This step by step tutorial shows how to draw a semi-realistic looking female anime confront that differs from the more than traditional anime styles.

Realistic anime face drawing step by step
Realistic anime face drawing step by step

Cartoon a realistic looking anime face is a little more challenging than drawing a "standard" anime or manga way face. While the actual drawing process itself is not much more difficult the challenge comes in balancing between semi-realistic facial features and maintaining an anime look.

To assist with that challenge this tutorial provides a detailed breakdown of the cartoon procedure. Information technology includes an explanation of how to draw the head and each of the major facial features to attain a more "realistic" look.

Be sure to make calorie-free lines for the initial stages of the drawing so that you lot tin can easily erase parts of them later. The lines in the examples are dark just then that you can see them. You tin can get over your drawing with darker lines afterward y'all are sure everything is in the correct place and after you lot erase all o the guide lines and parts of the face up that volition be subconscious by the pilus.

Step 1 – Cartoon a Semi-Realistic Looking Anime Caput

Realistic anime head drawing
Realistic anime caput cartoon

Anime characters mostly accept fairly round faces. The bottom portion of an anime face up is commonly drawn with two major sets of lines, one going downwards from the top of the caput to around the oral cavity area and one more from there to the mentum. The chin itself tends to be drawn either completely pointy or with a tiny curve.

For a more than realistic looking anime face up draw the head in almost the same way but with a flatter and wider chin (closer to a real chin). You tin also optionally make the caput a little "taller" (longer vertically).

Start the drawing with a vertical line to help you lot make sure both halves of the face are fifty-fifty. Next you can draw the rounded shape for the pinnacle of the caput and project the lines of the bottom portion of the head as been described.

For unlike styles of anime heads you lot can see:

How to Draw Different Styles of Anime Heads & Faces

For examples of diverse styles of eyes bank check:

How to Draw Different Types of Anime and Manga Eyes

Step two – Drawing the Eyes

Realistic anime eyes drawing
Realistic anime optics drawing

Position the eyes the same as you would for more traditional looking anime characters (as suggested in other tutorials hither on AnimeOutline). To exercise this past draw a horizontal line through the heart of the face and draw the optics beneath that line. Space the optics so that yous can fit some other eye between them.

Depict the eyes vertically narrower than common anime eyes simply larger than real eyes.  Make the irises circular (anime irises and pupils are frequently vertically stretched).

You can leave the smaller details of the eyes such equally the pupils reflections and eyelashes for afterwards later yous insure that all of the other facial features are correctly placed. For an explanation of why you lot want to draw this way as well as other anime related drawing advice come across:

Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga

Pace 3 – Drawing a Semi-Realistic Olfactory organ

Realistic anime nose drawing
Realistic anime nose drawing

While traditional anime noses are ofttimes but draw with a dot (in the front view) for a more realistic looking style y'all can depict a olfactory organ that is a lot closer in shape and proportions to a real one.

Position the nose every bit you would for a traditional looking anime character with the bottom of the olfactory organ beingness between the chin and the horizontal halfway indicate through the face. (again aforementioned as other tutorials here on AnimeOutline).

The unabridged drawing of the more realistic looking nose can pretty much exist broken down into various curves. Draw two small curves for the nostrils, two more curves to give a hint of the sides of the olfactory organ. Ad the tip of the nose with one small curve and finally bear witness the bridge of the nose with one fairly long curved line. Be sure to merely depict the last line on one side of the nose. your drawing will look odd if y'all add it on both sides.

For more than variations of anime noses see:

How to Draw Anime and Manga Noses

Step 4 – Drawing the Ears

Realistic anime ears drawing
Realistic anime ears drawing

Describe the ears pretty much as y'all would with most other anime styles. Depict the meridian of the ears to marshal with the summit of the eyes and the bottom of the ears to align with the bottom of the nose.

For detailed examples of cartoon anime ears cheque:

How to Depict Anime and Manga Ears

Delight note that the ears in this tutorial will eventually be fully covered by the hair and erased for the final steps so cartoon them is optional.

Step 5 – Drawing the Oral cavity & Lips

Realistic anime mouth drawing
Realistic anime mouth drawing

Anime mouths are usually drawn without lips just you lot tin add them if yous desire a more realistic looking mouth.

