How To Draw A Smile Anime
Smiling anime characters can be tricky to draw well. Just how many of us nailed that famous “Uso” smile Youji Hinomaru from Hinomaru Sumo made famous? Fortunately, with practice and enough enthusiasm, you can draw a smile anime with the ease of a pro.
First, the basics. Start by using your eyes to capture the expressions of the characters you see in the manga. Eye shapes are key to capturing the emotion of a character in the anime. Like the winking smile, you’ll have to have a distinct curve in the eye to show the character is holding back a smile. And while there’s no one rule, typically with anime eyelids will have a continuity of color so the eye shape won’t go through multiple colors. Pay attention to the mouth too. The corner of the lips should be rounder for those happy anime characters. Body language is also key. Forget stiff hard lines – make the shoulder slouch for a lazier or sarcastic mood. Or give that bounce in the cheek for a delightful smile.
Next, we come to the details. Trace the mouth line down from the square top, varying the line size mid way to capture that sincerity in the smile. The angle of the eye should be a perfect U for the “Uso” anime smile and you’ll want a distinct curve as mentioned before, instead of trying to keep the lip line a straight line. The hardest part shall definitely be how to draw the eyes. Don’t draw the line too deep to that can make it look sinister, and don’t worry too much about symmetry, wouldn’t want the character to look too robotic!
Throughout the whole process, the key is to observe and practice. Look at the eyes of smiley anime characters you admire and try to approximate that in your own drawing. Don’t get too caught up with precision because then you’ll end up with an anime with a very flat expression. Instead channel your inner love and passion for anime into your drawing and it’ll definitely show!
Visualization can be your friend as well. Visualize the bubble at the corner of the mouth when thinking of how to sketch a smile anime, and draw a tangible form of the bubble. You could also visualize the perfect smile and try to recreate it on paper. Observe the changes in the eyes and cheeks when you smile in the mirror and try to recreate that.
Finally, we come to the very basic – getting doodles right. Start out by scribbling the image directly onto the paper – the more your fingers move and the more you practice, the closer you will get to the concept. Give the curve of your anime character a personality – adjust the shading to increase or decrease the effect and feel of the image. If you’re having trouble getting the cartoon to look like the real thing, draw a cartoon version of the cartoon itself and make sure to get it right before putting it on paper – or as my drawing teacher always said, “draw it, but draw it backwards”.
Equally important is to look for trouble spots or areas that need improvement. Where can you make the anime anime smile more believable or funnier, and how can you enhance the general mood of the picture? When you draw a smiling anime, use the same techniques in demand in the industry today – tweaking shadows, increasing highlights and overexposing the source image until it looks just right. Don’t be afraid to experiment as well – even something as simple as an exaggerated squint of the eyes can add an extra something to the smile anime.
And so, there you have it! Drawing a smile anime doesn’t have to be intimidating – just take it one step at a time and you’ll be sure to get the right shape, look and feel once you get that world-famous Uso smile right. Best of luck drawing your anime and don’t forget to smile!
