How to Draw Full Metal Alchemist Characters

Full Metal Alchemist is a manga Japanese cartoon series that focuses on two main characters, the brothers Edward (Ed) and Alphonse (Al) Elric. Both of these characters have robotic elements, so they're a little more difficult to draw than your typical anime character. If you're familiar with the Full Metal Alchemist series and have basic anime drawing experience, however, you should be able to tackle Ed and Al.

Instructions

1. Draw a basic male anime body and head for Ed. He has an oval-shaped head with a pointed chin, and is short in stature, so draw a narrow trapezoidal shape for his body and make his limbs slightly thicker than typical anime to emphasize his short stature.

2. Replace Ed's right arm and leg with robotic prosthetics that are the same size as his other limbs. Add some curves lines here and there to show the joints in the metal.

3. Give Ed some pointed bangs on either side of his face, and a long braid coming from the nape of his neck.

4. Add Ed's facial features, which are typical manga features. Draw large round eyes with flattened-out bottom edges, a small "L"-shaped nose, and a small line for his mouth. Add eyebrows slanted up or down depending on his expression.

5. Draw an upside-down "U" shape for Al's head, and broad shoulders underneath it (no neck) and arms. Draw a wide trapezoidal shape for his torso and 2 rectangles coming down from the waist as his thighs. Beneath the thighs, add pointed toe metal boots.

6. Add spikes on both of Al's shoulder joints, his forearms near the elbows and his forehead.

7. Add curved lines on Al's arms and feet to illustrate the joints. Add a line across his face with two eyes coming down from the line, and another line below this for his mouth with two triangular fang-like bends.