by Gabrielle Marles

Created on: May 14, 2009   Last Updated: May 16, 2009

Anime or manga-style illustration refers to the Japanese style of illustration. Anime-style illustration consists of simple lines and shapes. It often features characters with huge eyes, larger head proportion and thin limbs. There isn't any specific manual or guideline for drawing anime-style, but some basic pointers coupled by personal touches can go a long way.

In the beginning, we might want to start from the head. Usually an anime character's head is an egg-shaped oval with sharp chin. Draw a thin vertical line to divide the oval symmetrically. The vertical line will be used as a guide to draw the nose. Then, draw a second line horizontally as a guide to draw the eyes.

The eyes are the most important aspect in an anime-style illustration as they are used to distinguish between characters. The eyes consist of some basic components, such as the upper lid, the lower lid, and the iris. Other details such as the eyebrow, eyelash, and pupil can be added to these basic elements. The shape of the eyes is different between male and female characters. For female characters, the eyes are often huge and round, and have long and thick lashes. To create a shiny effect, we only need to add one or two small white circles inside the iris. The most common eyebrow shape for anime girls is a simple curved line. A good example for this is the character Usagi/Serena in Sailor Moon.

The eyes are also important to express emotions in anime/manga. For example, big rounded eyes with fully visible irises coupled with high arched eyebrows conveys surprise. Facial expressions that are caused by emotions are universal, so we can just use our own expressions in real life as a guide.

The key to anime style is simplicity, so adding nose and mouth is fairly easy. Some people prefer to draw a comma-shaped line halfway between the eyes and the chin. Others might prefer the inverted-check mark shape, or the more realistic shape complete with nostrils. The mouth can be drawn with or without lips. The simplest shape for the mouth is a single line. The line can be curved downward to express happiness or upward for sadness. The nose and the mouth are usually quite small in size. For female characters, these features are exaggerated even more. Chibi or Super-Deformed characters that some people think are cute often don't even have a nose.

Again, anime-style illustration doesn't have any specific guideline. We are free to develop our own style or mix several different artists' style until we find the style we like. Practice is necessary. The more we draw, the better we become.

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