Anime art styles rely heavily on precise proportions. If the eyes are slightly too far apart, or the jawline is a millimeter too low, the entire character looks wrong. This is why beginners get so frustrated when trying to draw their favorite characters freehand.
The fastest way to train your muscle memory and guarantee perfect proportions is to learn how to draw anime by tracing.
In the past, you needed to print out manga panels and tape them to a bright window. Today, you can use a free AR app to trace any anime picture directly from your phone onto paper.
Step 1: Find the Right Reference Image
Don't start by tracing fully rendered, shaded screenshots from the anime show. The lighting and shadows make it difficult to see the foundational lines.
Instead, search Google or Pinterest for "character name + line art" or "character name + manga panel."You want an image that consists entirely of clean, dark lines with a white background. Save this image to your phone's camera roll.
Step 2: Get a Free AR Tracing App
You need an app to project the image onto your sketchbook. While many apps exist, most lock their photo-import features behind expensive paywalls.
For tracing anime, we highly recommend Drawello. It is a completely free AR drawing app that allows you to import any image from your gallery and trace it without subscriptions.
Step 3: Set Up Your Drawing Station
Place your sketchbook flat on your desk. You need your phone to be suspended directly above the paper, pointing down.
If you don't have a phone stand or tripod, get creative: stack a few heavy books next to your paper and lay your phone on top so the camera lens peeks over the edge.
Step 4: Project and Trace
Open Drawello and load your anime line art. The screen will show your physical paper with the character floating on top.
- Adjust Opacity: Slide the transparency until you can easily see both the anime character and the tip of your pencil.
- Lock the Screen: Tap the lock button so the character doesn't move.
- Start Tracing: Look ONLY at your phone screen. Trace the large shapes first (the head outline, the hair shape), and then move to the intricate details like the eyes and mouth.
Why This Makes You a Better Artist
Tracing isn't cheating; it's studying. By physically tracing the exact curves of a professional manga artist's work, your hand learns the "feel" of correct proportions. After tracing a character 5 or 6 times, you will find it incredibly easy to draw them freehand later.