidden parts of the face etc…) and other helpful drawing tips see:

For the full tutorial on drawing a female anime or manga style head and face please see:

For drawing and shading the different hairstyles used in this tutorial see:

For other hair drawing tutorials see:

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”.

Anime female character face drawing

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 (curving very slightly upwards).

Draw the eyebrows in pretty much their natural state with smooth curves.

Drawing a Smiling “Ordinary Girl” Anime Character

A smile is one common expression for this type of character.

Anime female character smiling face drawing

For a smiling face draw the eyes slightly narrower with, reverse the curves of the bottom eyelids from their normal state and draw the mouth slightly wider.

Drawing a Happy “Ordinary Girl” Anime Character

A happy face is another expression that can be fairly common for the “ordinary girl” character.

For more on drawing anime and manga style blush see:

For the happy face you can pretty much draw it the same as the smiling face but draw the mouth slightly open showing the white of the teeth and add some blush just below the eyes.

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.

Anime villain female character face drawing

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 (his will give the villain that “stare” type of look). 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 (downwards).

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.

Drawing a Crazy Looking Anime Villain Character

To give the anime “villain” character that crazy or maniacal look they sometimes have draw the irises and pupils of the eyes very small so that there is a good bit of white space around them.

Anime villain female character crazy face drawing

Draw the eyebrows somewhat lower in wave like shapes as the previous example but with their inner ends raised slightly back up again. Again don’t add any shadows to the irises and draw only one set of reflections.

Draw the mouth with the teeth showing in a wide smile.

Eventually you should end up with crazy looking eyes and a grinning mouth. Prefect expression for a villain (though it might be a bit hard to actually pull this one off in real life)

Drawing an Angry Looking Anime Villain Character

This angry expression is one that anime villain characters tend to make when they are ticked off (often from their evil plans failing).

Anime villain female character angry face drawing

For the angry looking villain draw the top eyelids lowered and the bottom eyelids raised (in reversed curves). Draw the pupils and irises small with no shadows and small reflections same as the previous example.

Position the eyebrows lower down in wave like shapes.

Draw the mouth in a sort of “bean” shape with the bottom ends curving slightly downwards and the teeth showing.

Drawing Tsundere Anime Character

For those that don’t know a tsundere is a character that may act somewhat hostile at times but it actually nice. These types of characters usually have trouble showing their true feelings and get embarrassed when they do.

Anime tsundere female character face drawing

For a tsundere’s normal expression you can pretty much draw her the same as you would the “ordinary girl”.

Some small tweaks you can make are drawing the top eyelids slightly lower down and drawing a slightly smaller mouth to give her less of a smile.

You can also draw slightly smaller irises and pupils than the “ordinary girl. This will give her a slightly less friendly but still normal appearance.

Pigtails may be a good hairstyle for a tsundere to give the character a slightly more childish/immature appearance.

Drawing an Angry Anime Tsundere Character

For the angry (and slightly embarrassed look) draw the eyes slightly squinted and the eyebrows with their inner ends lowered.

Draw the mouth curving downwards.

Finally indicate some blush on the cheeks with some small striped lines.

Drawing an Embarrassed Anime Tsundere Character

As already mentioned a “tsundere” character tends to get embarrased when showing their true feelings so this can be a fairly common expression for them.

Anime tsundere female character embarrassed face drawing

For an embarrassed “tsundere” face draw the eyes squinting and looking downwards. Draw a horizontally wide mouth with the bottom ends wider than the top. Also keep in mind that when the mouth is open you should draw the jaw slightly lower down.

Draw the eyebrows lower down.

Drawing a Yandere Anime Character

A yandere is a reverse of the tsundere. A character who appears to be nice and friendly but can actually be quite hostile. The extreme versions of this character can be a downright crazy.

Anime yandere female character face drawing

For the yandere’s normal face you can draw it exactly the same as you would the “ordinary girl” with big eyes and a fairly friendly expression.

You can also give her long but slightly more messy hair to give a hint that there may be something “off” about her.

