The centerline will help you build the other features of the girl’s face. Keep all of your guide lines extremely light so that you can easily erase them when you’re done. Struggling to draw a neat circle? Try dragging your wrist in a fast circle and sketch out a bunch of lighter shapes. Then, erase anything that doesn’t fit your perfect circle!
Like the vertical line you drew, keep the horizontal midline very light so that you can erase it in the future.
The sharper and more angular you make the chin, the older the woman will look. For good examples of this, look at the difference between Mako and Satsuki from Kill la Kill, or Lady Eboshi and San in Princess Mononoke.
You may ultimately cover the ears with a big hairstyle, but the ears will still help you craft a symmetrical face.
Anime eyes should be big. The smaller and narrower you make your eyes, the less anime-esque it will look. The gap between the two eyes should be equivalent to the size of one of the eyes. If you’re struggling to draw eyes, try drawing an anime girl with closed eyes! Just draw two upper eyelash and it will look like the eyes are closed.
You can arc the edges of the mouth upward for a brighter, happier vibe, or aim the edges downward for a more surly or angry look. Anime eyes should be big and the lips should small. This is a good rule of thumb if you want to draw any anime characters!
It’s 100% okay to just have a thin line as your eyebrow. Alternatively, you can add a thicker, bushier eyebrow for a more stylized look. Add a thick upper eyelash with a few cattail-style flourishes for a more mature, seductive look. Speaking of noses, you may have noticed your drawing doesn’t have one! Most anime characters don’t have a nose, or they have a tiny little notch. Feel free to add one if you’d like.
You can keep it very simple if you want a more youthful look. A simple bowl cut or short hair with bangs requires very few lines. The more “outward” you draw the hair (picture Goku’s hair from Dragonball Z), the less realistic the hair will look.
You can ink the drawing when you’re done if you want a more TV-anime style, or leave the pencil as it is for a manga vibe.
Grid paper (or drawing a grid out) based on the size of the head you’ve drawn can really make this a lot easier. You can make the body 5-7 heads in length if you want a more cartoonish look.
This should look a bit like a bulky hourglass, or the outline of an “8” with a more defined top and bottom.
To keep your drawing from looking like a stick figure, put a little inward bend in the middle of the legs to give your character dynamic knees. You can angle the arms and legs in whatever direction you’d like. You could even bend one of the elbows up to have your drawing make a peace sign for a super iconic look!
Don’t use perfectly straight lines here. Arms and legs tend to be slightly round. Each section of the limbs should have a little roundness to it, but be careful not to overdo it; if you make a bicep, forearm, thigh, or calf too large, your character will look bloated.
If you opt for a skirt, add pleats by drawing separate sections that fold over one another to give it depth. The “iconic” anime girl look incorporates a ribbon where a necktie might go, which is always a fun option! Remember, women traditionally wear bottoms higher on their hips, so aim to place the tops of skirts and pants a little higher if things look “off. ”
Be careful about overdoing it with the breasts. Add a little light shading where the bottom wiring of a bra might be, but don’t draw 2 circles or it will look unnatural. You can keep your drawing in pencil, outline it with a marker for a black and white look, or color it in entirely.
