This step-by-step guide will show you the art of drawing a charming anime woman along with an explanation of the proportions which make a female figure appear “cute” as well as illustrations.
Characters from anime are typically designed “cute” by default (though certain styles can be more serious) however, you can alter the proportions and position of facial features in specific methods (explained in the following steps) to create a look that is adorable, even by the standards of anime.
It is also important to remember that by making characters appear more attractive, you generally make them appear younger. However, sometimes adult characters are drawn in this manner.
Step 1 – Drawing a Cute Anime Girl’s Head
The cute anime characters typically have larger foreheads and heads with smaller cheeks.
To get the front view, begin withdrawing an oval at your head’s upper part. Then to this, you can add the bottom part which is the bottom of the head. The bottom portion of the face is likely to narrow dramatically as it falls down.
To view the side, begin with the oval on that top part of your head, and on top of that draw the jaw/nose area. The details are left out like lips, for the next steps.
In this step, you can just make a rough estimate of the location of the nose to get a Side view (covered in step 3.).
For more information on drawing various kinds of head styles for anime, see:
How to Draw Different Styles of Anime Heads & Faces
Step 2 – Place and Draw the Eyes & Eyebrows
To create a more attractive look, place your eyes lower than usual. Make sure to draw your eyes wide and tall.
In this situation, we’ll be able to place the eyes by first setting the eyebrows. To do this, draw an exact horizontal line across the middle of the head. Draw the bottom of the eyebrows to the horizontal line. Be aware that the eyes may change depending on the character’s facial expression. This is the best way to keep eyebrows that are in their natural place.
It is possible to draw a small speck of the eyelids directly along this line, and also the eyebrows are a little lower than that.
For more information about drawing eyes for anime, see:
How to Draw Anime Eyes and Eye Expressions
Step 3 – Placing & Drawing the Nose
Draw the nose in the middle of your face and the lower part of the chin.
For more information on drawing anime noses, check out:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Noses
Step 4 – Drawing & Placing the Ears
Your ears are covered with hair in the next steps, however, we will explain how to position them in the event that you would like to create a new hairstyle.
The ears should be placed in the middle place between your eyes and the chin.
For more information on drawing anime ears, see:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Ears
Step 5 – Placing & Drawing the Mouth
To position, the mouth, draw it precisely in between your nose and chin.
To create a cute appearance, make sure you draw a tiny mouth. Also, you can draw a tiny break in your mouthline.
For more information about drawing anime mouths, check out:
- How to Draw Anime Mouths Tutorial
- How to Draw Anime and Manga Mouth Expressions
Step 6 – Drawing Cheeks & Blush
To give the character a more adorable (but also more playful) appearance, add some blush to the cheeks. If you want to draw lines, you can achieve this by drawing angles.
Step 7 – Drawing the Hair
For a charming appearance, you can style the hair to appear “puffy” by drawing it at a distance from the head.
For more details on how to draw anime hair, look up:
How to Draw Anime & Manga Male & Female Hair
It is possible to notice that there are also collar bones and clothing added during this stage. To learn more about drawing these, you can read:
- How to Draw Anime Neck & Shoulders
- How to Draw Anime & Manga Clothes
Step 8 – Coloring the Character
You can paint a cute character just like you color any other.
Fill in every area with the correct color, and apply some basic shading afterward.
Create some shade on the head, as it is common to see shadows that are cast by the hair, and some shadows that are cast by hair.
You could also add some extremely light red or pink blush on your cheeks.
To learn more about coloring anime characters, check out:
How to Color an Anime Character Step by Step
Conclusion
This tutorial focused on the “cute” looking anime character the proportions are slightly different from those suggested in other tutorials on AnimeOutline. Keep in mind that these proportions are based on general trends in cute anime characters, there’s no single set of clear guide proportions that are suitable for every one of them. You are able to play around with different proportions to discover what results in you can get.
For similar tutorials, see:
- How to Draw Chibi Anime Character Step by Step
- 8-Step Anime Boy’s Head & Face Drawing Tutorial
- 8-Step Anime Woman’s Head & Face Drawing Tutorial
- How to Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
