# How do you draw Anime characters?



## Charus (May 31, 2017)

Y'know, because when I try to draw myself, it ends up being terrible.

I'm not sure how to begin? Cause I never really tried.


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## Eset (Jun 7, 2016)

Use simple lines and shapes. The more complex you try to make it the less anime it looks.
Just outlining the features is enough, keep the shading to a minimum.


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## DazzlingDexter (Apr 13, 2020)

Charus Channeling said:


> Y'know, because when I try to draw myself, it ends up being terrible.
> 
> I'm not sure how to begin? Cause I never really tried.


They have books for this. a Rule of thumb though is to break down the picture into shapes and just build over that.


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## Buttahfly (Jul 30, 2013)

Charus Channeling said:


> Y'know, because when I try to draw myself, it ends up being terrible.
> 
> I'm not sure how to begin? Cause I never really tried.


Off topic, but you apparently deleted some of your typing threads?
You keep striking me as a counter phobic 6. ESFP or ISFP seems to be quite possible.


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## Charus (May 31, 2017)

Buttahfly said:


> Off topic, but you apparently deleted some of your typing threads?
> You keep striking me as a counter phobic 6. ESFP or ISFP seems to be quite possible.


No, I didnt delete any thread so far ...


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## Buttahfly (Jul 30, 2013)

Charus Channeling said:


> No, I didnt delete any thread so far ...


Oh, I see, maybe there is an issue with the search engine. Or actually I think I'm struggling to actually use it, because I keep being confused about deleted threads and posts or members with many posts barely having post show up. Nevermind! 😁


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## Sparky (Mar 15, 2010)

Charus Channeling said:


> Y'know, because when I try to draw myself, it ends up being terrible.
> 
> I'm not sure how to begin? Cause I never really tried.


Keep trying means to keep practicing, improving and learning

It might not as be as professional as the drawing you are emulating, though it's likely better than all your previous artwork, so keep practicing


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## Charus (May 31, 2017)

I only have Photoshop CS6 to draw Anime characters, but It seems like It's overall not a really suitable program for drawing Anime characters, are there any better programs to draw? Or do I need to simply pick the right drawing tools and document settings?

Right now I use 2000x2000 Document size, with 300 resolution, what do you suggest?


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## Hexigoon (Mar 12, 2018)

Well, could you show an example of some of your anime art? It might be easier to give appropriate feedback.

Generally it's just a matter of practice and a lot of observation, trying to copy other anime artist's styles. I started by watching a lot of Mark Crilley's old manga drawing tutorials on youtube and trying to get the eyes right because I found them the most distinctive part of the style.
I've been practicing anime /manga style stuff for over a decade now, so I find it pretty easy, but back in the early days it looked really quite wonky and bad. I have tons of these old anime drawings so I could show some vs newer stuff I made if it gives some motivation.

Here's some of my earliest attempts (it makes me cringe, but the point is you kinda have to go through making a lot of these bad drawings before you improve).

























Also, I don't think it's a matter of the tools you use, it's more your own technique. But when it comes to digital, I use Paint tool SAI or Clip Studio Paint. I love those.


Oh, and most importantly, if you want to improve at it, you should also draw other things besides anime. Don't get limited to it. Anime artists need to learn to draw other things than just stylized faces.


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## Charus (May 31, 2017)

Hexigoon said:


> Well, could you show an example of some of your anime art? It might be easier to give appropriate feedback.
> 
> Generally it's just a matter of practice and a lot of observation, trying to copy other anime artist's styles. I started by watching a lot of Mark Crilley's old manga drawing tutorials on youtube and trying to get the eyes right because I found them the most distinctive part of the style.
> I've been practicing anime /manga style stuff for over a decade now, so I find it pretty easy, but back in the early days it looked really quite wonky and bad. I have tons of these old anime drawings so I could show some vs newer stuff I made if it gives some motivation.
> ...


Unfortuantely I deleted what I've drawn, so I cant show ...


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## Hexigoon (Mar 12, 2018)

Charus Channeling said:


> Unfortuantely I deleted what I've drawn, so I cant show ...


Well then you should draw a new one.


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## Charus (May 31, 2017)

Alright, I think I have a screenshot of me attempting to draw Ariel the Little mermaid, and as you guessed it, It looks so hilarious and terrible I actualy laugh at it lol 










And this is me attempted to draw an actual original character on paper:


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## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

They don't look terrible, but I think with anime you should probably start out with figuring out what kind of proportions you're going to use.

Drawing the skeleton first is a good way to figure that out. What I mean is drawing the circle for the head, lines for the spine and legs etc. and building off that.

There are a lot of videos on anatomy and proportion. And anime characters don't necessarily have super realistic anatomy, but they do seem to be really expressive with their poses and faces, so I think it still helps to practice anatomy.











I don't find drawing anatomy like this easy, but it is another way to draw it:


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## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

These look kind of cool--but the wooden mannequin could also help you with proportions and perspective.

If you have photoshop you could also probably just get a picture of Ariel and then draw over it--trying to imagine where her skeleton would be, or get the proportions right.

Like you can see this guy takes a photo of his small plastic model and works from there.


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## Bunniculla (Jul 17, 2017)

I learned from a book that taught in a step by step manner (sketching out the proportions/head first). Pretty sure you can youtube it for free these days, and find the video that is easiest for you to follow.


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## AlMorgan (Sep 3, 2020)

I read a tutorial that explains how to draw manga-style characters using eight popular anime character archetypes with three examples of each.


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