This tutorial demonstrates how to draw various types of anime headwear and hats. There are 12 examples, each with step-by-step drawing instructions.
This tutorial includes:
- Baseball Cap
- Cat Ears Hat
- Sun Hat
- Santa Hat
- Winter Hat with Pom Pom
- Fedora Hat
- Wizard Hat
- Hoodie
- Beret
- Cowboy Hat
- Explorer Hat
- Newsboy Cap
Use pencil and paper to draw any of these hats. Make sure you only use very light lines until your drawing is almost complete. When you move between the steps, some areas of your drawing will need to be erased. To make it easier to see, the lines in this example have been darkened.
You can draw hair with a hat
Before drawing hats, it is important to remember that a hat can compress the hair. You might want to reduce the volume of hair when wearing a hat. Keep in mind that anime hair is generally a lot puffier than real hair. You can still draw it at a distance from your head even if compressed.
This tutorial will only focus on drawing hats and not the details of the hair. See: Tutorial on drawing anime hair for females
How To Draw Manga Hair – Female
You are free to experiment with different hairstyles from the ones shown in the examples.
Step-by-step guide on how to draw an anime baseball cap
Draw a sketch of your head, and estimate the volume of your hair under the hat. This is shown in the above example. To ensure the correct placement of the baseball cap on the head, draw the baseball cap above these.
The cap’s top should be drawn in a similar shape to the hair. However, the sides and top should be slightly more away than the rest. The bill should curve upwards around the forehead.
Once you have drawn the main shape of your hat, remove the hairline and parts of your head that are not needed.
Then add the details. You only need to add small details to anime hats, which are usually simpler than real hats. To show the stitching on baseball caps around the bill, simply trace the outline of the bill. To show the splits between the various panels of baseball caps, add a few lines from the bill’s edges to the sides of your hat.
Below is a larger image of the completed hat and some basic hair shading.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime cat ear hat
Manga and anime are very familiar with the cat ear cap. It is also very easy to draw.
Start by drawing the hair and head.
The top of the hat should be drawn with the cat ears sticking out at the sides.
These hats have a thick rim at the bottom. This is either part of the design, or because the hat has been folded over at this point. This part should be viewed as a ring that wraps around your head/hair.
After you have drawn the hat, shave the hair and parts of your head that are not visible.
Finish the drawing by adding any hairs that are not covered under the hat.
Above is a larger version with basic hair shading.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime sun hat
Female anime characters often wear sun hats during summer.
Start by drawing the outline of your head/hair.
The top of the hat should be drawn a little further away than the hair on the sides.
As shown in the example above, twist the brim to make it more rounded.
Add hair to complete the drawing.
Above you can see the full-length hat with basic shading. The only shaded part of the brim (exempting the hair) is the underside. This area will be most often in shadow.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime Santa Hat
Manga and anime that depict winter holidays are very familiar with the Santa hat.
Draw the outline of your head and hair.
The bottom of the hat should be drawn at a slight angle, tilting towards the side with the Pom Pom.
Begin by drawing the curve that runs from the top of the hat to the pom-pom. Next, draw the line that defines one side of the cap. It should curve up and stop just short of touching the top. Draw another curve from the ear to the pom-pom. The pom pom is essentially a circle, with a slight curve at the top connecting to the hat.
Once you are done, remove the hair/head parts that were covered by the cap.
As shown in the previous example, add some fluff to your pom-pom circle and then erase any excess lines.
Add the hair to complete the drawing.
Below is a large illustration of the whole hat, with some light shading.
This hat can be used to draw a character.
How to Draw a Katana Step by Step
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime winter hat
Similar to the last example, the winter hat has the pom-pom. This is another item that female anime characters often wear during winter.
Draw the outline of your hair on the head.
The top of the hat should be drawn as a big curve. It should be closer to the head on the top than the side. The bottom of the hat should wrap around the head/hair. The pom-pom should be a circular shape that wraps around the hair/head.
Once you are done, remove all hair and parts that were covered by the cap.
Draw the fluff around the circle of the Pom Pom. Make small, pointy clumps that are slightly smaller than the one in the previous example. Once you are done, erase the circle line.
You can make your hat more interesting by adding lines to its bottom. (See step-by-step or the one below). The lines should be drawn closer to the center of the head, and closer to the sides. This will show you that the hat actually wraps around your head.
The details of the hair can be added to the drawing.
Below is the final drawing of the winter pom-pom hat, with some basic shading.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime fedora hat
This type of cap is worn by male characters, especially gangsters. Sometimes, it can be worn by women characters too, but this is usually part of a costume.
Draw a sketch of your head or hair.
The top of your head should be slightly wider towards the bottom. After that, add a medium-sized brim around the head.
Once you’re done drawing the main shape, remove the hair and parts that are not covered by the cap.
As a design element, fedoras often include a stripe at the brim of the hat. You can also add details to the hair.
Above is a shaded drawing of the fedora.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime wizard hat
The wizard hat is very popular in fantasy anime, and it’s usually worn by female characters.
Draw a sketch of your head/hair, then draw the hat.
