Anime is one of many art styles that have been gaining increasing popularity over the years. The style offers a rather cartoon-like look, yet at the same time targets a more adult audience. Many young artists try their hand at anime, some starting off drawing their favorite weekly cartoon characters before moving on to try a more personal style.
Basic Build
There are many different variations of the anime style, all appealing to different artists and a different audience. The first and probably the most popular is a basic skeletal style. In this style you start with a simple line representation of the basic skeleton, drawing a circle in place of major joints. Don't draw the entire skeleton; simply lines to represent major limbs. Start with an oval for each foot and a straight line up, another circle for the knees followed by two more lines and a small oval for the pelvic area. Then a line will come up from the pelvis to about where you want the shoulders to be. Draw two larger circles for the shoulders. Then draw a line crossing the "spine" to connect each shoulder. From the shoulders draw arms in whatever pose you wish them to hold, with circles at the elbows and small ovals to represent hands. Continue the spine up a little farther than the shoulders and draw an upside down egg to represent the head.
From this basic build slowly fill in the details. Start by connecting the round joints, shaping your filling to suit the build of your character. Once you've completed this you should have what looks like a small posing mannequin that many artists will use to model their drawing. From here add more and more details, such as clothes and a more toned body. However, remember that even though you started with a basic skeleton, the outside layer is all that's going to show. Therefore if you're going to draw a baggy trench coat, there's no use filling in detailed six-pack abs.
The Face
The face should be the last thing drawn on your character, yet at the same time it's also the most important feature of a character. Start by adding a set of cross hairs, a single "rounded" line dividing the head. Then add two horizontal eyes that should also conform to the round shape of a head. These horizontal lines will mark the height of the eyes, so adjust accordingly. Just as with the body, slowly fill in more and more details on the face, starting with the basics: the nose, eyes and mouth.