Drawing a “Cold Stare” Anime Yandere Character

The “cold stare” face is one the yandere character tends to make when her true colors come out. Usually it’s towards a female rival but can be for anyone she is “upset” with.

Anime yandere female character cold stare face drawing

For this type of face draw the eyes very slightly squinted with the bottom eyelids in reverse of their normal cures. Draw the pupils of the eyes very small in relation to the iris with no shadows and small highlights/reflections.

Draw the inner ends of the eyebrows raised and draw the mouth just very lightly open with the top lip raised and revealing some of the teeth.

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.

Anime yandere female character crazy face drawing

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 (from their normal state) with the inner sides of the eyebrows raised.

Draw the mouth open in a sort of relaxed state (not too wide). Remember to draw the chin slightly lower down for the open mouth.

Drawing a Shy Anime Character

These types of characters are usually nice and harmless but may be loners due to being afraid to talk to others.

A good hairstyle for this type of character can be the “hair over one eye” to reinforce the idea of “hiding” and shyness. But in case you want to draw a different hairstyle both eyes are show in the example below.

Anime shy female character face drawing

You can pretty much draw this character the same way as the “ordinary girl” but with slightly smaller irises/pupils to give her a bit more of a “scared” look.

Drawing a Daydreaming Shy Anime Character

As the “shy girl” characters tend to be loners they may often be daydreaming by themselves.

Anime shy female character daydreaming face drawing

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 a Shy Anime Character with an Awkward Look

When dealing with other characters the shy characters often tend to avoid eye contact and look down. They may also have a bit of a nervous smile.

Anime shy female character awkward face drawing

For the awkward expression draw the eye/eyes looking down as mentioned above with the bottom part of the iris slightly covered by the bottom eyelid. Leave a bit of space between the iris and the top eyelid.

Drawing a Tough Anime Character

These are often positive characters that may help protect the protagonist but they can also sometimes smack them around. They also tend to be into some sort of martial arts or “kendo” and may often get into fights.

A pony tail can be fairly common for these types of characters as it can give them that “sporty” as athletes often tie their hair back so it doesn’t get in the way.

Anime tough female character face drawing

For a tough looking character draw the eyes with the top eyelids down and the bottom eyelids slightly raised. Draw the eyebrows with the inner ends lowered.

Draw the mouth in a very light upside down curve.

Drawing an Angry Tough Anime Character

The “though girl” anime characters tend to be fairly emotional and can get angry easily.

Anime tough female character angry face drawing

For the angry face draw the eyes a lot more squinted than normal and the eyebrows even lower down.

Draw the mouth open and fairly wide (horizontally) with the bottom being slightly wider than the top.

You can also give her a bit of medical tape on her cheek to reinforce the idea of her “active” character (working out or getting into fights).

Drawing a Happy Tough Anime Character

As already mentioned these types of characters can be fairly emotional and are as likely to easily be happy as angry.

Anime tough female character happy face drawing

For a happy/content face draw the “tough” girls eyes fully closed. Basically a set of curves with eyelashes. Draw the eyebrows slightly flatter than normal (less of a curve).

For a detailed explanation on drawing closed anime eyes see:

Drawing a Delinquent Anime Character

This type of character can often be a bully/hostile and pick fights. A good hairstyle for the delinquent can be short and maybe slightly messy hair. It will help create a sort of “tomboy” image for the character.

Anime delinquent female character face drawing

You can draw the “delinquent” face similar to the “tough girl” but draw the bottom eyelids almost straight and the irises (with everything inside them) much smaller. Draw the top of the irises covered by the top eyelids and leave some space between them and the bottom eyelids.

Draw the mouth in a light upside down curve.

Drawing a “One Eyebrow Raised” Delinquent Anime Character

This is a face anime delinquent characters tend to make when gloating or bullying someone.

Anime delinquent female character one eyebrow raised drawing

For this expression draw one eye squinted with the eyebrow over that eye lower down in a reversed curve. Draw the second eye slightly wider and with the eyebrow over that eye raised.

Draw the mouth in a sort of “crooked” smile with the teeth showing.

