Not very detailed, but oh well. Some images considered PG-13.

Step 1:

First, sketch the basic shape of the head. No need to be super perfect, you can always correct once you get the basic shape down. The eyes will be in the center of the head, so keep that in mind.



Also, notice that the back of the head goes in.



It should start going in somewhere around the middle of the head and stop where the jaw line begins, creating the base of the neck. Of course, there should still be some distance between the jaw line and base of the neck. Judge by how thick you want your neck to be.

Step 2:

Next, draw out the basic shape of the body. I tend to go ahead and just draw the nude figure, but it’s fine to go with the “boxes and circles” and then add more detail/definition. I do recommend drawing the parts you wouldn’t see (IE, on the last figure where her arm goes over the small of her back, I still drew her back going in).



This is a female figure, obviously. Notice that she is 7 heads tall (there are marks there to show you). First head-length is, of course, her head. The second head-length is her chest, the third her abdomen, then her hips and upper thigh (normally the first 1/3 of the thigh), then the rest of the thigh and knee, ½ the shin, then the second half of the shin and feet. (Mine is slightly out of proportion, but this was a quick sketch. Sorry!) Notice that the shoulder width is one head from the middle of the figure. (In real life, it’s actually one and a half heads from the middle of the body!)

Also, normally on the female figure, picture the basic torso shape to be an 8, the top of the 8 being the shoulders and chest, and the bottom being the hips. Your hips don’t have to be quite that large, but try to make sure they at least extend as far as the chest to get those smooth curves anime girls always have.

Step 3:

Now, draw the lines for the placement of the eyes. You want your eyes to be roughly in the center of the head. (I put my just a touch above the center to avoid HUGE foreheads.) The middle line will be for nose placement. For a full front, level view, straight lines are fine. For a ¾ view, however, you should follow the 3D shape of the head. Imagine the head to be an spherical oval.



Step 4:

Now, draw in your eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and clothes. (Please ignore how WEIRD all mine are.) If you find you need to make adjustments, do so, but make sure the body still looks normal and not distorted! (IE, if you do decide her hips are too big, don’t shrink them to the point that she looks like her waist just goes straight to her thighs! Put at least a little definition there, or it will look unnatural! There may be people like that in real life, but anime and manga have different rules.)



Step 5:

Last step, ink the lines you want to keep and erase the pencil. (I didn't because I'm lazy. >_<)

Face proportions:

The nose’s base should be 2 eyes down.



The ears should go from the brows to the nose.



Body proportions:

The hands should be the length of the face.



The arm should reach mid thigh.



From the crotch to the belly button should be one hand. (The crotch on this figure should be lower.)



The foot should be the length of the forearm.



Not really proportions, but the breast/pectoral should always come from the armpit!



Um, I would've liked to have been more detailed, but... I wasn't. ^^;; Maybe I'll make more tutorials about specifics, like eyes, hair, etc.

Ohh that's pretty easy to follow ^__^
Thanks Kimmy<3

nice job, kimmy! ^_^

Where are you learning that Kim?? That's pretty interesting, and stuff I had never thought about! Thank you.

Normally, I couldn't draw a square box without adult supervision.

//Seoul

^ Different places, here and there. Some of it was random trivia from grade school, some was from How to Draw books... You just pick up on these things after 18 years of drawing. :D

wow!!!

yess, thank youu ^___^
I won't be using this to draw anime (because I don't do that anymore >__>) but it will definitely be helpful with drawing real people :D~


my friend told me the thing about 7 heads though (I think my body's too small :3)


and she told me also that
the height of the head is the healthy width of the abdomen
so I guess that works, too-- unless the person is obese?

yeah, you're a chibi-style anime ^_^