This tutorial explains how to draw a an anime or manga girl's head caput and face from the forepart and side views.

Anime girl face drawing step by step
Anime girl confront drawing step by step

Before you begin cartoon it'south a good idea to outline the defining features of the anime way.

Most female anime characters tend to take big eyes, a pocket-sized mouth, nose and chin and a adequately round face up. The lips are usually either very lightly defined or not drawn at all. The hair is usually fatigued in clumps instead of private strands and oft tends to have a somewhat spiky look.

If drawing using pencil and paper be certain to make very light lines for the initial parts of the tutorial every bit you lot will need to erase some parts afterwards.

If you would also like to try cartoon a more than realistic looking anime character check:

How to Draw a Realistic Anime Face up Step by Step

Step one – Drawing The Head

Anime girl head drawing
Anime girl head drawing

Star you drawing with the overall outline of the head. For an explanation of the drawing club equally well as some general drawing tips see:

Beginner Guide to Picking Colors When Drawing Anime & Manga

You tin can draw a vertical line down the centre of the head for the front view to help you insure that both sides are fifty-fifty.

Make a circumvolve or a light oval for the front view and a longer oval for the side view to aid you get the shape of the superlative of the head.

For the front view you can basically projection two sets of lines down from the oval/circle that curve to see at the chin.

For the side view there volition be a sort of indent for the nose/eyes area. Describe the nose about halfway betwixt the bottom of the chin (covered in more than particular in Steps 3) and the heart of the caput. You can draw a straight line going from the tip of the nose down to the mentum (details of the mouth will be added in Step 5). Once again for the side view you can draw a line going up from the mentum and then curving again towards what will later be the position of the ears to class the lower jaw.

For both views depict the mentum small and almost pointy just with a tiny bend at the bottom.

Anime girl head shape drawing
Anime daughter caput shape drawing

In the above example you can see the basic curves and shape of an anime or manga mode head.

Step 2 – Drawing the Ears

Anime girl ears drawing
Anime girl ears drawing

To place the ears showtime depict a horizontal line direct though the centre of the head and then depict another line between that and the chin. Describe the ears between these ii lines.

For the side view placement of the ears they volition be positioned slightly more than towards the dorsum of the head than the front.

As the ears will exist covered by the pilus in after step we won't go into drawing their inner details. But if y'all would like to larn more than about cartoon anime way ears see:

  • How to Describe Anime and Manga Ears
  • How to Draw Anime Cat Girl Ears Stride by Step

Step three – Drawing the Optics

Anime girl eyes drawing
Anime girl eyes drawing

To place the optics on the head y'all can utilize the same vertical line used to place the top part of the ears. Draw the eyes directly below this line. The acme of anime eyes can vary based on manner and character blazon and so there is no ane certain way to identify the lesser portion.

If drawing both views at once be certain that the positioning of the bottom portions of the optics in both views is relatively even. A common mistake beginner artists tend to make when drawing the same face from dissimilar views is misaligned or differently sized facial features.

Also note that for this stage of the cartoon procedure you tin do a simplified shape of the eyes and leave the details for a later (covered in Pace 7).

For more on cartoon female person anime see:

How to Draw Female Anime Eyes Tutorial

For drawing different types of eyebrows run across:

How to Draw Anime & Manga Eyebrows

Step 4 – Cartoon the Olfactory organ

Anime girl nose drawing
Anime daughter olfactory organ drawing

As already mentioned you volition want to position the nose between the horizontal halfway point of the face up and the bottom of the chin.

In the front view you can pretty much draw the nose every bit only a dot in the side view an anime nose is usually small and pointy.

For more examples of anime noses in different views you tin can run across:

How to Draw Anime and Manga Noses

Step five – Cartoon the Mouth

Anime girl mouth drawing
Anime girl mouth cartoon

To mouth is a fiddling bit trickier to identify as you will get-go want to get the position of the bottom lip in society to do information technology. Likewise keep in mind that when information technology comes to anime and manga the bottom lips itself is often non drawn in the front view of the characters.

The bottom lip volition be positioned betwixt the nose and the bottom of the mentum. Draw the mouth itself slightly above that.

You tin pretty much draw the mouth as one or two lines (really just one line with a suspension in the middle for the front view). If you desire a happier/friendlier looking character yous can depict it with a bit of a curve.

Anime girl mouth side view drawing
Anime girl mouth side view drawing

In the above analogy you can encounter how the initial straight line from the tip of the nose down to the chin can then be used help yous draw the lips.