Drawing a “Bullying” Delinquent Anime Character

This is yet another “bullying” face the delinquent tends to make.

Anime delinquent female character bullying face drawing

For this expression draw the eyebrows lower down in reversed curves. Draw the mouth slightly open.

Drawing an Anime Bookworm Character

The bookworm as the name suggest is a character that usually spends a lot of time reading and studying. They can often serve as a sort of “go to for advice” type character for the protagonist.

A more neatly combed hairstyle may be more appropriate for this type of character as they are usually fairly diligent in everything they do.

Anime bookworm female character face drawing

You can draw the eyes for the “bookworm” almost the same as you would for the ordinary character.

Draw the mouth pretty much straight with no curve to give her a more serious look.

Finally you want to give her some glasses. For more on drawing anime glasses you can see:

Drawing a Curious Bookworm Anime Character

The curious expression is one the “bookworm” tends to have when reading or looking at something they are particularly interested in. In this expression the eyes are often hidden behind the reflection of the light in the glasses.

Anime bookworm female character curious face drawing

While the eyes are not shown in this expression you can still use the vertical halfway line to make sure you correctly position the glasses.

Draw the mouth close to a sort of “rounded square” shape with (slightly wider towards the bottom).

Drawing a Shy Looking Bookworm Anime Character

The “bookworm” can also be shy at times especially towards someone they like.

Anime bookworm female character shy face drawing

For a shy “bookworm” face draw the eyes as normal with the eyebrows raised towards the center of the face.

Draw the mouth in a light smile and add some blush to the cheeks.

Conclusion

This concludes the anime character drawing tutorial. There are still many more archetypes and other aspects that go into making a character but it’s hard to cover that much in one tutorial (this is already the longest one here on AnimeOutline thus far).

These examples should give you enough to work with that you can use them to create other character types.

For drawing other character types with different proportions also see:

You can also check out the tutorial below for some more anime and manga style facial expressions and personality related drawing advice:

For drawing a semi-realistic looking female anime character see:

How to Draw Male Anime Characters Step by Step

This step by step tutorial shows how to draw male anime and manga characters. It includes a total eight examples of some of the more popular character archetypes with three variations of each.

Anime male characters drawing

The main focus of this tutorial is on personality. It shows how you can take the same anime style male face and transform it into different characters by tweaking the facial features and hairstyle. It also shows how to draw some of the facial expressions these characters are likely to have.

The character types covered in this tutorial are:

For drawing female characters see:

Male Anime Face Shape Breakdown

Before going into drawing specific character archetypes it’s 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 (though still larger than normal). For this tutorial we will use a very generic male face that can be either a high school student or a younger adult.

Shape of male anime face breakdown

The generic shape of this type of male anime face can basically be broken down into the three simple shapes in the example above.

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:

Draw the eyebrows slightly above the eyes.

Anime Male Character Step by Step Drawing

For more details on drawing anime male facial features also see:

For drawing the hair for these characters see:

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.

Anime male character face drawing

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.

Drawing a Happy “Average Guy” Anime Male Character

A happy smile can be one of the expressions this type of character is likely to have. Usually this is a look the main male character can give to a character they like such as the female protagonist.

Anime male character happy face drawing

For the happy expression of the “average guy” draw the eyebrows slightly raised and the eyes slightly squinted. Draw the mouth with a smile. Leave the inside of the mouth white to indicate that its the teeth that are showing but don’t actually draw any hint of them, this will make the character look more friendly.

Drawing a Relaxed “Average Guy” Anime Male Character

This is another expression that this type of character can have. A sort of relaxed/wondering expression like “What am I gonna have for dinner tonight?”.

Anime male character relaxed face drawing

For relaxed and slightly puzzled expression draw the eyebrows with their inner ends slightly raised and draw pupils higher up (to make the eyes appear rolled up).

Add the mouth in an “O” like shape. Since the mouth is open you can draw the jaw lower down but this is optional. Often the jaws of anime characters are drawn in the same place even with the mouth open.

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 villain’s normal look draw the inner ends of the eyebrows slightly lowered (for a more aggressive look). 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.

