In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to draw Anime girl step by step.
But before then, a quick background to ‘Anime’ and how it all began can help you. Don’t worry, it’s a short history.
In the last decades of world history, Japan has been one of the most popular eastern countries on the planet, not only because of its prosperous economy and technological advances, but also because of its interesting culture.
Essentially, Japanese culture has influenced many aspects of Western life.
The Birth of the ‘Manga’
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One of the most representative things in Japanese culture is Manga, which is the most popular form of graphic art in Japan and has transcended the whole world.
Through the manga, the Japanese are in charge of telling stories, both real and fantastic, that have a striking and very attractive design.
The Manga later transcended to another form of storytelling, going from being only simple comic to being a completely animated drawing.
This is when Anime was born, which is the abbreviation that the Japanese use for the word animation.
For other parts of the world this word refers, apart from animation, to the style of drawing found in a Japanese manga.
Who are Manga Artists or Professionals
Manga professionals not only specialize in drawing, but use these drawings as a way to tell stories that have influenced many people around the world.
It is for this reason that people try to learn how to draw and recreate the characters that are shown in their favorite anime.
Whether you make drawings as a form of entertainment or as a profession, drawing an anime character can be very complex if you try to recreate a character from the manga, since such designs are made by professionals in the field.
Then, it is best to start drawing following a series of steps.
The most complex drawings require a lot of effort and concentration, but they can be simplified if you know the proper techniques to draw with the Japanese style.
So, this guide is designed to help you start in the drawing of the anime, for which the design of a girl will be done from the most general design to the last detail.
The drawing of girls in the anime is usually very aesthetic and cute, always trying to make all the characters of this genre have unique characteristics that differentiate them from the rest.
But before starting make sure you have the right materials to make the drawing, that is to say, special pencils for this task, small drafts and any other instrument you consider necessary.
How to Draw Anime Girl: What should be drawn first?
The drawing process of any character (be it a girl or boy) in anime is divided into two fundamental parts:
- The design of the face
- The design of the body.
Each of these parts requires special attention, since doing them without a specific order would end up causing your character to end disproportionately.
The last mentioned is very important: the proportion of the body with the face.
To avoid that your drawing does not have the appropriate measures we will give you the best advice you can follow when you start to draw.
1. How to draw the face of an anime girl
The drawing of any anime character, either female or male begins with an initial sketch to which the details are added as the drawing process progresses. So, the steps to follow are the following:
Step #1: Drawing the sketch
The first step is to draw a circle whose size will define the size of the drawing and the size of the character’s head.
In the center of the circle, you must make a vertical line and then two horizontal lines, which are positioned in the place where you want to place the eyes, as well as defining their size.
Once the lines are done you must proceed to create the chin of the face.
For female characters this chin is usually a bit finer and more sophisticated than that of the male characters. In the picture you can see what we mean.
Step #2: Drawing the anime girl eyes
Once you have the first sketch of the face and the guidelines, you should begin to draw the eyes, which are usually very large in the design of the manga and especially in the design of female characters.
The drawing of the eyes is very important in this style of art, since they show the essence of the character, that is to say, if he is happy, sad, upset, among many other emotions.
Below are some styles of eyes in the anime for female characters.
Then, the eyes should be placed on the two horizontal lines drawn above.
In the case of the eyebrows, they should be on the eyes and on the highest horizontal line and should be thin, so that the character looks more feminine and elegant.
Step #3: Drawing the nose, mouth and ears
The drawing of these parts of the face is very simple in the style of the anime, so that almost not notice if the character is seen in front.
Then, to draw the nose you should look for a midpoint between the highest horizontal line and the end of the chin, so that it is as proportional as possible.
The line of the nose is a vertical line that is placed a little more moved to the right and represents the smallest characteristic of the face of your character.
The position of the mouth is defined by you and its drawing is as simple as the nose, since it should only be a simple and subtle line.
You should not even draw the character’s lip, since this is not a common feature of the anime.
