How to draw anime for beginners starts by building the head from a circle, then adding a vertical and horizontal line as facial guidelines. Once that frame stands, set the signature anime proportions: larger eyes placed slightly low, simplified nose and mouth, then hair that follows the head shape. Short, regular practice builds this skill in stages.
- An anime face still obeys the same head structure as a realistic drawing
- The anime look lives in exaggerated proportions, especially the size and placement of the eyes
- Master the facial guidelines first before touching hair and expression detail
- HB and 2B graphite pencils
- Sketch paper or thick A4 printer paper
- A regular eraser and a kneaded eraser
- A pencil sharpener
BThe Anime Look Grows from Exaggerated Proportions
Many beginners assume drawing anime is only about copying big eyes and spiky hair. The real foundation rests on the same head structure as any face drawing. Illustrator Andrew Loomis taught that the head is built from a ball for the cranium plus a jaw plane below it. This framework holds for realistic and anime faces alike, and understanding it keeps your faces convincing when the head tilts or turns to the side. The anime style appears when certain proportions are deliberately exaggerated. The eyes are drawn much larger and placed slightly below the head's centerline, the forehead reads as more spacious, while the nose and mouth simplify into a few small marks. Anime characters also often have a relatively larger head compared to the body, especially in cuter styles. By understanding which parts are stylized, how to draw anime for beginners shifts from mere copying into a skill you can develop with intent.
Seven Steps to Draw an Anime Face from Scratch
Follow this order as a practice path for drawing anime faces as a beginner. Each step prepares the foundation for the next, so finish one stage before jumping to the following one.
Draw the head circle and set the chin
Start with a light circle for the upper cranium. From that circle, draw two slanted lines down to a single point to form the jaw and chin, creating a face silhouette that is round on top and tapers below. The anime chin tends to be more pointed and smooth than a realistic face, but avoid making it too sharp in early practice. Use an HB pencil with light pressure so this framework is easy to erase later. Practice this head shape repeatedly until your hand gets used to it, because this is the foundation of every character you will draw. Do not rush to add the face before the head silhouette feels balanced between the left and right sides.
- Rotate the paper so your hand can comfortably draw the curved jaw line
- Draw the circle in one stroke so its shape stays fluid
Add the vertical and horizontal guidelines
Draw one vertical line splitting the head from top to chin to keep the face symmetrical. When the face looks straight ahead, this line runs down the center, and when the head turns, it curves to follow the direction of the gaze. Then add a horizontal line as the marker for the eye position. In the anime style, this eye line is usually placed slightly below the head's midpoint, lower than a realistic face, which gives the impression of a more spacious forehead. These two lines are the invisible frame that keeps every facial part in its place. Marking positions with accurate guidelines is the habit that separates a tidy sketch from a messy one.
- Keep the guidelines thin because they will be erased in the final stage
- For a tilted face, curve the vertical line to follow the head surface
Place and shape the anime eyes
The eyes are the most prominent feature of the anime style, so give this stage extra attention. Along the horizontal line, draw two eyes with roughly one eye width of space between them. Anime eyes are usually taller and larger, with a thick upper eyelid line, a big iris, and one or two highlight dots left white. The eyebrows sit not far above the eyes and help convey expression. Try several eye shapes: big and round for cheerful characters, narrow and elongated for calm or mature ones. Practice drawing the eyes as a pair so the left and right shapes stay balanced. The patience to build symmetrical eyes makes a character feel instantly alive.
- Draw the outer shape of both eyes first, then fill the iris and highlights
- Leave a white area in the iris as the signature anime eye glint
Add a simplified nose and mouth
Unlike a realistic face, the nose and mouth in anime are kept minimal. Place the nose between the eye line and the chin, often just a dot, a short line, or a small shadow on the side of the face. The mouth sits between the nose and the chin, usually a single line for the lips that curves with the expression. On a side view, the nose and lips show a little more as bumps along the face line. This level of simplicity is what makes an anime face feel clean and expressive. Practice several mouth variations for a smile, surprise, and a neutral look, because small changes to the mouth line shift the whole mood of a character.
- Reduce nose detail to the minimum on cuter styles
- Curve the mouth line up or down to set the expression
Shape the hair to follow the head
Anime hair is drawn as clumps or strands, not single hairs. The key is to remember that hair grows from the scalp, so its shape must follow the curve of the cranium you already drew. Start from the hair whorl at the top of the head, then pull strands that flow outward following the head's volume. Leave a little gap between the hair line and the head line so the hair lifts away from the head with real body. Divide the hair into a few large groups first, such as the front bangs, sides, and back, then break those into smaller strands. Tapered strand tips give that signature anime feel. Varying the hairstyle is one of the easiest ways to make your character feel unique.