Drawing an Angry Antagonist/Villain Anime Male Character

This is an expression the villain tends to make when they are ticked off/angry/upset.

Anime villain male character angry face drawing

For an angry look draw the eyebrows closer together and very low down on the face (especially the inner ends). 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” that’s 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:

Drawing a Scheming Antagonist/Villain Male Anime Character

A scheming/plotting type expression is another one a negative anime/manga character is likely to have. This is a face they can make when anticipating the success of their plans.

Anime villain male character scheming face drawing

To draw a scheming expression position the inner ends of the eyebrows to be very slightly raised, draw the eyes looking down with the top eyelids lowered. Draw the mouth with a smile (teeth showing) and again add a hint of the split between the top and bottom rows of teeth. These will make the smile look less friendly and more like a grin.

Drawing a Delinquent/Thug Male Anime Character

The “delinquent” character tends to be a bully or a thug. Usually these are negative characters that give other characters in the anime or manga a hard time.

Spiky and messy hair along with a goatee can be a good fit for the delinquent.

For a tutorial on drawing anime facial hair see:

Anime thug male character face drawing

For the delinquent’s normal look draw the eyebrows in their natural position. Draw the eyes with the bottom eyelids curving much further down then normal and draw the pupils much smaller then normal. There should be a good amount of space between the irises and the bottom eyelids. You can also give a hint of bags under the eyes with a pair of small curved lines.

Finally draw the mouth in a fairly sharp upside down curve and draw the bottom lip in a similar manner.

This combination of facial feature adjustments will give the delinquent an unfriend, slightly crazy and dumb look.

Drawing a Grinning Delinquent/Thug Male Anime Character

A grin is one expression that the delinquent/thug is likely to make when they spot someone they want to pick on.

Anime thug male character grinning face drawing

For grinning expression for the delinquent character draw the eyebrows with their inner ends lowered, draw the eyes slightly squinted but still leave some space between the bottom eyelids and the irises.

Draw the mouth smiling but with a hint of the teeth (same as for the villain).

Drawing a Bullying Delinquent/Thug Male Anime Character

The “bullying face” is another expression the delinquent/thug is likely to make especially when they corner their target.

Anime thug male character bullying face drawing

For the delinquent’s/thug’s “bullying face” draw one eyebrow lowered and one raised. The eye under the lowered eyebrow should be squinted and the one under the raised eyebrow opened slightly wider than normal.

Draw the with a grin/smile tilted to one side and draw the top portion of the mouth in an upside down curve (compared to previous example).

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.

Anime henchman character face drawing

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 that’s been on a long shift.

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.

Anime henchman character alarmed face drawing

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 Scared “Henchman” Male Anime Character

The scared face is one the “henchman” can get following the previous “alarmed face” after they see that whoever/whatever broke in is too much for them to handle.

Anime henchman character scared face drawing

For the scared face draw the “henchman” with their eyes wide open and the eyebrows raised. Draw the irises smaller than normal with some white space between the them and the top and bottom eyelids.

Draw the mouth similar to an “8” flipped on its side with the teeth showing and the bottom lip in an upside down curve.

Drawing a Friendly Male Anime Character

The “friendly guy” is usually a positive supporting character such as the protagonists best friend.

A short and messy hair can be a good fit for the “friendly guy” as it can reinforce a down to earth and slightly carefree personality type.

Anime friendly male character face drawing

For the “friendly guy’s” normal look draw the eyebrows in their natural state. Draw the eyes wider (taller) and make the irises and everything inside them larger than the base example at the start of the tutorial.

Give the mouth a light smile.

Larger eyes will make for a friendlier looking character and a light smile will further reinforce this look.

Drawing a Content Friendly Male Anime Character

A content smile is something that a friendly character is likely to have, often after they help someone.

Anime friendly male character content face drawing

For a content/happy look draw the “friendly guy” with the eyebrows raised and the eye closed. Draw the closed eyes as pretty much just a hair of dark curves similar to the eyebrows.

Draw the mouth in a wider smile than the previous example.