On the other hand, the drawing of the ears will depend on the hairstyle that you intend to give to the character, but that will be discussed in the next step.
In case the ears are visible you should draw them at the height of the eyes, making a small oval whose size matches the horizontal lines drawn at the beginning of the process. Later you can place the internal details.
Step #4: Drawing the hair
The hair of a female character is just as important as the drawing of the eyes, since this is one of the most representative characteristics in the world of anime for these characters.
For your character you can create any hairstyle, whether short and smooth, long and curly, etc.
The important thing to consider is that the hair in the anime is usually represented with pointed ends, which will come together; forming the silhouette of the hair you want.
It should be noted that the drawing of the hair should be done a little away from the guide circle drawn at the beginning.
You can draw a fringe that covers the front of the character or you can leave it without this feature, it is totally your choice.
It is important to mention that usually the drawing of the eyes when the hair covers it is usually shown the same, as shown in the following image.
Step #5: Clear the guidelines and refine details
Once you have drawn the hair of your character you can proceed to erase the guidelines of the drawing, with extreme care not to erase the main lines.
When you complete this step you will have the face of your character finished.
2. How to draw the body of an anime girl
As with the face, the body of any character in anime begins with a sketch that has the most basic characteristics of the character’s design.
In this step, it is very important to consider the dimensions of the body, for which it is recommended that the body be more or less seven times the size of the head. In this way, it is ensured that the body is proportional.
Step #1: Drawing the sketch
The drawing of the body sketch is very simple and only consists of making straight lines that represent the arms, the torso and the legs. These lines should have the proper proportions as explained above.
Besides this, for the feet and hands you can draw triangles or ovals.
Remember that in this step you must include the design of the face that was made previously or create a new one following the same steps.
You must also draw these lines so that you can capture the position in which you are going to place your character.
Step #2: Drawing the basic silhouette
With basic silhouette we refer to the dimensions of the character, whether it will be thin, fat, the shape of the arms and legs, whether the hip is pronounced or not, among other things.
This scheme does not have to be precise and may be subject to change, but it is used as a general idea of how the body and its dimensions should be.
The drawing is made using figures such as circles and ovals that make clear what are the connections in the body.
Step #3: Tuning of details of the silhouette
Once you have the basic silhouette, you must begin to improve the details of your character’s body.
In this step, you must shape the hands, feet, torso of the character, which in this case is to create the shape of the girl’s breasts and their dimensions.
In the female characters it is recommended to create delicate contours, widening the hips and placing the shoulders at a slightly reduced distance.
Step #4: Tuning the details of the drawing
Once all these steps are completed, all the guidelines that are not part of the main silhouette of the character must be erased.
This process, as with the face, must be done with great care so as not to eliminate any section of the previously made drawing.
After this you must add clothes to your character.
This element of the drawing is very important to consider, since the clothes of a character is the way in which his personality and tastes are shown, having that the designs have no limits and depend only on your imagination.
Then, the clothes should be drawn on the silhouette that was already had the body of the character, so that there are parts that should be erased because they are covered with clothing.
The wrinkles of the clothes are also necessary, for which it is recommended to imagine how the clothes of your character would wrinkle if they were used by a real person.
Finally, if you follow all these steps you will have completed your anime girl character.
Conclusion
The drawing of a character in anime is totally personalized, that is to say, any artist can choose the characteristics that he wants his character to have and determine through the drawing certain aspects of his personality.
This freedom is one of the reasons why people are so attracted to this type of art.
As you can see, the drawing of anime girls is not as complex as it seems and if you learn to draw following these steps you can make any character you want, regardless of gender.
All you need is a little practice and creativity to design your own characters.
Finally, to draw the best characters you must have in mind that the tuning of the details is of vital importance.
The details of the eyes and clothes are the first things that people observe of an anime character, since they are the characteristic elements of this type of art. So remember that the details are what determine the quality of the drawing.
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