- Draw the head line first, then stack the hair on top so its volume is right
- Group the hair into a few large clumps before adding strands
Clean up the lines and erase the guides
Once all the facial parts are in place, it is time to firm up the main lines. With slightly heavier pressure or a 2B pencil, strengthen the outer lines of the face, eyes, and hair that you consider correct. After the final lines are set, erase the vertical and horizontal guidelines and any leftover circle framework still showing. Use a kneaded eraser to lift thin lines without damaging the final ones. Check the face symmetry by flipping the paper or viewing it in a mirror, because tired eyes often miss a tilted side. This cleanup stage is what turns a rough sketch into a clean drawing ready for shading or color.
- Make sure the final lines are correct before erasing all guidelines
- Check the face through a mirror reflection to catch an uneven side
Practice from various angles and expressions
A front view is only the starting point. For a character that truly comes to life, practice drawing the head from a three-quarter angle, the side, looking up, and looking down. At each angle, the vertical and horizontal guidelines curve along the rounded head surface, and the placement of the eyes, nose, and ears adjusts accordingly. Add expression practice by changing the shape of the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth to show happy, sad, surprised, or angry. Drawing a sheet of many small faces with different expressions is a powerful exercise. Keeping the same character traits consistent across angles is an advanced skill that grows from patient repetition.
- Use a styrofoam ball or reference image to understand the head in three dimensions
- Fill a page with small faces in varied expressions as a warm-up
Anime Eye Shapes and the Character They Suggest
Big round eyes
Wide eyes with a large iris and prominent highlights suggest youth, cheer, and friendliness. Common for young protagonists or child characters.
Narrow elongated eyes
Thinner, more horizontal eyes suggest calm, maturity, or authority. Often used for composed, clever, or older characters.
Sharp angled eyes
Eye corners rising upward bring a firm, confident, or slightly fierce impression. A fit for strong characters or antagonists.
Half-closed eyes
Drooping lids lower the face energy, suggesting tired, bored, or relaxed. Useful for varying one character's expressions.
Sparkling starry eyes
An iris full of highlights and sparkle conveys awe, joy, or infatuation. Often appears in emotional story moments.
Small round eyes
A simple, tiny shape reads as cute or comical, widely used for chibi characters and lighthearted moments.
Copying References or Building Your Own Style
- Quickly reveals how other artists arrange eyes, hair, and proportions
- Trains the hand to follow lines that already work
- A good fit for beginners still building a feel for shapes
- Takes longer before a style feels like your own
- Demands an understanding of the structure beneath the surface
- Prone to looking raw when the proportion foundation is still weak
A strong anime style is born from understanding the real face first. An artist who knows the true placement of the eyes, nose, and cheekbones can choose which parts to exaggerate and which to simplify. Slip in observation practice among your anime sessions, for example through these steps:
- Observe a face photo and mark the placement of the eye line, nose, and chin
- Compare those proportions with your favorite anime face
- Note which parts are enlarged and which are trimmed in the anime style
Anime and Realistic Face Proportions
| Part | Realistic Face | Anime Face |
|---|---|---|
| Eye size | Roughly one-tenth of the face width | Strikingly enlarged, filling much of the face |
| Eye line placement | Around the middle of the head height | Lowered a little so the forehead reads larger |
| Nose | Drawn fully with nostrils and shadow | Simplified into a dot or short line |
| Head-to-body ratio | Roughly one to seven or eight | Larger head, especially in cuter styles |
The figures above are general benchmarks you can adjust to each artist's style.
“Beginners who improve fastest are usually the ones patient with guidelines. Once the head circle and eye line are correct, placing the signature large anime eyes becomes far easier. In early sessions we often ask students to draw dozens of empty heads before moving into facial detail.”
Weekly Anime Drawing Practice Routine
- Fill a full page of head circles with guidelines at the start of each session
- Two sessions dedicated to practicing pairs of anime eyes in different shapes
- One session shaping hair from a few large clumps
- One session drawing the face from three-quarter and side angles
- One expression sheet with happy, sad, surprised, and angry
- Review the past week's sketches at the end of each weekend
- An anime face is built from the same head structure as a realistic drawing, then its proportions are exaggerated
- The vertical and horizontal guidelines are the frame that keeps the face symmetrical and balanced
- Large eyes placed slightly low are the most defining trait of the anime style
- Hair is drawn as clumps that follow the curve of the head so its volume comes through
- Practicing 15 to 20 minutes a day works better than drawing for hours only occasionally