How to Draw Anime Abs

Anime Martial Artist

Anime characters in the Asian style are often skilled martial artists. They are in top physical condition, and their lean bodies are built for speed and agility. They tend to have more definition in their muscles and less bulky mass. Anime martial artists are drawn with hard, well developed abdominal muscles or "abs" as they are called for short. This drawing tutorial will show you how to depict abs in the anime style. The tutorial is for persons that already have learned to draw the head, facial features and general body shape of the character. Check for more of my tutorials on drawing Anime characters for more information.

Things You'll Need

• Drawing paper
• Pencils or ink
• Color pencils or paint

Instructions

1. 

   Draw in your anime character's head and body shape as depicted in the accompanying drawing. Most anime heroes range in age from pre-teens to young adults. They tend to have slender builds. Often the heads are slightly larger in proportion to the body, as is common with most animated characters.

2. Draw in the main muscles of the upper chest, using medium-thick lines. Anime drawing is spare and economical- it uses the least amount of lines necessary to depict shapes. Later on, a little shading will be added to round out the form. The lines are drawn to show where the cast shadows on a form are darkest.

3. 

   Draw in the six rounded forms of the ab muscles as shown in the drawing here. The middle pair of muscles are the largest,with the bottom pair being slightly smaller, and the top pair are also slightly smaller than the bottom pair. The group of muscles together fit within an oval shape. The group of muscles are often called the "six-pack." They flex together as one unit, and bulge out the most as the chest and pelvis are pulled toward each other. (In martial arts, the abs are tensed to resist the force of a punch to the midsection.) Keep these principles in mind when drawing the figure in action.

4. 

   Begin shading in the shapes of the muscles with a darker shade of the flesh-tone color of the anime character. The shading follows the edges of the muscles along the lines that you have drawn. Shade gradually to get smooth transitions from light to dark. The shadows will be darker in areas like on the neck under the chin, and on the torso under the arms.

5. Add a few touches like a bit of shading where the nipples of the chest and belly-button are located. Anime artists usually add effects like this that suggest the natural form of the anatomy, but they are not excessively detailed. Your work is now complete.