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Anime Body Proportions

noblegeas
Oct 12th, 2019
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  1. ANIME BODY PROPORTIONS
  2.  
  3. Anime bodies generally follow realistic proportions, so you should use realistic proportions to guide your drawing. Pay attention to the relationship between different parts of the body:
  4. <https://www.proko.com/human-figure-proportions-average-richer/>
  5.  
  6. The proportions graphic is more or less sufficient, but the rest of this document contains notes on the important relationships you should take note of.
  7.  
  8. Measure height in heads to determine proportions. Realistic proportions for adults are around 7.5 heads tall. Characters can be drawn proportionally shorter for a cuter appeal or taller for a more beautiful or imposing one, but relationships between body parts are preserved. In standard anime, characters are usually 6-8 heads tall depending on style and age, and this guide is generally applicable within that range. Height in heads entirely ignores the volume of the hair. Assuming that the character is standing perfectly straight:
  9.  
  10. Full body:
  11. - The default proportions are that the upper body, from the top of the head to the crotch, is half the height of the body; it is equal to the height from crotch to the heel.
  12. - Longer legs are considered more attractive, especially for girls, so the legs are sometimes proportionally longer. Head-to-crotch would be about equal to crotch-to-ankle. The crotch can be located anywhere from 3 heads down to half the height of the body and still look normal, so it's possible to push it to extremes (e.g. Sailor Moon has legs starting 3 heads down, but is 7 heads tall).
  13. - The legs can also be proportionally shorter, so that the head-to-crotch length is equal to the length of the whole leg, starting from halfway up the pelvis. This is more realistic, but shorter legs are considered less attractive, so this is less typical. (Prepubescent children have proportionally longer torsos and shorter legs than adults, as would moe and chibi characters, but this guide does not consider them.)
  14.  
  15. Torso:
  16. - The vertical height of the head is the baseline unit, but the cranium (circle part that you draw first, normally lining up with the nose) is also useful to consider. Double the length of the jaw below the cranium to get to the clavicles, which approximately marks the straight line across the shoulders. The shoulders slope up above this line to meet the neck.
  17. - The exact placement of features on the upper body varies by how the body has been stylised. For 7 heads tall or more, one head down is a good marker for the breasts/pecs, usually lining up with either the nipples or the bottom of the breasts/pecs. The nipples usually line up with the midline of the ribcage, and the bottom of the breasts/pecs line up with the arch cut-in of the ribcage. (For larger breasts, they can hang down more from the pecs, so it's a bit lower.)
  18. - The bottom of the shoulder blades on the back line up with the nipples in a neutral position.
  19. - The waist - usually the narrowest part of the upper body - is just below the ribcage, above the navel.
  20. - From the line across the shoulder (collarbones) to the crotch, the halfway point is generally the bottom of the ribcage.
  21. - More approximate measurement, but when measuring the body from top of the ribcage to bottom of the pelvis, split it into thirds; these lines will mark the bottom of the breasts/pecs and top of the pelvis.
  22.  
  23. Arms:
  24. - Elbows line up with the bottom of the ribcage.
  25. - Wrists approximately line up with the crotch.
  26. - Wrists line up with the middle of the total height. This typically takes priority over the above if the crotch is not the halfway point of the body.
  27. - Shoulder to elbow should be about the same length as elbow to wrist. This *always* takes priority over other relationships.
  28. - Hands are about two thirds the length of wrist-to-elbow. If the arm is hanging straight down, the tips of the fingers would be about halfway down the thigh.
  29.  
  30. Legs:
  31. - As a structure, the upper leg joins the side of the pelvis, about halfway up the pelvis.
  32. - The knees are about halfway down the leg. The length of the top of the leg to the knee is about the same as the lower leg from knee to heel, so the knee hinge joint is halfway down the total leg length. (Keep in mind that the front of the foot doesn't add to the height, so mind where the actual heel is no matter how you draw the foot.)
