Draw your anime characters by using a basic stick figure for the structure. Create ovals for the head, rib cage, and pelvis. Depict limbs with lines that extend from the appropriate places on the figure. Make the figure 3-dimensional by drawing forms over the ovals and lines. Draw rectangular solids over the oval areas and cylinders over the lines. Do not draw a rectangular solid over the head. Make the chin pointed, in the anime style. Add eyes, a nose, and a mouth, referring to anime reference to keep it in the same style.
Make the proportions of your average manga/anime character about seven and a half heads high. These are the standard proportions for drawing a normal adult anime figure. To lay out the proportions, use the height of the head to determine the placement of the body below. Draw the head and measure it. Use that measurement to measure another head length below. This is the line where the nipples are. Measure another head length below that to locate the belly button. The pelvis is the next head length down. The middle of the thigh is below that. The bottoms of the knees are located another head length down. The ankles are positioned below that. Add
a half-head measurement to locate the bottom of the feet below the ankle measurement.
Focus on the facial features of your manga/anime character. These are is what make characters immediately recognizable as manga or anime. The characters share similar features that are highly simplified. Draw manga/anime characters with large eyes, using a number of shapes, from circles to half ovals. Make noses on these characters with simple points that look like a V shape turned sideways. Depict open mouths as triangles with the base upright and the point down.
Draw expressions in manga/anime by using a heavy exaggeration of facial features. Draw a character crying with simple downward curves for eyes, and then draw huge tears flying out. Create an angry character with lines curving downward for tightly closed eyes, and add a head that is much larger than the body to emphasize the emotion. Make a happy character by drawing a simple upturned curve for the mouth. Study different artists in manga/anime in order to get more ideas.
Draw multiple pages of your character, varying his or her movements slightly on each page. Each page is like an animation frame, showing one moment in the action. Stack the pages on top of each other, and flip the pages to watch your anime character "move."
Take your flip book to a copy shop and print out multiple copies of your anime. You can also scan the images into your computer and print them out yourself. Staple the pages of each book together and give to friends so they can watch your anime.