For drawing anime eyes in different states see:

Drawing a Surprised Male Anime Character

This is a lightly surprised face like them meeting their friend somewhere unexpectedly.

Anime friendly male character friendly face drawing

For the “lightly surprised” look draw the eyebrows raised with the eyes open a tiny bit wider than normal.

Draw the mouth open with the jaw position the chin slightly lower down and only the top row of teeth showing.

This will give the character a kind of a “happy to bump into you” expression.

Drawing a “Wealthy Guy” Anime Male Character

The “wealthy guy” characters tend to be rich and successful. They can often look down on those around them of lower status.

Anime wealthy male character face drawing

For the “wealthy guy’s” normal face draw the eyebrows slightly lower down. Draw the eyes with the inner ends of the top eyelids slightly lowered and draw the irises a little bit smaller than normal.

Draw the mouth with a hint of a smile but instead of drawing the smile with one curve draw it as a set of to curves (one for each side of the mouth).

These features combined will give this character a confident and slightly sly look.

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.

Anime wealthy male character disgusted face drawing

For a disgusted look draw the “wealthy guy’s” 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.

Drawing a Smiling “Wealthy Guy” Anime Male Character

A fake smile is another expression this character type tends to make. For example if the character is famous they tend to do it in front of their fans.

Anime wealthy male character smiling face drawing

For this expression draw the eyebrows raised and the eyes closed (similar to the friendly guys content look). Draw the closed eyes with a pair of curves similar to the eyebrows.

Draw the mouth with a smile but to make the it seem slightly less friend add a hint of teeth on each side.

Drawing a “Loner” Anime Male Character

The male loner character can either be shy or socially awkward or may just plain dislike people. These types of characters can be both positive and negative depending on the story.

Anime loner male character face drawing

For the “loner’s” normal look draw the eyebrows with their ends slightly raised. Draw the top eyelids slightly lowered and draw the bottom eyelids with wider curves. Make the irises fairly small. Underneath the eyes add a few curved lines to show bags under the eyes (like the character has no slept in a while).

Draw the mouth in an upside down curve.

Thee combined features will give the “loner” a somewhat uncaring and unfriendly look.

Drawing a Tired “Loner” Anime Male Character

The tired face is another expression that can be quite common to loner characters. For example they may spend the night playing online games and be tired in the morning.

Anime loner male character tired face drawing

For a tired look for the “loner” draw the eyebrows in upside down curves with their inner ends raised. Draw the top eyelids in reverse of their normal curves lower down on the eyes.

Keep the mouth the same as the normal expression.

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 (like having to socialize with others).

Anime loner male character scared face drawing

For a scared/nervous look for the loner draw the eyebrows raised (especially the inner ends) 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” (similar to previous example). Add a hint of the bottom lip in an upside down curve

Drawing an “Intellectual” Male Anime Character

The “intellectual” character type in anime and manga does not necessarily mean a shy or weak male character. On the contrary quite often these characters can be both physically though and intelligent. Often these tend to be the school council president or some type of leader.

Anime intellectual male character face drawing

For the “intellectual’s” normal look draw the eyebrows in their natural state with the eyes slightly narrower than the default character example at the start of the tutorial. Make the irises slightly smaller as well. Smaller/narrower eyes will both make the character look more serious and hint that they may have impaired vision.

Draw the mouth in a light upside down curve to again make the character look more serious.

Drawing a Concerned “Intellectual” Male Anime Character

The concerned or “thinking” expression is one that the “intellectual” character is likely to make.

Anime intellectual male character concerned face drawing

For the concerned expression draw the eyebrows lower down and closer together with some wrinkles in between them. Draw the irises slightly rolled up and slightly closer together.

Draw the mouth in an upside down curve but slightly higher up than the normal expression.

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.

Anime intellectual male character surprised face drawing

To draw the surprised look for the “intellectual” character draw the eyebrows raised (especially their inner ens) 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.

Conclusion

This tutorial covers drawing some of the more popular male anime and manga character archetypes by showing examples the of facial features, expressions, and hairstyles they are likely to have. While there is a lot more variety out there it’s very difficult to cover too much in a single tutorial. For more examples you can always look at your favorite anime and manga and see how the characters are most interested are drawn. You can also experiment with the personalities in this tutorial by combining the facial features of one character with another and seeing what you get.

