Step-by-Step Anime People

by Andrew Dewitt

Overview

Anime is a part of our pop culture. TV stations like Cartoon Network and the Sci-Fi channel have helped to build a mainstream audience for animated movies and television shows. Many anime artists begin by drawing "manga" which is a comic book from of anime art. This allows an artist to create stories with their anime characters and learn different poses and angles for drawing anime.
Creating a Skeletal Frame

One of the best things you can do to create drawings of anime people is to draw a basic frame first. A basic skeletal frame will help you practice creating different poses for your characters. Create a skeletal frame by using an oval for the head, a slightly rounded rectangle for the chest, an upside down triangle for the hips and simple lines for the arms and legs. Joints can be added with circles. This will create guidelines for the shoulder, elbows and knees. Draw hand guidelines with ovals and feet with triangles.

Skeletal frames are key to creating figures.

Fleshing out the Details

After you have mastered creating skeletal frames for your characters, begin fleshing out the details. Add cylinders on top of the limbs. Connect the hips to the torso with a curved lines. Create the guidelines for the facial details. Attach a "V" shape to the bottom of the head oval to create a chin. Add a cross shape to the face and mark where the facial details will go. Add eyes with large ovals on the horizontal facial guideline. Add pupils with a semicircle inside each eye. Create eyebrows with curved lines above the eyes. Add a nose with a sideways "V" shape below the eyes. Create the mouth with a curved line under the mouth.

Details add depth and realism.
Finishing the Figure

Add hair with curved lines around the outside of the head. Create tufts of hair with curved triangular shapes coming off the hair. Draw clothing on the figure. Draw lines across the waist and arms to create the shirt and draw parallel lines around the legs to create the pants. Ink all of the lines you wish to keep. Let the ink dry and erase pencil lines. This will leave behind bold lines. Use art markers to color your anime character. Highlights can be added using colored pencils after the marker dries.

Ink and color will bring the figure to life.