How to Draw Chibi Kirito

Kirito’s main distinguishing features are his costume and swords. Here we will show you how to draw chibi Kirito, the main character of Sword Art Online, and simplify his features and costume. As usual, we will use the basic principles of drawing chibi characters, applying them to this anime character.

How to draw chibi Kirito step by step

Step 1: Sketch the large head of Kirito

As usual, let’s start with the head of our character, outlining it as a large, rounded shape. On the surface of the head, sketch two intersecting guidelines. These lines will help us position the facial features in the following steps.

Step 2: Outline the small torso and limbs

Now let’s sketch the torso and limbs using very light lines and simple geometric shapes. Remember that the body should be about the same height as the head. Make the arms and legs short.

Step 3: Mark the hair, coat, and swords

Now, outline the main details. On the head, sketch the hair and facial features. Give the hairstyle its characteristic uneven, pointed strands. Next, mark the contours of Kirito’s long coat and the swords.

Step 4: Draw Kirito’s eyes

Starting with this step, we will work on the finer details. Using clear lines, draw the chibi eyes and shade the pupils, leaving small white highlights in them. Pay attention to the shape of the upper eyelids.

Step 5: Refine the hairstyle and face

Now use clear, dark lines to refine the contours of the hair and face. Draw the pointed strands with different lengths and directions. Don’t forget to remove the unnecessary guidelines from the head.

Step 6: Draw the details of Kirito’s coat

Carefully outline the collar, front edges, and lower sections of the coat. Add the folds and decorative lines. Erase the from the chibi character’s coat and arm.

Step 7: Complete the hands, swords, and legs

Here we need to carefully draw the hands, swords, and legs. Try to make the swords as straight as possible. In the same step, erase all remaining construction guidelines to complete the chibi Kirito drawing.

As you may know, chibi is a highly simplified style of drawing anime and manga characters. Many manga and anime characters have very distinctive hairstyles, costumes, or equipment. These features are usually enough to make a character recognizable.

Even with significant simplification, preserving all these elements and features allows the viewer to understand which character is depicted in the drawing.

But if you want to depict the character more accurately and make him look even more like the original, you should also try to preserve the original drawing style, even in a simplified form. We showed how to do this in our chibi Vegeta drawing tutorial.