Make Chibi Art
Draw and color your own chibi character using simple shapes; practice proportions, expressive faces, and shading with pencils, markers, and crayons.
Step-by-step guide to make chibi art
How to Draw Chibi Characters (Cute Anime Drawing Guide)
Step 1
Find a clean flat surface and place your drawing paper on it.
Step 2
Lightly draw a vertical center line and a horizontal waist line to plan your chibi's pose.
Step 3
Lightly sketch a large circle near the top of the page for the head that takes about half the character's height.
Step 4
Draw a small rounded rectangle or bean shape under the head for the tiny chibi body.
Step 5
Add short stubby arms and legs using simple thick lines or ovals for hands and feet.
Step 6
Draw a horizontal eye guideline across the lower third of the head circle.
Step 7
Draw two big oval eyes on the guideline to make your chibi look cute and expressive.
Step 8
Draw a tiny nose as a small dot or short line beneath the eyes.
Step 9
Draw a small curved mouth under the nose to show the character's emotion.
Step 10
Draw simple eyebrows above the eyes to match the expression you want.
Step 11
Sketch a fun hair shape and add ears and simple clothing details around the head and body.
Step 12
Carefully trace your final pencil lines with the black fineliner marker and wait for the ink to dry.
Step 13
Gently erase the remaining pencil lines so only the inked drawing stays.
Step 14
Color your chibi by laying down light even base colors with your markers crayons or colored pencils and then add darker tones for shadows under hair chin and clothing.
Step 15
Add small highlights or final details if you want and share your finished chibi creation on DIY.org.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use instead of a black fineliner marker or special drawing paper if we can't find them?
If you don't have a black fineliner marker or drawing paper, trace your final pencil lines with a thin-tip black gel or ballpoint pen and use printer paper or a page from a sketchbook, and color with water-based markers, colored pencils, or crayons instead of specialty markers.
What should we do if the chibi's proportions or inked lines don't look right?
If the proportions look wrong (for example the head is not about half the character's height) erase the light pencil center and waist lines, adjust the head circle and bean body before retracing with the black fineliner, and if the ink smudges wait longer for it to dry or blot gently with clean paper.
How can we adapt the activity for different age groups?
For preschoolers simplify by skipping the vertical center and waist line and having them draw a big head circle and ovals for limbs with crayons, while older kids can follow all steps including the eye guideline, careful inking with a fineliner, and layered shading with colored pencils.
How can we extend or personalize our finished chibi drawing?
To enhance and personalize your chibi, add a background scene, patterned clothing details, small highlights, or scan the inked and colored drawing to create stickers or printables after adding darker tones for shadows under hair, chin, and clothing.
Watch videos on how to make chibi art
Chibi Body Drawing Tutorial | How to Draw Anime Chibi Body For Beginners (Full Process Tutorial)
4 Videos
Chibi Body Drawing Tutorial | How to Draw Anime Chibi Body For Beginners (Full Process Tutorial)
How to Chibi Yourself in Procreate ✏️ Step-by-Step Tutorial + Free Template
【 Tutorial 】 How to draw Chibi Characters
How to draw cute chibi girl | step by step | how to make cute drawing of girl
Facts about cartoon character drawing for kids
✏️ Simple shading tricks like hatching and soft strokes can make tiny chibi figures look three-dimensional with just pencils.
😄 Big eyes in chibi art come from anime traditions that exaggerate expressions so emotions read quickly and clearly.
🎨 Chibi characters often have heads that are roughly one-third to one-half of their total height — much bigger than realistic proportions!
🖍️ Markers give bold, flat color for chibis while crayons and colored pencils help blend and create soft, cute textures.
🌟 The word “chibi” is Japanese and means “small” or “short,” used for super-deformed, adorable character styles in anime and manga.
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