The shape of the entire hat should look somewhat like an upside-down ice cream cone, but the top should hang to one side.
You can show the tilted hat by drawing two lines from the bottom of the hat towards your ears. These lines will mark the background/internal part of the at.
After you have finished drawing the outer shape of the hat, remove the hair and parts that are not covered.
You can finish the drawing by adding a small band to the area where the wizard hat crosses from the top to the brim. You can also draw details on the hair.
Below is a larger drawing of the wizard’s hat with basic shading.
The inner portion of the hat, the background, is slightly darker than the rest. This is because less light will reach it.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime hoodie
Hoodies, or hoods as they are known in manga and anime, are common. Many characters can wear them for different reasons.
You can also find a different style of hoodie here:
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime panda girl
Draw a sketch of your head, hair, and top of your shoulders. Because a hood won’t press too hard on the head, you can still draw hair volume as if no headway is being worn.
The hood should be drawn in two parts: the outline of its fabric and the hole for the face. The outer shape should be roughly the same as the hair’s shape, but slightly wider towards the neck. It should curve inwards towards your head around the neck.
Draw the inner shape of your hood in the same way as the outer shape. Start at the forehead and work your way up to the upper chest with a pointy downwards tip. (We will add a zipper later).
Remove the hair and parts that are not covered by the hood.
Another line should be added around the inner hood. It should trace the shape of the hood almost exactly, then move away from the shoulders to reach the bottom of the inner hood shape.
Draw a second pair around the point where the line begins to separate from the main inner contour of the hood.
You can finish the drawing by adding a zipper and details to the hair (shown below in a step-by-step example).
Above is a large drawing with basic shading. The inner part of the hood should be shaded darker than the rest. This is because it almost always has to be in shadow.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime beret
Sometimes, anime characters wear berets as part of their uniforms or fashion items.
Draw a sketch of your head and hair. You can do the same thing as a hood and let the volume of your hair be uncompressed.
Begin by drawing a beret that wraps around the head. Then, wrap the little strip at the bottom about halfway around your head. One side of the strip should be covered with a fold that runs from the top of the beret to the one side of the head. The fold can be shown with one straight line, as in the previous example.
Add the details of the hair to the final drawing.
The beret drawing can be seen above, with basic hair shading to make the design stand out more.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime cowboy hat
While the cowboy hat is commonly worn by anime characters, some characters wear it as an integral part of their costume.
Draw a sketch of your head and hair.
The bottom of your hat should be drawn with a large curve. This will create a cowboy-style look, where the hat is slightly pressed down on the forehead. The top of the head should be wider towards its bottom and narrower toward the top. The very top of your hat should have a slight indentation at the center where it curves slightly downwards.
The cowboy hat’s brim should be drawn with an overall shape that is similar to a sausage, where each end curves upwards.
After you have drawn the main shape of your hat, remove any hairs or parts that are not covered by it.
To show the basic details, add a wave-like shape to the bottom of the hat. Another line can be added to trace the outline of your brim. This line could represent the stitches these hats have in this area. It should be drawn a little further away from the front brim and closer to the back as it moves towards the end, merging the lines.
Add details to the hair and finish the drawing.
The cowboy hat is shown with basic hair shading as seen in the image above.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime explore hat
The explorer hat is worn often by anime characters who are on an adventure, often in a jungle environment.
Draw a sketch of your head and hair.
The top of the explorer’s hat should be as close as possible to a half-circle in shape. For the bottom, use a lighter curve. The brim should be quite short. The brim should be drawn following the curve at the base of the head.
You can finish the look by adding the split lines between each panel and a button-like shape at the top.
To show the panels, draw two curved lines along each side of your hat from the top tip. Then add the button at its top where the lines meet.
Add basic hair details to complete the drawing.
Below is a close-up drawing of the Explorer Hat and some basic hair shading.
Step-by-step instructions on how to draw an anime newsboy cap
Newsboy caps are often a fashion version of what female characters wear when they go out.
Before drawing the hat, draw a sketch of the head and hair.
Begin the hat drawing by adding the top portion of the hat. The hat should curve around the head, with the sides slightly further away than the top. Draw the bill and the narrow strip separating it from the top of the head. The bill should be drawn with a curve around the forehead. Next, draw the strip that connects the bill to the hat. To help you recognize that the hat is made from soft material, there will be a small fold in the middle.
After you have finished drawing the main shape, remove the hair and parts that are not covered by the cap.
Only a few curve lines will be added to this example to show the splits between the panels of the hat. These lines will make the front panel (facing the viewer) the largest, with the rest of the panels becoming narrower as they move towards the sides.
You can finish the drawing by adding details to the hair.
Above is a larger illustration of the newsboy’s hat with hair shading.
Conclusion
While this tutorial has covered some of the most common anime headwear and hats, there are many more. No matter what type of hat you want to draw, you can still use the same principles like the ones in this tutorial. Draw a sketch of your head to estimate the shape of the hair under the hat. Next, draw the main shape and then the details.
Learn more about good practices and tips for avoiding making mistakes when drawing manga and anime.
- Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga
- Common Mistakes in Drawing Manga & Anime