This guide is an introduction to the basics of drawing with a focus on the anime and manga style. Information technology provides tips on approaching the drawing process in the right mode and suggests some beginner friendly exercises to help you get started.

For a list of other things you can acquire that will help yous draw anime and manga you can cheque:

Tips on How to Larn How to Draw Anime & Manga

This guide covers the first part of that list (The Nuts of Drawing).

1. Brand Light Line Drawings Beginning

Sketch to clean drawing anime eye
Sketch to clean drawing anime eye

Describe using lite lines get-go and and then trace over them with darker lines one time yous are sure that everything is in the right place. This exist especially helpful for large or more complex drawings.

Light lines are easier to erase if you brand a mistake and easier to make (you lot don't have to press every bit difficult on the pencil so your hand volition be less tired).

Even if drawing digitally it's all the same a good idea to first make a sketch and get over it with cleaner lines afterwards.

Tracing your ain lines will besides work as another exercise to assist steady your hand.

Try and draw with as few lines equally possible. If you make a mistake with your first line it's fine to add more lines until y'all country the right one but don't scribble or draw actress lines just for the sake of information technology. If you brand also many mistakes erase that part of your drawing start over.

ii. Use Guide/Structure Lines

Constructions lines when drawing anime
Constructions lines when drawing anime

Employ guide lines to help yourself draw. For example if yous want to draw a symmetrical caput/face up from the front view you can first draw a horizontal line though the middle of where you lot want to draw the face. This line will help you brand sure that both halves of the face are even in width. You tin can then draw a horizontal line (or several lines) to assist you make certain that both eyes and both ears are on the same level.

For drawing different styles of anime heads see:

How to Draw Unlike Styles of Anime Heads & Faces

3. Program Out Your Drawing & Draw Larger to Smaller

Anime large to small shape drawing order
Large to pocket-size shape drawing society

Estimate your proportions before  yous start drawing. Yous can encounter that in the above example the girl is 6 1/two heads tall (every bit anime characters tend to have larger heads in relations to their bodies and so real people). By comparison the size of different parts or objects in your drawing to ane another you will be less likely to make a mistake.

Regardless of what you lot are drawing start with the larger shapes commencement. You don't need to always starting time with the absolute largest shape just definitely don't start with the smaller details.

If you surface area drawing a person outset with the head and work your way down through the rest of the torso. Don't draw the smaller details like the facial features until you lot have the shape of the unabridged body.

Cartoon this way volition go far a lot easier to fix mistakes. For case if you fully depict out the head with all of the details of the facial features y'all may then find that the torso doesn't actually fit on your drawing expanse. You will then have to first over and redraw the entire face again.

Some of these mistakes tin can be easier to set if drawing digitally simply that doesn't mean that you should not learn to draw in the correct order.

For more on drawing anime bodies y'all can meet:

  • How to Describe an Anime School Daughter in six Steps
  • How to Draw Anime Muscular Male Body Step by Pace
  • How to Draw an Anime Guy Body Step By Pace Tutorial
  • How to Depict an Anime Boy Total Body Footstep by Step

4. Go along Different Parts of Your Drawing in the Aforementioned Stages of Completion

Drawing consistency example with anime eyes
Cartoon consistency example with anime eyes

Try and keep the various objects in your drawing in roughly the same state of completion. If for example you lot are drawing optics than draw the outer shape of each middle and so draw the shape of each iris. By doing so you will exist more probable to discover if the showtime ane is out of identify and you lot volition only need to practise a little back tracking if you lot brand a mistake (similar to the previous instance).

For more on drawing anime eyes see:

  • How to Describe Anime Eyes and Centre Expressions
  • How to Draw Female person Anime Eyes Tutorial
  • How to Draw Male Anime & Manga Eyes

5. Draw Things That Are Hidden

Sketching out hidden parts of anime drawing
Sketch out hidden parts of a drawing

It's sometimes a adept idea to depict things that are subconscious by something else.

