Create the characters. Always start with the basic character creation and design. Whether you are working on a digital anime picture or an actual animation, the character creation and design is vital. This not only determines the character appearance, but also the character personality. The personality of a character determines facial expressions, the way a character moves its body and even the appearance of the a character. Start with a basic description and sketch drawing either on the computer or on a piece of paper as preferred.
Open the animation or art software. Use the character sketches as a base and work on the drawing process. Exact methods differ for every software and the options available on the software. Generally, most will have pencils for line art, layering options to work from sketch to final project and allow tracing, paint brushes for color and "fill" options that fill in color quickly. Using a tablet at the line art section or on the entire picture can help adjust between hand-drawn animation to digital animation as the pen is used in a similar manner to a pencil.
Create several images based on the first image. In animation, the key is movement, which is done by making small changes to the original picture over several pictures. Copy the picture and make the small changes to each picture. Some animation software will have automatic features that make this easy while others will not.
Play the anime. Unless the full purpose was a single picture, the anime can play after creating the images. Animation software makes it easier to transition between pictures and create a smooth digital anime. Art software is ideal for single digital anime pictures.