  33. - Half the length of crotch-to-heel is the *bottom* of the knees; this will be slightly below the hinge joint.
  34. - The height of the foot is about one sixth of the lower leg. The height of the foot ignores the ankle; when the foot is flat on the ground, on a side view, the height is measured where foot meets the much steeper angle of the leg. The ankles are on a diagonal - the outer ankle is slightly below and the inner ankle slightly above.
  35. - The top of the ankle is slightly less than half a head up from the heel in a 7~7.5 head figure.
  36. - The length of the realistic foot is simultaneously approximately (i) three times as long as the height of the foot; (ii) as long as the forearm; (iii) half as long as the lower leg. The length of the hand should be around equal to length of the feet minus toes. Because feet are relatively unimportant, though, they are often drawn smaller; just ensure that the length of the foot is at least as long as the hand. Note: on a frontal view, you won't see the full length of the foot.
  37.  
  38.  
  39. Sexual dimorphism:
  40. - Vertical proportions between men and women are essentially the same, although men tend to have larger heads and thus be taller.
  41. - Stereotypical feminine proportions are that the shoulders and hips are the same width, creating the "hourglass" shape, with the "pinch" of the hourglass (the waist) just under the ribcage.
  42. - For masculine men, the ribcage is slightly wider than the pelvis, and shoulders are broader. In other men and children, the ribcage and pelvis are around the same size. Rather than an hourglass shape, just below the ribcage and just above the pelvis are both narrow. Emphasising the latter reduces femininity in a figure.
  43.  
  44. Other:
  45. - The standard anime head is highly stylised, which includes being wider relative to its height than a realistic head, and often being proportionally larger compared to the body as a whole. But proportional relationships between body parts, relative to *each other*, tend to remain the same.
  46. - Anime characters are often slimmer than would be realistic, not just being thinner but their shoulders are narrower and the rest of the body follows. Particularly in girls, it's not unusual for the waist or the ribcage to be the same width as the head, or even head + hair to be equal to the width of the shoulders. Narrower bodies go hand-in-hand with the bodies being shorter as measured in heads, which preserves proportions and gives a more moe appearance. Conversely, for intimidating and imposing characters, being taller in heads lends itself to wider bodies, e.g. JoJo characters.
  47. - For an average measurement in a slim ~7-head figure, two face widths (measured around the eyeline) is a good measure for the width of the shoulders.
  48. - The height in heads affects the impression of the character:
  49. - Under 7 heads is good for a cute appearance.
  50. - 7.5 heads is "academic" or "realistic" proportions.
  51. - 8 heads is "ideal" artistic proportions, being attractive and easy to measure.
  52. - Taller than 8.5-9 heads is "heroic" proportions, for larger-than-life characters.
  53.  
  54. These proportions are averages, so real humans and characters can both diverge somewhat from some measurements, but you should be comfortable with them as the baseline. Vertical measurements are entirely dependent on the skeleton and won't change with muscle and fat distribution. Horizontal measurements are more divergent, reflecting body type, so they are mostly not considered here.
  55.  
  56. It is not necessary to memorise all relationships; by following the important ones, the rest should generally fall into place, because everything is relative to each other. It's probably good enough if you follow this:
  57. - Characters are generally 6-8 heads tall.
  58. - Legs are half the total height, meaning the crotch is halfway down the body.
  59. - Wrists approximately line up with the crotch.
  60. - Elbows line up with the bottom of the ribcage. This is the halfway point of the arm, not including hands.
  61. - Hands are about two thirds the length of wrist-to-elbow. Tips of the fingers reach about halfway down the thigh.
  62. - Looking at the total leg length - from halfway up the pelvis to the heel - the knee joint is halfway down.
  63. - Feet are about as long as the forearm. They are often drawn smaller but should not be shorter than the hands.
  64.  
  65.  
  66. OTHER PASTES
  67. Anime Head Proportions: <https://pastebin.com/NbAqE8nV>
  68. Drawing Tutorials: <https://pastebin.com/VKsLmX0j>
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