In the above example some parts of the head and face will exist hidden by the hair in the last drawing but y'all may still desire to draw their basic shapes and erase them later. The reason for this is to insure the correct placement of the parts that are visible. For example by doing a light cartoon of the second middle you lot volition be able to check the spacing between the optics which will assistance you insure that the visible eye is correctly placed. You can too draw the outer shape of the ears to estimate the book the hair needs in order cover them.

For drawing anime style faces see:

  • How to Draw an Anime Girl's Caput and Face up
  • How to Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
  • How to Describe a Cute Anime Girl Step by Pace
  • 8 Step Anime Boy's Head & Face up Drawing Tutorial
  • 8 Step Anime Woman'due south Head & Confront Drawing Tutorial

6. Exercise Cartoon Exercises

Equally a beginner artist y'all can really benefit from some adequately simple exercises of drawing lines and basic geometric shapes. These exercises will help steady your hand and railroad train yous to see (and avoid) mutual mistakes.

You tin can do these for about 10-fifteen minutes at a time.

Directly Lines Drawing Exercises

Straight line drawing exercises
Straight line drawing exercises

The virtually basic exercises is drawing straight lines in different directions. Describe horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines without rotating your drawing surface area (paper, tablet, etc…).

Curved Lines Drawing Exercises

Curved line drawing exercises
Curved line drawing exercises

In addition to straight lines practise drawing curved lines in dissimilar directions and effort to have nice and smooth curve without jitters or sharp turns. Merely like for the straight lines exercise don't rotate your drawing surface area.

Bones Shapes Drawing Exercises

Basic shape drawing exercises
Basic shape drawing exercises

Exercise drawing basic shapes such as squares, circles, triangles, ovals, rectangles, etc…

Try and draw each shape with but 1 stroke per side. Draw the circle and ovals with one solid line from starting time to cease.

Don't worry if your shapes don't come out right, simply attempt and improve on the next shape.

Mixed Drawing Exercises

Shape and line drawing exercises
Shape and line drawing exercises

You lot can also combine the cartoon exercises. For example you can draw a square than inside it describe lines going from 1 corner to another followed past two more lines going through the intersection signal of those lines followed by drawing a circle inside the initial square. Merely different the previous exercise describe this circle a quarter at a time.

In addition to all of the previous benefits this exercise is besides really skillful for learning to draw symmetrical shapes.

Anime head from basic shapes structure
Anime head from basic shapes construction

In the above example yous tin see how an anime style head can be broken down into 3 simple shapes. The same tin can often be washed with other parts of the trunk and various other objects. You don't need to really draw all of these out every time you want to describe something merely its a good example for why learning to depict basic shapes tin can be so useful.

7. Study the Anime Style

Anime girl under magnifying glass
Understanding the anime style

To make art that looks like anime and manga you lot have to understand their defining characteristics. Fortunately there are plenty of tutorials hither on AnimeOutline to assistance you written report these styles. Just see the Anime & Manga Drawing Tutorials section and pick any it is y'all are interested in cartoon.

eight. Check for Mistakes

Anime girl drawing flipped
Flipping drawing to encounter mistakes

If you are having problem spotting your mistakes plough your drawing upside down or concur it upwards to a mirror. This will give you a fresh "perspective" making it easier to see them.

For mistakes beginners unremarkably brand when drawing anime (and fixes for them) run into:

Common Mistakes When Cartoon Anime & Manga

Conclusion

Doing the exercises and applying the tips suggested above will help you with the basics of drawing anime. One time you you have a fairly steady hand with skillful control of your pen or pencil you tin move on to more advanced aspects of drawing. These include things such as perspective, color and shading. For some basics on all of these run across the following tutorials:

  • Perspective Drawing Tutorial for Beginners and How it Relates to Anime
  • Beginner Guide to Picking Colors When Drawing Anime & Manga
  • How to Shade an Anime Face in Different Lighting

For a suggestions on things that can help yous learn to draw anime see:

Tips on How to Learn How to Depict Anime & Manga