For more tutorials on male anime character see:

How to Draw Anime Hands and Feet

If there’s one nightmare that all character artists share, it’s drawing hands. Even if you’re a manga artist and you tend to simplify all body parts for stylization purposes, hands can’t really be simplified that much. After all, it’s not the details that make them difficult to draw—it’s their flexibility. They’re like a character of their own!

In this tutorial, I will show you how to draw anime hands by explaining the anatomy and structure behind them. I’ll show you how to simplify the rhythm of the hands, how to start the drawing, and how to keep the proportions correct. I’ll also show you how to draw the feet, which are another problematic issue for many artists. If you want to keep things simple, I’ll show you how to draw hands and feet step by step as well.

This is part three of our series, How to Draw Anime. If you’re interested in drawing manga in general, you may want to check these out, too:

1. The Anatomy of Anime Hands

Anime hands, though so smooth and simple, share their basic structure with real hands. If you understand this structure properly, everything will be easier for you! Let’s start with the bones.

As you can see, the fingers are longer than they appear. They’re «buried» inside the palm, which makes this part less flexible. That’s why for practical reasons it’s better to see fingers as starting where the palm ends. The thumb is an exception here—it’s far away from the rest and can move on its own, not being limited by the palm.

Each finger has three joints. The sections between them get progressively shorter. The thumb again is an exception—it only has two joints, and its bones are similar in length.

Of course, we don’t really need to know the bones—we need to know their function and how they affect the look of the hand. The simplified structure of the hand consists of:

It’s very important to memorize this fan-shape rhythm between the joints. It influences the look of the hand, regardless of the pose of each finger. It makes it easier to guess the position of each joint in relation to the others, even the thumb’s.

But the surprising thing is that the fingers don’t really differ that much in length. If you remove the fan rhythm and place the phalanges (the finger bones) side by side, you won’t see that much of a difference. That’s why, instead of memorizing the length of each finger’s phalanges, you just need to remember the relation between them—the change in position as defined by the rhythm of a fan.

Proportions of Anime Hand

There are certain proportions that you need to know to draw a correct hand. You don’t need to be strict about them, but keep them in mind and try to follow them.

First, the length of the index finger is roughly equal to the whole palm (along with the wrist joint hidden in its base).

The ideal proportion of the joints on the index finger is: a half for the second joint, then again a half for the third. However, in reality, the second joint often lies at about 40% of the finger’s length. Feel free to chose the proportion that you like more—in stylized anime hands, the difference shouldn’t be that visible!

The thumb is as long as or slightly shorter than the little finger, but for me it’s best measured through its relation to the first finger—the thumb’s tip doesn’t reach its second joint.

2. How to Draw a Hand the Simple Way

But knowing the proportions of an anime hand is just one thing. How to start a drawing is another. Let’s simplify what you already know to learn how to draw a proportional hand from scratch.

Step 1

You can simplify the wrist to an oval and the palm to a bigger oval. When you draw it this way, you can easily rotate the hand at the wrist, imagining it as a ball.

Step 2

Add an oval for the base of the thumb. To keep it proportional, make it slightly longer than half of the palm.

You need to remember that the thumb is not really a part of the palm, from a functional perspective. You need to imagine the whole hand three-dimensionally, not like a flat plane.

Step 3

The palm itself has an interesting form. Place your hand on a flat surface in a relaxed way. You’ll notice that only the little finger and the thumb rest on the surface, while the others hang in the air. The palm isn’t really flat, unless you spread the fingers on purpose.

So we have two problems here:

These together create a very complex form—something hard to imagine, let alone draw! But there’s a solution to this problem. We can group the finger in two pairs and connect each pair to a separate ellipsoid—just like the one the thumb is attached to. If you make one pair smaller (ring finger, little finger) and put it lower, you’ll get the shape we need!

Still confused? Let’s draw it in 2D. First one, longer oval.

