This step-by-step tutorial provides what you can draw of Manga or anime’s male head and face using the sides and the front view.
In this video tutorial, we’ll draw what could look like the visage of an adult or high school-aged cartoon character a male.
Manga and male anime characters of the same age usually have bigger chins and shorter faces with narrower/smaller eyes, compared to the female characters or males younger. Although this can differ based on the design.
If you’re planning to follow the instructions using a pencil and paper, be sure to draw lines of light until you’re done with the facial feature and hair-placing steps. It is necessary to erase areas of the drawing later on.
To draw different kinds of anime characters, using this face, see:
How to Draw Male Anime Characters Step by Step
For drawing an anime character’s face, look at:
8-Step Anime Boy’s Head & Face Drawing Tutorial
Step 1 – Drawing the Head
Front View
Make a horizontal line to the middle of your head to determine if both sides are equal.
The top portion of the head into the circle. From there, create two lines that are angled towards the center of the face. These lines are followed by a set of curving lines as well as two more lines that are further towards the back. Join the two sets of lines around the chin. Draw the chin with tiny curves, but be careful not to create a pointy chin or the person will appear less masculine.
Side View
Make the head’s top part of your head form an oval shape.
Create a small bump in the eye area, followed by an indent that flows to the area of the nose. It is possible to follow the fourth step of this tutorial to position the nose. Try to determine its position at this moment.
In this instance, you could draw a unidirectional line from the top of the nose to the base of your chin.
The lower jaw by extending a line slightly higher than the oval and later curving it into a second line that transitions in the direction of the chin.
Step 2 – Drawing the Ears
To align the ears, draw a horizontal line between the middle and the top of your head. Draw an additional line between that with the cheeks. Draw the ears on the tops and their bottoms drawn between these two lines.
The ear’s inner details of the ear above however you might decide to save these to draw them after placing the rest of your facial elements.
For more information about drawing anime ears, check out:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Ears
Step 3 – Drawing the Eyes
The larger and more wide your eyes are drawn, the younger your characters appear. In this instance, the character is young (or close) so their eyes are smaller than the eyes of a boy.
Make the eye lines with their tops reaching the horizontal halfway point of the facial structure (use the line drawn in earlier steps) and leave enough space to accommodate an additional eye.
Note that the eyes are only positioned in this manner when they are in their natural state. If they are opened wider. They are able to move past the line, and if they are closed, they are likely to be beneath the line. At this point, you just need to sketch their basic outline. More details are added in the next step.
Make the eyebrows appear slightly above the eyes. Male eyebrows in manga and animation tend to be more pronounced than female eyebrows, particularly when older characters are featured. However, it depends on the character’s style.
Step 4 – Drawing the Nose
Then, place the nose’s details in a way that the bottom of the nose will be in the middle that runs from the eye’s top to the lower part of your chin. Be aware that the top of the nose will not be drawn. The nose can be shown by drawing an elongated vertical line to indicate the bridge and displaying the impression of one nostril (slightly higher than the placement line).
If you’re creating a side view of the nose, you must draw the nose’s bottom and the mouth simultaneously because they basically merge into each other.
To draw different types of anime-inspired noses, see:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Noses
Step 5 – Drawing the Mouth
Place the mouth in a position with a straight line from the top of the nose to the top of your chin. This line will show the location of the lower lip. Draw the top lip slightly higher than this line.
It is possible to give a hint of the lip’s bottom by drawing a single line. Draw the mouth using an elongated curve, with a tiny break in the middle. Be aware that in general males of the teenage or older manga and anime characters are more likely to have wider mouths than female characters.
For additional examples of anime mouths, check out:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Mouth Expressions
Step 6 – Drawing the Hair
Draw the hair above the head. The reason you should choose drawing in this manner, instead of simply drawing the hair straight away is that the ability to see how the head appears will assist you in arranging face features (as previously described in the earlier steps). It can also assist you to put the hair in its proper place as you can clearly see where it is placed on the head.
For a more in-depth explanation of “see-through” drawing and other drawing techniques for anime, see:
Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga
To achieve the “anime hair” look draw the hair in big, pointed clumps.
To assist you in understanding how to draw hair it is useful to think of it as divided into three sections (front top, side, and back).
- Red-Front Hair
- Green-Side Hair
- Blue – Back/Top Hair
Looking at hair this way is particularly helpful in drawing hair that is being stretched or blown in various directions. For more details on this, see the following tutorials:
- How to Draw Anime Male Hair Step by Step
- How to Draw Anime Hair Blowing in Different Directions
It is possible to draw the internal details of the ear (shown in the second step) either prior to or following drawing the hair.
Step 7 – Drawing the Details & Finishing the Line Drawing
Take out the parts of the head that are concealed behind the hair. Add small details of the eyes, such as eyes’ pupils, highlights, and the pupil. After that, you can draw over the drawing using darker lines and then add the black outline or shading (depending on the pencil you’re drawing) to the areas of the eyebrows and eyes.
For a step-by- procedure of drawing anime male eyes, check out:
How to Draw Male Anime & Manga Eyes
When you’ve completed this step, you should have a clear sketch of the face. You may decide to leave it as it is or proceed towards the following step in case need to shade it.
Step 8 – Add Some Shading
For a very basic anime-style shading (also called “Cel Shading”) add it to areas in which shadows are likely to be seen in normal lighting conditions.
To create a simple shading effect with no gradients, try the following:
- Small shadows of drop shadows resulting from the hairs on the forehead and the sides of the face
- Tiny shadows cover the eyelids as well as on top of the white eyes.
- The inner ear parts
- The bottom of the nose
- A large shadow is visible on the neck, originating from the head
Also, darken the hair as well as the iris of the eyes, but keep the highlights of both areas of the face white.
To draw different kinds of hair highlights, refer to:
Different Ways to Draw Anime Hair Highlights
To see examples of drawing anime faces under different lighting conditions, see:
How to Shade an Anime Face in Different Lighting
Conclusion
Male anime faces and heads are able to vary based on the design, but the older the character, the more they will differ from their female counterparts. The younger characters typically have faces that are very similar to females whereas older characters tend to be depicted with a larger face, more rounded eyes, and better facial features that are more clearly defined.
To draw a face similar to this in 3/4 view, see:
How to Draw Male Anime Face 3/4 View Step by Step
For the same drawing tutorial for drawing female anime faces, check out:
How to Draw an Anime Girl’s Head and Face
For drawing facial expressions of faces with similar faces, look up:
- How to Draw Anime Male Facial Expressions Side View
- 12 Anime Male Facial Expressions Chart & Drawing Tutorial
- How to Draw Anime and Manga Ears