For more on drawing anime mouths and lips meet:

  • How to Depict Anime Mouths Tutorial
  • How to Depict Anime Lips Tutorial
  • How to Draw Anime and Manga Mouth Expressions
  • How to Draw Anime & Manga Mouths – Side View

Step 6 – Drawing The Pilus

Anime girl hair drawing
Anime girl pilus drawing

Add the pilus.

Keep in mind that the hair volition overlap some of the other features of the character'due south face. But information technology is notwithstanding good practice to describe those out peculiarly since they may be visible if yous choose to draw a different hair manner. You can erase the parts that are covered up by the hair once you are washed.

For this stage you can simply draw out the major parts of the pilus clumps without any of the smaller inner details of the pilus. Try and vary the clumps slightly in size shape and management to requite the hair a more natural look.

For more information on drawing anime and manga hair check:

  • How to Describe Anime and Manga Hair – Female
  • How to Draw Anime Pilus Blowing in Different Directions
  • How to Draw Anime & Manga Male person & Female Hair
  • How to Draw Anime & Manga Style Hair Braids
  • Different Means to Draw Anime Hair Highlights
  • How to Draw Moisture Anime Hair Step by Step

Step 7 – Cartoon the Smaller Details of the Face & Finishing the Line Drawing

Anime girl line drawing
Anime girl line drawing

At this phase y'all can erase the parts of the face that are covered past the hair and add the smaller details o the eyes such equally the eyelashes, pupils, and highlights. Y'all can too shade in the eyelashes and add together some more than details to the hair.

When cartoon the optics y'all can lightly outline the highlights (reflections of light) with a very lite lines so that if you shade the eyes you don't accidentally shade them in also.

Once y'all are washed y'all should take a finished line cartoon of an anime girl's head and confront.

This is technically a finished drawing and yous tin leave it every bit is but if yous desire to go a little fleck further you can move on to the next step for the shading.

Anime girl facial features drawing
Anime girl facial features drawing

You can come across the finished line cartoon of the facial features without the hair in the way in the illustration above.

Pace 8 – Applying Shading

Anime girl face drawing
Anime girl confront drawing

You can add together some very basic shading to your drawing to make it stand up out a lot more.

Anime uses what is known every bit "Cel" style shading (basically shading with no gradients) which generally makes shading fair fast and piece of cake.

The way the shading is applied will be determined past two things. The areas that are naturally darker and the areas that take shadows cast on them.

Darker Areas

More often than not you will want to darken the hair and the irises of the eyes (go out the highlights white). Shade the pupils and the upper area of the iris even darker.

For more detailed examples of shading hair run into:

How to Shade Anime Hair Step by Footstep

Leave a white surface area in the pilus for the highlight. For more than on drawing these see:

Different Ways to Describe Anime Hair Highlights

In Shadow Areas

The way shadows are bandage is determined by the light source. For the sake of this tutorial we will go with very "generalized" lighting conditions where the shadows are usually cast downwards.

In this case the shadows (top to bottom) will be:

  • Forehead – from the hair
  • Eyelids – due to them being indented in the caput (less light reaches)
  • Summit of the Eyes – from the eyelashes (somewhat optional these tin can be too small to detect)
  • Nose – to one side
  • Below Mouth (optional) – from the lips
  • Neck – from the head

For a tutorial on shading anime faces in different lighting weather condition see:

How to Shade an Anime Face in Different Lighting

If yous would similar to color your character see:

  • Beginner Guide to Picking Colors When Drawing Anime & Manga
  • How to Color an Anime Character Pace by Step

Conclusion

This tutorial provides general guidelines for drawing an anime or manga style female confront. For instructions on drawing anime style female bodies check out:

  • How to Draw an Anime Girl Body Step past Step Tutorial
  • How to Draw Anime & Manga Arms Tutorial
  • How to Draw Female Anime Legs Tutorial

For drawing an older or younger female character'southward caput and face up encounter:

  • 8 Step Anime Woman's Caput & Face Cartoon Tutorial
  • How to Draw a Cute Anime Girl Step by Step

For drawing male person anime heads and faces run across:

  • How to Depict Anime and Manga Male person Caput and Confront
  • eight Step Anime Boy'south Head & Face Drawing Tutorial
  • x Step Anime Human'south Face Cartoon Tutorial

For drawing different types of anime characters see:

  • How to Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
  • How to Draw a Beautiful Anime Daughter Pace past Stride