. then a second, shorter oval. They should both start in a similar place, and spread slightly to the sides like an asymmetrical heart.

Step 4

You should have no problems with applying the fan rhythm now, and the fingers just have to follow it.

Here’s the whole simplified structure of the hand for your reference.

Step 5

One more thing: the fan rhythm is not an accident. The fingers can go together, creating the shape of a mitten.

This flat mitten can be useful in some poses. Instead of drawing separate fingers, you can draw them together as one shape.

3. Details of the Hand

But proportions and shapes are not everything—without details, it’s just a skeletal hand. Let’s see what else we can add to our hands.

Details of the Palm

Hands are not only bones—they also have muscles and fat. These elements are mostly important on the palm side. Look at your own hand to locate these parts:

How to Draw Fingers

Let’s learn how to draw the shape of the fingers now.

Step 1

Draw a big circle at the base of the finger.

Step 2

Draw a smaller circle at the second joint. Connect it to the first one. These lines should taper a little. Also, if you draw the bottom of the phalanx, remember to add a curve.

In reality, the joint area looks slightly thicker than the rest of the finger. In manga style it can be ignored to keep the hands smooth and visually simple.

Step 3

Drawn an even smaller circle at the last joint. Connect it to the previous one. This phalanx doesn’t have a lot of cushion, so the curve only appears if the finger is bent.

Step 4

Draw the tip of the finger in the shape of a smooth wedge. Avoid completely pointed tips, unless you’re drawing your character in a deformed style.

Step 5

Add the nails at the halfway point of the last phalanx. They should be very subtle—their outline can’t compete with the more important outline of the whole hand.

Step 6

Don’t forget about webbing between the fingers!

4. How to Draw Anime Hands Step by Step

Enough theory! Let’s see how to draw anime hands in every pose! For this exercise, it’s good to use a reference. In fact, to learn how to draw hands, you need to practice a lot—not from imagination and guessing, but by analysis of the real thing. This constant exposure to the structure of a real hand will help you develop an intuition, and you’ll start «feeling» the difference between a correct pose and an incorrect one.

Step 1

Start by drawing the basic rhythm of the hand. It doesn’t matter which finger you choose for this line of action—choose the one that seems to be the most important in the pose.

Step 2

Sketch the palm, for now only as a rounded box. Remember about its basic perspective, but ignore the curving and the fan rhythm for now.

Step 3

Add the base of the thumb. Adjust its length to the length of the palm.

Step 4

Add the oval base for the first finger and the index finger. It should tilt slightly towards the thumb, and it should be quite long.

Step 5

Add the base for the ring finger and the little finger. It should tilt away from the previous base. It should also be shorter and placed lower.

Step 6

Mark the fan rhythm to see where the finger should start.

Notice how I marked this line below the point where the fingers appear to start on the palm side. It’s because they actually start lower, under the cushion!

Step 7

Sketch the rhythm of the fingers. Remember to use the proper length for each. You don’t have to measure anything—just make sure that the index finger looks similar in length to the palm with the wrist.

Step 8

Mark all the joints by copying the rhythm of the fan.

Step 9

Add the masses now. Notice how the cushions get squished in some poses.

Step 10

Draw the shape of the fingers now. It’s my favorite part because it’s when the hand starts looking like one!

Step 11

Add the «wristband» and the bony protrusions below the little finger.

Step 12

Add the webbing between the fingers and create an outline between the elements.

Step 13

Draw the final lines. Remember not to outline everything—the hands should be just as detailed as the rest of your character. Otherwise, they won’t look consistent.

5. The Anatomy of Anime Feet

Whew, that was intense! Luckily, feet are not as complex as hands. They’re built for stability, so they don’t change shape that much. But if you take a closer look at the bones, you’ll see the same ones as in the hand—which explains why in my language (Polish) and in many others, the toes are simply called fingers.

Structure of an Anime Foot

We can simplify the foot just as we did with the hand. The main difference here is that there’s a huge bone in the back, the heel, which acts like the pisiform in the hand. Also, the «fingers» are much shorter than the «palm» here.

