How to Draw Anime Bodies

A typical anime teen female.

One of the key features of an anime character is the exaggerated proportions of the figure. The anime head is larger than a human head and the rest of the anime body is drawn in proportion to the head. An anime character's torso is short. The waist is thin and the legs and arms are long and slender. Read on to learn how to draw an anime body.

Things You'll Need

• No. 2 pencil
• Drawing paper
• Pink gum eraser

Instructions

1. Find a magazine picture or photo of a person posed in the position you want your anime character's body to be. Use that as a guide to sketch a stick-figure frame.

2. Draw a vertical line to serve as an axis of symmetry and to position the center of the anime character's torso.

3. Draw shorter horizontal lines at the top and bottom of the vertical center line. The top short line is the width of the shoulders and the bottom short line is the pelvis.

4. Sketch lines for the legs and arms. Remember to make the legs about four heads tall and the arms about three heads long if your character is a teen or adult male or female.

5. Draw very light ovals over the lines you started with to flesh out the calves, thighs, torso, chest and upper and lower arms. Make the torso symmetrical with the center line.

6. Outline the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow and wrist joints with very light circles.

7. Sketch smooth curved lines to connect the ovals. When the figure looks the way you want it to appear, erase extra lines with the pink gum eraser.

Tips & Warnings

• Sketch your anime figure's head first to get an idea for the proportions of the rest of the body. Draw adult and teen anime females about six to seven heads tall. Adult and teen anime males are about seven to eight heads in height while babies, toddlers and children are two, three and five heads tall, respectively. An anime female character's shoulders and hips are about the same width, while an anime male character's shoulders are wider than the hips. Draw legs closer together if the anime character is in a relaxed position. Draw legs further apart if the anime character is in an aggressive or fighting stance.

• Don't make the arms or legs one long curve. Define the elbow and knee joints by sketching a small bump where they would be located. Don't sketch cylinder-shaped body parts. The upper and lower arms as well as the thighs and calves are heavier at the top than at the bottom and should be tapered.

Resources

• Julie Dillon's Site Includes Instructions on Drawing Hair, Clothing, Faces and Specific Anime Characters.
• Akemi's Site Includes a Japanese Phrase Guide, Reviews on Anime Content, As Well As How to Draw Anime Figures.
• Information on How to Draw the Male Torso.