Position the oral cavity with the bottom lip halfway betwixt the lesser of the nose and the bottom of the chin.

Draw the oral cavity itself every bit a curve with a interruption in the middle where the lines curve slightly downwardly. Y'all can likewise depict information technology wider than more traditional anime mouths.

For a very detailed explanation of cartoon the lips you can see the tutorial below:

How to Describe Anime Lips Tutorial

Step half dozen – Drawing Semi-Realistic Anime Hair

Traditional vs realistic anime hair clumps
Traditional vs realistic anime hair clumps

Anime hair is generally drawn in pointy clumps. For more than realistic looking hair you can nonetheless view it equally a gear up of clumps but without the pointy ends. Instead leave the stop of the clump "open" and describe some lines into these openings to give an appearance of hair strands. This will create a hair that is however adequately easy to draw but looks more realistic.

Realistic anime hair drawing breakdown
Realistic anime pilus drawing breakdown

To better sympathise how to draw the pilus it can also be very helpful to think of it as being split up into tree parts (as shown in the example in a higher place):

  • Carmine – Front Hair
  • Green – Side Hair
  • Blueish – Back/Acme Hair

For drawing dissimilar types of more traditional anime hairstyles using this approach encounter:

How to Draw Anime and Manga Hair – Female

Realistic anime hair basic line drawing
Realistic anime hair bones line drawing

Keeping the to a higher place in mind get-go the actual drawing of the hair past outlining it's overall shape and adding the open concluded clumps as described above. Don't add the smaller splits but even so.

Realistic anime hair clumps drawing
Realistic anime hair clumps drawing

Once yous cease drawing the major shapes of the hair yous can so become ahead and add the smaller splits in between the larger clumps to requite it a little more detail.

Realistic anime hair drawing
Realistic anime hair drawing

When you are finished you should have a drawing similar to the example above.

For more on drawing anime hair you can also cheque out:

How to Draw Anime Hair Blowing in Different Directions

Step 7 – Cleaning upwardly the Drawing

Realistic anime face line drawing
Realistic anime face line drawing

For this brusk pace you can but erase the parts of the caput and face that are covered past the hair. Once you are done yous should have a clean line with all of the facial features in their places.

Pace 8 – Drawing the Small Details of the Eyes

Realistic anime face drawing
Realistic anime face up cartoon

After you lot have the basic line drawing of the face you tin get ahead and add in the small details of the optics.

For a pace by pace breakdown of drawing anime optics encounter:

How to Depict Female Anime Eyes Tutorial

While the optics in that tutorial are slightly different from those in this instance pretty much the aforementioned cartoon steps still apply. But tweak them to look more like the the ones in the instance to a higher place.

It was too suggested at the start of this tutorial that you should make calorie-free lines for it'southward initial steps. Once you've reached this point you tin can get over your drawing with darker lines.

Pace nine – Finishing the Cartoon by Applying Shading

Realistic anime face drawing shaded drawing
Realistic anime face cartoon shaded cartoon

To cease the drawing you can add some very basic shading.

For very generalized shading with no 1 clear light source shade the areas most likely to have shadows. These shadows will commonly be:

  • Cast by the hair on the brow surface area
  • Around the eyelids
  • Bottom of the nose
  • Upper area of the neck (cast by the caput)
  • Inner/Groundwork area of the hair

For shading an anime character'southward face in different lighting weather see:

How to Shade an Anime Face in Dissimilar Lighting

Be sure to leave the area of the highlights in the hair white as well as a small highlight area on the lips.

For examples of diverse kinds of hair highlight see:

Dissimilar Means to Draw Anime Hair Highlights

Decision

It can be a footling bit tricky to find the correct balance between anime and realism when trying to describe a semi-realistic looking anime character. While this tutorial offers some guide lines in that location is no i set way to draw these types of characters. Yous tin experiment for yourself by adding more realistic or more than stylized facial features and run across what kind of a results you come with.

For cartoon more "traditional" looking female person anime faces see:

  • How to Draw an Anime Girl'southward Caput and Face
  • How to Draw a Beautiful Anime Girl Step by Step
  • How to Depict Anime Characters Tutorial
  • 8 Footstep Anime Woman's Head & Face Drawing Tutorial
  • How to Draw a Beautiful Anime Girl Step by Pace
  • How to Depict Anime Christmas Santa Hat Girl