hey girl, okay so listen. I have a bone to pick with every single "how to draw anime faces" tutorial on the internet. I spent three hours last Tuesday trying to follow one of those perfect step-by-step grids, and my girl ended up looking like a squashed bug with a side ponytail. It's rough out here. But I finally figured out that drawing anime faces isn't about following strict rules, it's about breaking them in a way that looks cool.
And honestly? I'm qualified to talk about this because I've filled like four sketchbooks this year alone, mostly with faces that looked terrible until they didn't. I've made every mistake you can make. I've drawn eyes so big they took up the whole forehead. I've drawn noses that looked like tiny triangles stuck on with glue. But I keep going because it's weirdly addictive.
So if you're stuck in that same frustrating spot, here's the real tea on how to actually get better at this.
Start With The Ugly Blocking Phase
Okay, this is the part everyone skips because it's boring. You have to block out the head shape first. Not the hair. Not the eyes. Just the skull.
I used to jump straight to the eyes because they're the fun part. Huge mistake. You end up with a face that has no room for a chin. Now I force myself to draw a circle, then a little cross for the center line, and then I taper it down to a jaw. It looks like a weird egg for a minute. That's normal.
Don't worry about making it look good yet. You're building a skeleton, not a masterpiece.
The Eyes Are A Trap (But A Fun One)
Here's my hot take: most beginners draw the eyes way too high and way too big. I did this for months. I thought bigger eyes meant more anime. Nope. It just means your character looks like an alien.
The eyes should sit roughly in the middle of the head, maybe a little lower. And the space between them should be about the width of one eye. I know, I know, it's a rule. But it actually works.
Also, don't just draw a circle with a dot. You need an upper eyelid that's thicker, a lower lid that's thinner, and a pupil that sits inside the iris. And for the love of everything, add a highlight. One little white dot makes it look alive instead of dead inside.
Hair Is Just Shapes, I Promise
I used to think drawing anime hair was some kind of dark magic. Then I realized it's just big shapes stacked on top of each other.
Don't draw a million individual strands. Draw the overall silhouette first. Like a helmet. Then add a few chunky spikes or curves that break the outline. If you look at the sketches I've done, the hair is mostly one big mass with some loose pieces around the face.
And stop drawing the hairline right on top of the skull. Give it some volume. Hair sits on top of the head, it doesn't shrink-wrap to it.
Noses And Mouths: Keep It Simple
This is where I see people overdo it. You don't need a fully rendered nose with nostrils and shading. A tiny shadow or a single line works fine.
For the mouth, a small curve is usually enough. If you're drawing a serious character, a straight line. If they're happy, a little upward curve. That's it. Don't draw lips unless you're going for a more realistic style.
I used to draw these big detailed mouths and they always looked so creepy. Now I just do a tiny line and it reads way better.
Practice Different Angles (Even Though It Sucks)
Front-facing is easy. Three-quarter view is where things get real. And profile view? Nightmare fuel.
But you have to practice them. If you only draw front-facing characters, your art is going to look stiff. I spent a whole week just drawing heads looking left and right. It was awful. My proportions were all over the place. But by day five, something clicked.
Use a reference. Take a photo of yourself turning your head. It helps way more than you think.
Stop Comparing Your Sketches To Finished Art
This is the biggest trap. You see these gorgeous fully rendered digital paintings and then look at your messy pencil sketch and feel like garbage.
But those finished pieces started as messy sketches too. You just don't see that part. Your sketch isn't supposed to look like a final illustration. It's supposed to be a rough draft.
Be nice to your sketchbook. It's not a portfolio. It's a place to mess up.
My Honest Take On Art Supplies
You don't need expensive stuff. I use a mechanical pencil and a cheap kneaded eraser. That's it.
What I'd skip: fancy blending stumps. I bought some and never use them. Also, those expensive drawing pencils with the different lead grades? Unless you're doing super detailed shading, just use a regular pencil.
What's worth it: a good sketchbook with thick paper. Nothing worse than drawing on thin paper that tears when you erase.
Conclusion
So yeah, drawing anime faces is hard. You're going to make a lot of ugly ones. I still do. But the trick is to just keep going. Use the main keyword "drawing anime faces" as your little mantra when you're frustrated. Save this post for the next time you want to throw your sketchbook across the room. And seriously, tell me if you try the egg-head blocking method. I want to know if I'm the only one who thinks it looks weird at first.
Meta description: A girl in her 20s shares her real, unfiltered tips on drawing anime faces. Learn about eye placement, hair shapes, and why your sketches are supposed to look bad.
