How to draw beautiful and simple anime wings for beginners.

Want your anime character to look more vibrant and impressive? A pair of wings is the detail that makes all the difference. Wings not only make the character look "cooler" but also open up many unique poses. The good news is that drawing anime wings isn't difficult. Just by understanding a few basic principles, you can easily turn your ideas into harmonious and expressive images.

Step 1: How to draw a simple anime character

• Start by sketching a circle to represent the face.

  • The circles should be drawn at a slight angle to create a natural and sense of depth, similar to the style often seen in anime characters.

  • This is an important step before you add details like eyes, mouth, or even anime wings if you want the character to have a balanced composition.

• Draw another rectangular shape to make the body.

  • Keep proportions simple and avoid too much detail in the early stages.

  • The rectangle helps you determine the character's stance and orientation, which is very useful when further developing parts like the arms, legs, or wings in the anime later on.

• Once you have the two basic shapes, you can easily refine and build the complete anime character design to your liking.

Step 2: Sketch the anime wings in the first layer.

• Lightly sketch the top layer of the petals with a pencil.

  • Draw the wings in a leaf-like shape to create a soft and harmonious look, true to the anime style.

  • Tilt them slightly to the sides to create a sense of natural movement, similar to the common arrangement when drawing anime wings.

• At this stage, just keep the shape very simple.

  • Avoid adding details too early so that you can easily adjust the overall composition and proportions of the wings.

• Once the wing framework is stable, you can continue adding smaller wing layers or the subsequent feather lines.

Step 3: Sketch the bottom layer of the anime wings.

• Draw a few more lines below the top wing to create the lower wing.

  • The lines should be soft, gently curved, and follow the direction of the upper wing for overall harmony.

  • Keep things simple to make it easier to adjust the proportions before adding details.

• The lower layer of the wings helps them look thicker and more balanced, which is especially important when practicing drawing multi-layered anime wings.

• Once you've completed this sketch, you can move on to refining the outline and adding details to the wing feathers if needed.

Step 4: Sketch the arms and outline the face.

• Shape the arms by adding three ovals within the rectangular frame of the torso.

  • Because the arms are extended away from the body, the ovals should be angled diagonally to the sides.

  • This simple sketching method helps you identify the shoulder, arm, and elbow joints before going into detail in the anime drawing style.

• Add two guide lines inside the circle of the face.

  • A slight horizontal line to identify the eye position.

  • A thin vertical line for aligning the face axis.

  • This is a basic but very important step when practicing drawing anime characters or when incorporating additional details such as anime wings in the background.

Step 5: Complete the face, hair, and head and foot sections.

• Focus on the face first.

  • Transform the outline circle into a more defined line, shaping it to resemble the bottom of a heart to make the face look softer and more in line with the anime style.

  • Draw two small ovals to place the eyes. This helps to convey emotion and create a more balanced character.

• Trim the hair around the face.

  • Draw the bangs and long, flowing hair according to the suggested pattern; if you prefer a neater style, you can shorten the length of the bangs and the ponytail.

  • Keep the drawing style flexible, avoiding overly sharp lines at this stage to allow for easier adjustments to fit the overall composition of the anime character.

• Create the upper part of the legs.

  • At the base of the rectangle (the torso), sketch two half-squares to mark the position of the thighs and the direction of the legs.

  • This is a basic framework to help you perfect the pose before adding details or creating a suitable pose for the winged anime character.

Step 6: Begin refining the details of the face, hair, and clothing.

• Finish the bangs.

  • Add some spiky, slightly messy bangs that fall down across the forehead.

  • This hairstyle helps anime characters' faces look more lively and expressive.

• Enhance the subtle features on the face.

  • Drawing a nose is really simple, just a small stroke is all it takes.

  • The mouth is given a slight curve to maintain a soft, anime-style look.

• Draw the fingers.

  • Based on the sketched arm outline, begin separating each finger with small curves.

  • Keep the lines light to easily adjust the hand proportions before finalizing.

• Give the garment its shape.

  • Transform the rectangular shape into a form-fitting dress.

  • Gently curve the sides to create a soft and natural shape, which helps the character look more balanced and harmonious.

Step 7: Continue refining the details for the anime character.

• Add a halo above your head.

  • Draw a thin circle suspended above the head to create a sense of lightness and serenity for the character.

• Refine the wings.

  • Draw additional feather tips and round out the overall shape of the wing.

  • This step requires patience; you may have to erase and redraw several times to achieve the soft and beautiful anime wing shape.

  • Focus on maintaining a balanced layout on both sides so the wings look more natural.

• Adjust the eyes.

  • Create a slight curve in both the upper and lower eyelids to give the eyes a more expressive look, in true anime style.

  • Keep the outlines thin to make them easier to edit in the detailed coloring step later.

• Complete the dress design.

  • Continue to gently curve the edges so the dress hugs the body softly.

  • Adding a detail of intersecting ribbons right across the chest creates a striking focal point for the outfit design.

Step 8: Erase any unnecessary lines to make the drawing clean and clear.

• Use an eraser to gently erase all the initial outlines, such as the face circle, the body rectangle, or the old construction lines of the wings and skirt.

• Retain the main lines that were refined in the previous steps so that the drawing looks neat, clear, and to scale correctly.

• This is an important step before you move on to finalizing the outlines and adding color, helping the anime character – especially the anime wings – to become sharp and harmonious.

Step 9: Color and complete the overall design of the anime character.

• Start coloring according to your preference.

  • Although the example suggests a pink and blue color palette, you are absolutely free to choose any colors that suit your character's style.

  • Apply a light first coat, then gradually increase the thickness for a smooth and even color application.

• Color the anime wings with a light and "feathered" feel.

  • Use short, broken strokes with a specific direction to create a soft and natural-looking wingtip effect.

  • Avoid painting the entire surface with a single, flat color; adding some gradient will help the wings look brighter, airier, and more vibrant.

• Combine the wing color and the halo color.

  • Choose the same tone or lighting to create the illusion of wings and a halo glowing uniformly.

  • This color combination creates a harmonious overall look for the character and perfectly captures the "radiant" feel of the anime angel style.

• Review the overall situation.

  • Look at the entire figure – hair, dress, eyes, wings – and add a touch of subtle shading where depth is needed.

  • Keep things light and airy to stay true to the spirit of drawing anime for beginners.

Step 10: Suggesting more anime wing styles for you to practice

• Once you're familiar with basic modeling and shading techniques, you can try out various anime wing styles.

  • Rainbow wings: use subtle, multi-colored transitions to create a bright and magical feel.

  • Steel wings: using shades of gray and silver, with added highlights to create a metallic effect.

  • Soft wings: emphasize fine feather strokes and subtle color transitions to create a fluffy feel.

  • Hard wings: retain a distinct shape, sharp edges, and less curvature.

  • Shiny wings: add strong highlights along the edges of the wings to create a reflective light effect.

• Each style will hone a different skill, from creating textures to controlling light and shadow.

• Once you've mastered it, you can combine various styles to create unique wings for each of your anime characters.

Tips for practicing to draw anime wings better.

• Practice every day.

  • Take the time to carefully observe the structure and movement of the wings.

  • Understanding the true shape will help you draw anime wings more naturally and confidently.

• Practice casting shadows using the hatching technique.

  • Use a soft pencil to create parallel strokes, which will help the shadows look smoother and have more depth.

  • When applying shading to a large area, tilt the pencil to one side to create a more even and lighter layer of shading.

References

1. Kelly Medford. Professional Artist. Expert Interview

Translated by: Rene Lee Nguyen .