Proportions of an Anime Foot

It’s quite easy to make a foot look proportional. The whole foot is about four big toes long. The «palm» is less than two big toes long. The other toes share the fan rhythm you’re already familiar with. Notice that the big toe, just like the thumb, has only two joints!

The Sole of the Foot

There are also important details on the bottom side of the foot:

6. How to Draw Anime Feet in Perspective

Let’s take a closer look at the 3D forms building the feet.

Step 1

Most of the foot can be simplified to little rounded «shoes», or a water balloon. This form includes both the heel and the rounding on top of the foot. We can draw it this way, because this area doesn’t really change shape that much.

Step 2

The problem is that the foot isn’t uniformly flat on top. Just like the hand, it curves downwards towards the smallest toe. So after you draw this big shoe-shape, you need to flatten one of its sides. Take a look at your own feet to understand it better.

Step 3

The first joint of each toe starts here. This is also where the fan rhythm appears for the first time.

Step 4

This is where the longest phalanges start. They have a very simple, blocky shape.

Step 5

It’s good to draw the last phalanges at once after this. Why? Because the cushions under them reach back a little, landing right under the middle phalanx, which, as you’ll learn next, has a curious shape.

Step 6

The middle phalanx drops down towards the last one. The smaller the toe, the more visible the angle.

Step 7

Although manga style ignores many details, sometimes you may want to add the ankle bones, too. They’re visible on the sides of the ankle, but they’re asymmetrical—higher on the inner side.

Step 8

While outlining the forms, remember to create an indentation on the inner side of the foot. If you don’t know why it’s necessary, go back to the part where we were analyzing the sole of the foot—or simply take a look at your own!

Step 9

Knowing all of this, you can simplify any foot to a set of basic lines that are perfect to start a drawing:

7. How to Draw Anime Feet Step by Step

This theory is all you need to start drawing! As earlier, we still need some references to learn how to create believable poses. I used this photo of feet in various views.

Step 1

Start with a basic rhythm of the foot. Ignore the heel for now.

Step 2

Add the heel now, just like a simple line at a fixed angle.

Step 3

Add the ankle area as a simple sphere.

Step 4

Add the «shoes»/»water balloons» under the ankle. You should see it clearly on the reference photo.

Step 5

Mark the top of the foot, along with its tilted side.

Step 6

Add the first row of toe joints. Make them big and round. It’s not always necessary to draw all of them if they’re obscured by each other.

Step 7

You can go two ways now: draw the last phalanges along with the cushion, or draw the middle one with this trick:

Step 8

The last phalanx is quite easy to draw! Just follow the rhythm.

Step 9

Don’t forget the details of the sole.

Step 10

Add the «wristband» of the ankle to connect the foot to the rest of the leg.

Step 11

Outline the foot, keeping only as many details as you need.

Well, That Was Handy!

Now you know how to draw anime hands and feet! Remember, even if it looks difficult now, with regular practice it will become second nature. And your characters won’t have to hide their hands or feet anymore! If you want to practice on the same photos I used in this tutorial, here’s a list of them:

If you like stylized drawing like manga, you may also be interested in our series How to Draw like Disney:

And if you liked the deconstruction-based format of this tutorial, you may also like my series on how to draw the parts of the face:

How to Make Your Own Anime or Manga Character

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If you’re working on drawing your own manga or even if you just want to write a fanfic for your favorite anime or manga, you’ll want to make a character who is interesting and makes people want to read your story (without becoming a Mary Sue!). wikiHow can show you how to write interesting characters, as well as teach you how to draw them! Get started with Step 1 below or check out the Table of Contents above for more specific help.

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About This Article

To make your own anime or manga character, start by deciding on a personality, such as cool and reserved, to make your character compelling and believable. Then, draw your character with features that reflect their personality, like long, tousled hair for a carefree male character. Next, draw your character’s clothes in a style that makes sense for who they are, like putting a nerdy female character in flats rather than heels. Additionally, try hinting at a mysterious past or a personal dilemma with details like tattoos or a symbolic accessory. To learn more, like to create a compelling story for your anime or manga character, scroll down!

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