How to Draw Japanese Cartoons

Japanese cartoons and manga form one of the most recognizable styles in contemporary drawing. Being able to draw Japanese characters like the pros takes years of training and practice but following a few steps can get you drawing some imaginative and good looking Japanese cartoons.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Start with drawing the head and face by making a medium sized circle in the upper part of your page. From the bottom arch of the circle draw a funnel shape that comes to a sharp point at the bottom to form the jaw and chin. Make two lines at the bottom of the circle to indicate where the eyes will go. Make another two lines at the bottom of the funnel shape to indicate where the nose and mouth will go.

2. Draw your cartoon's eyes by making the top edge of the eye first on the right side of the bottom part of your circle. If the cartoon character is a woman or child make this line an upward arch with the left side of the line (after the apex of the arch) shorter than the right. Do the same on the left side. If the Japanese character is a hero make the top line downward slanting (toward the center of the circle) instead of arching.

3. Complete the eye by adding the bottom line. For children or female characters make dip the bottom line away from the top line so that you draw a very wide eye. For male or heroine characters make the eye very thin with a straight bottom line. In both cases, draw the pupil and within the pupil add a circle to represent reflection.

4. Sketch the nose and mouth in the space you indicated with the two sketch lines at the bottom part of your funnel shape. The nose should be just a simple upward turning stroke, like a check mark rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. The mouth should have very few lines and should be kept small and pursed for women and flat and thin for male cartoon characters.