This document provides instructions for drawing a simple anime/manga character profile in 3 steps: 1) Create guidelines by drawing a circle for the head and crosshairs for facial features. 2) Draw the eyes within the crosshair areas and add other details like the jawline. 3) Finalize the character by adding hair and coloring in the features, clothing, and hair with layered shades to make it appear more realistic and alive.

1. How To Draw An
Anime/Manga
Character
Paul Martinez

2. Anime/Manga cartoons are a very
popular, and there are many ways to make
them. We can spend a few lessons on how
to do the entire character.
For now, we’ll focus on
doing a simple profile
of a characters head.
We’ll take it step by step.

3. Guidelines
If you want a picture to come out
the way you to, you’re going to
have to make some guide lines.
Guide lines are just simple
shapes shown in the picture. It’s
made up of a circle and a
crosshair.
Eyes
Eyes
Jaw area
Crosshairs are
important to place
to face on your
character.

4. Pick and Choose
There are many ways
to draw a character’s
face. Eyes can be as
simple or detailed as
you want. Each artist
has their own
preference or unique
style to draw the
faces.
Make sure when drawing the
eyes, follow the face guidelines. The
eyes shouldn’t be bigger than the
crosshair area it’s in. You can add
more guidelines to help you for
placement and size.

5. Now you should be all set. Finalize your character with
whatever hairstyle you choose.
Before
After
But let’s not stop there. Coloring also helps the character
look more alive instead of being a bland, ordinary sketch.

6. Coloring Basics
You can use a black ink pen
or black colored pencil
(Whatever you prefer or have
on you at the time) to outline
the pencil sketches of your
drawing.
Assort colors you want for
hair, clothing, and skin color.

7. Coloring Basics
Darker
Lighter
Adding in wrinkles to
character clothing
makes it a bit more
believable and
realistic.
(adding too much or
putting wrinkles in
the wrong places
can mess it up, so
pay attention to how
real clothing looks
like)
Just like drawing out the character. Filling in the character with
shades and wrinkles to the clothing can make it more alive.
Shading goes according to light source direction and intensity.
Wrinkles to the clothing goes by the position the character is in.

8. Coloring Basics
Let’s get started on the hair.
Here in the picture shows
the lines being colored in go
in the direction of how hair
would normally grow. Do
this to avoid making your
character’s hair look like a
solid colored shape on their
head.

9. Coloring Basics
Using this method correctly
will make it come out like
this.
But bringing up preference
again, many have their own
way to color in hair, make
the hair shine, etc. This is
just one of the many
possible ways to color.
Luckily, there is no wrong
way to do it.

10. Finished!
Now you have your finalized character