How to Draw an Anime Body

This tutorial will show you how to draw an anime body in a front view, using a tall male character as an example.

Anime figures are based on human body proportions and anatomy, but the relative sizes and shapes of the body can be adjusted for a particular character design.

The figure in this tutorial has a relatively small head, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long limbs. For a female variation, you can also use our guide on drawing an anime girl body.

How to draw an anime body step by step

Step 1: Sketch the anime body framework

Start by sketching the basic framework of the anime figure with very light lines. Draw the head near the upper part of the page, then add a vertical line for the spine. Place the rib cage and pelvis along this line as simple general forms. Finally, indicate the arms and legs with straight lines and mark the main joints. Establish the relative size and placement of the major body parts.

Step 2: Build the torso and pelvis

Draw a vertical guideline across the head and add a horizontal line for the placement of the facial features. Next, sketch the neck as a short cylinder. Connect the rib cage and pelvis with smooth lines that narrow at the waist, then indicate the lower form of the pelvis. For this male anime body, make the shoulders noticeably wider than the hips and leave the torso fairly lean.

Step 3: Add volume to the limbs

Build the arms and legs with elongated cylindrical forms. Indicate the shoulders, elbows, and knees with simple spherical shapes, then block in the hands and feet as general masses. The arms should gradually narrow toward the wrists, and the legs should change thickness around the knees, calves, and ankles. Do not draw the smaller anatomical details yet. Compare the length and thickness of the limbs on both sides of the body.

Step 4: Sketch the face and hair

Use the guidelines on the head to sketch the anime eyes, then indicate the nose and mouth with simple lines. Sketch the jaw and the general mass of the hairstyle around the head. On the body, lightly mark the chest and abdomen and begin defining the hands, fingers, feet, and toes. Anime facial features are usually simplified. There is no need to add small facial details at this stage.

Step 5: Refine the anime face and hair

Now draw the anime face with clean, darker lines. Refine the eyes first, then draw the small anime nose and mouth and give the jaw a more angular shape. Draw the hair as separate locks that follow the larger hairstyle you sketched earlier. Avoid outlining every individual hair. Erase the facial guidelines once the main features are complete.

Step 6: Draw the anime torso

Move down to the upper body and outline the neck, shoulders, chest, waist, and abdomen with clean lines. Add the clavicles and indicate the main divisions of the chest and abdominal muscles. This character has an athletic but relatively lean build, so show the major anatomical forms without outlining every muscle. Remove the remaining construction lines from the torso after the contours are complete.

Step 7: Finish the arms and hands

Refine the shoulders and arms with clear contours, narrowing the forms toward the wrists. Indicate the changes in shape around the upper arms, elbows, and forearms without adding excessive muscle detail. Then draw the anime hands over the simple forms from the earlier steps and complete the fingers. Erase the remaining guidelines from the upper body.

Step 8: Finish the legs and feet

Draw the legs with the same clean lines, using the earlier cylindrical forms as a guide. Refine the thighs, knees, calves, and ankles. Pay attention to how the width changes along each leg. The legs of this anime character are long and relatively slender, but the knee and calf forms should still be visible. Finish the feet and toes with simple contours, then erase the remaining construction lines.

Step 9: Add shadows to the anime body

Determine the direction of the light and lightly mark the main shadow areas on the anime body. Add short, even hatching beneath the chin and around the forms turned away from the light. Anime shading is often simplified, so the shadows do not need many gradual tonal transitions. Add another layer of hatching only where a darker accent is needed.

Important principles of drawing anime bodies

The anime body from this tutorial represents only one common type of anime figure. Anime figures can have very different body proportions depending on the age, build, and design of the character.

One of the easiest ways to change the appearance is to change the relationship between the size of the head and the height of the body.

A taller anime character with a relatively small head usually looks older and more realistic. Increasing the size of the head and shortening the body creates a younger appearance. If you take this principle much further, you get the characteristic proportions used for drawing chibi characters.

When changing these relationships, adjust the rest of the body as well so that the head, torso, and limbs belong to the same character design.

After you become comfortable drawing a standing anime body, start changing the pose. First sketch a simple line of action that shows the main direction of the figure.

Then place the head, rib cage, and pelvis along this line and build the limbs around them. This will make it easier to draw walking, running, leaning, and other more dynamic poses.

Pay attention to how the body carries its weight. If an anime character stands mainly on one leg, the pelvis changes its angle and the other leg becomes more relaxed. The shoulders can also tilt in the opposite direction.

Even a very simplified anime figure should follow these basic principles of human movement and human body proportions.

The silhouette is another important part of anime character design. The hairstyle, shape of the clothes, proportions, and other large forms should make the character recognizable before small facial or clothing details are added.

After you have learned how to draw a basic anime figure, you can draw an anime character. In a separate tutorial, we focused on the basic principles of anime character design and showed how to make a character look more interesting and charismatic.