Introduction: Unveiling the Art of Drawing Beautiful Anime Girls
Drawing a beautiful female anime character may seem challenging as most of them are inherently cute. However, in this comprehensive tutorial, we will guide you through the process of creating a stunning anime girl with grace and elegance. Our step-by-step approach will focus on the face and help you master the art of drawing the head and facial features of a “pretty girl” archetype.
Please note that while there may be overlapping information from similar tutorials, this specific character possesses unique proportions that require careful attention. Additionally, it’s important to remember that this tutorial represents just one approach to drawing a beautiful anime girl, and there are countless other methods available.
Step 1 – Establishing the Foundation: Drawing the Center Guide Line and the Top of the Head
To begin, draw a vertical line in the center of your drawing area, ensuring it is tall enough to accommodate the head, neck, and top part of the shoulders. This line acts as a guide to maintain proportional symmetry and assist in positioning the facial features. At the top of this line, draw a circle to represent the head’s top.
Step 2 – Shaping the Head: Drawing the Bottom Half
Extend two lines downwards from the lower half of the circle, angling them towards the center line. These lines will transition into curves and then sharper angles until they connect at the chin’s curve. Refer to the accompanying illustration for a visual breakdown.
Step 3 – Defining the Neck and Shoulders
Create a thin and long neck that transitions into the shoulder muscles and, eventually, the shoulders themselves. A slender and elongated neck accentuates the character’s beauty. Since this tutorial focuses primarily on the face, we won’t delve into extensive detail on drawing the neck and shoulders.
Step 4 – Positioning the Eyes: Horizontal Placement
Divide the head horizontally, placing the eyes slightly below the halfway point. In the case of a “beautiful girl” character, the large forehead adds to their charm.
Step 5 – Spacing and Outlining the Eyes
When spacing the eyes horizontally, leave enough room between them to accommodate another eye. Draw narrow eyes with thick sets of top eyelashes. At this stage, focus on outlining the basic eye shape without including intricate details such as eyelashes. The goal is to establish accurate placement for the facial features.
Step 6 – Shaping and Drawing the Eyebrows
Draw the eyebrows slightly above the eyes, emphasizing thickness and slightly raised inner ends. This adds personality to the character and conveys a specific expression. For more examples of anime/manga eyelashes, please refer to our tutorial on drawing anime eyelashes step by step.
Step 7 – Positioning and Sketching the Nose
Place the nose just above the halfway point between the horizontal line for the head’s middle and the bottom of the chin. Sketch a tiny oval-shaped nose, slightly flattening the side closer to the center of the face.
Step 8 – Positioning and Sketching the Mouth
Position the mouth halfway between the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin, where the bottom lip would be. Draw a small mouth with a subtle downward curve, avoiding excessive curvature to prevent an unhappy expression.
Step 9 – Placing and Drawing the Ears
Position the ears slightly below the top of the eyes and slightly below the bottom of the nose. In this case, the ears will be slightly smaller and lower than other character types. As most of the ears will be covered by hair, intricate inner details are unnecessary.
Step 10 – Sketching the Hair’s Sides
After completing the facial features, move on to drawing the hair. Imagine the hair divided into sides, front, and back/top sections. To maintain the character’s elegance, opt for a neat hairstyle. Begin by sketching two long clumps that start around the head’s top and end just below the shoulders. These clumps should have a slight curve, hugging the head/face and gradually widening towards the bottom.
Step 11 – Drawing the Front Hair
Draw the front portion of the hair, splitting it down the middle and tucking it under the sides.
Step 12 – Defining the Back/Top Hair
Split the back/top section of the hair down the middle. The hair should extend slightly higher from the head’s top, gradually moving closer towards the upper ends of the head’s sides, and then curving away from the head towards the middle and bottom. Erase any overlapping portions of the head and ears once the hair is complete.
Step 13 – Adding Intricate Details
Once you have outlined the hair and positioned all the facial features, proceed to add small details. This includes drawing the inner details of the eyes, adding hair folds, and incorporating a mole or beauty mark below one of the eyes. Refer to the step-by-step drawings provided for guidance on these details.
Step 14 – Adding Vibrant Colors
Before coloring the character, consider leaving some white spaces for highlights in the hair, especially if working with traditional paper-based tools. For digital coloring, highlights can be added later. As for color selection, opt for light blonde hair and complement it with blue eyes. For guidance on color combinations, please refer to our beginner guide on picking colors when drawing anime and manga.
Step 15 – Emphasizing Depth: Shading and Final Touches
To add depth, incorporate basic shading in common areas. This includes tiny shadows around the eyelids, small shadows below the eyelashes, a tiny shadow on one side of the nose, shaded ears, a large shadow on the neck mimicking the chin’s shape, and fully shaded hair between the head/neck and side hair. Additionally, add hair highlights by drawing white zigzag lines across the hair or leaving the area white and coloring around it. Finally, refine any remaining details to complete your stunning anime girl drawing.
Conclusion
Creating a beautiful anime girl drawing requires attention to detail and an understanding of proportions and facial feature placement. By following this tutorial, you have learned how to capture the elegance and grace of such a character. Remember that this is just one approach, and there are countless ways to draw various anime character archetypes. Expand your skills by exploring our other tutorials on drawing anime characters.
Note: All images used in this tutorial are originally from [website url].
