Anime Portrait Workout: 5 Proven Steps to Drawing Better Anime Faces

Ready to give your anime portraits a serious boost? This two-week workout breaks the process into 5 crystal-clear assignments, guiding you from structure to full creative expression, just like we did with our Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Buildings from Imagination.

Let’s jump into the steps:

Start by drawing three “Loomis heads”—the classic way to block out the structure of the head. Try front, side, and 3/4 views.

• Keep it simple: use spheres, jaw lines, and cross-guides for the brow and nose.

• Focus on big shapes before worrying about details.

Take the heads you just drew and give them classic anime proportions.

• Shrink the nose and mouth, enlarge the eyes, and simplify the jawline.

• Use either real anime references or your imagination.

• Proportions matter! These tweaks set your portraits apart from realism.

Choose a few different anime portraits you like. From each:

• Copy two sets of each facial feature: eyes, noses, lips, and ears.

• Try to choose different artists or styles for variety.

• Studying features up close will build your “visual library” (just like in our Kim Jung Gi secrets guide).

Now that you’ve studied features, turn these basic expressions into anime style:

• Joy, surprise, sadness, anger, and confusion.

• Use your reference or invent your own, but exaggerate and stylize them for maximum impact.

Using everything you've learned, draw your own original anime portrait:

• Start with a Loomis head for structure.

• Apply anime proportions.

• Use your studied features and expressions.

• Experiment! Your goal is to create something unique.

True progress comes from daily action, don’t just read, draw! For more workout-style plans and tips, explore 21 Ways to Fail at Art (and What To Do Instead) to make sure you’re building smarter habits.