This article was created by the illustrators and manga artists who teach at the illustration and manga school, egaco, based on the knowledge and skills they have honed through commercial production and other work. If you would like to learn more about content that is tailored to what you want to draw, we recommend taking a private lesson at egaco.

When drawing characters, you may be having trouble drawing eyebrows that look well-balanced, or you may always draw the same eyebrows and lack variation… I’m sure there are many people who have problems like this.

The secret to drawing eyebrows is to understand how the impression changes depending on the shape of the eyebrows.

In this article, we will explain in detail, from the basic shapes of eyebrows to the introduction of variations.

Please gain knowledge of how to draw eyebrows and put it to use in your illustrations.

Basic knowledge of how to draw eyebrows! Let’s learn the basics and improve!

Let’s learn the basic shapes of eyebrows!

How to draw anime-style eyebrows

If you draw them so that they are the same width as your eyelashes, they will look better balanced.

Instead of drawing each individual hair, use a simple single line or two lines to represent them.

Depending on the picture, you may want to draw the eyebrows in a gentle arc, as there are many recent deformations that do not draw eyebrows ridges.

If you align the position of the inner ends of eyebrows and the height of the outer ends of eyebrows on both sides, you can draw them in a balanced way

However, the position and shape of eyebrows can vary greatly depending on the design and the character’s personality.

Even if they differ from this example, it is not a mistake, so please regard this diagram as “the basic shape of eyebrows”.

How to draw realistic eyebrows

1. Position of the inner ends of eyebrows: the inner corner of the eye or slightly inside the inner corner of the eye
2. Position of the peaks of eyebrow arches: about halfway between the edge of the iris and the outer corner of the eye
3. Position of the outer ends of eyebrows: around the extension line connecting the nostril and the outer corner of the eye

The direction of the hair grows diagonally outwards up to the the peaks of the eyebrow arches. From the inner ends of eyebrows, the angle changes and the hair grows downwards.

Let’s learn how to draw eyebrows for men and women

Eyebrows can also express gender differences.

It is easier to express gender by drawing men’s eyebrows thickly and women’s eyebrows thinly.

For example, if you want to draw a beautiful boy, you can draw his face like a girl’s, but by drawing his eyebrows thickly and gallantly, it will be easier to understand that he is a boy.

However, there are many exceptions, such as girls with thick eyebrows and men with thin eyebrows.

In such cases, use other parts of the body, such as hairstyle, clothing, or physique, to express gender.

Let’s learn how to draw eyebrows that match the character’s personality

Eyebrows are a very important part of expressing a character’s personality.

Please use this to help you create illustrations by learning how the character’s impression changes depending on the shape of the eyebrows.

Eyebrows that are raised up give the impression of being active and aggressive

Eyebrows that are raised give the impression of being strong-willed, aggressive, strong-willed, gallant, or lively.

If you want to express a character like the one above, it’s a good idea to draw the eyebrows raised.

When drawing raised eyebrows, be aware of raising the position of the outer ends of eyebrows rather than those of the inner ends of eyebrows.

Also, as a form of deformation, sometimes the eyebrows and part of the eyelashes are drawn on top of each other.

This emphasizes the impression of the character’s expression.

Drooping eyebrows give a gentle, warm, and cute impression.

Drooping eyebrows give the impression of being gentle, mild, cute, weak-willed, timid, etc.

If you want to draw a character like the one above, drooping eyebrows are a good match.

When drawing drooping eyebrows, draw the outer ends of eyebrows lower than the inner ends of eyebrows.

Parallel eyebrows give the impression of being calm, expressionless, or quiet.

Parallel eyebrows give the impression of being serious, calm, expressionless, quiet, or robotic.

This eyebrow shape is good for characters with little emotional fluctuation.

If you want to draw a character like the one above, we recommend parallel eyebrows.

If you want to draw parallel eyebrows, draw them horizontally in a straight line, without adding too much undulation to the eyebrow line.

Eyebrows can be drawn with more individuality when combined with the eyes

The impression changes depending on the distance between the eyebrows and eyes

The position of the eyebrows also affects the impression of the character.

Even if the shape of the eyebrows is the same, the impression of the face changes depending on the distance between the eyes and eyebrows.

If you bring the distance between the eyes and eyebrows closer together, it will give a dignified, cool impression to the face.

On the other hand, if the distance between the eyes and eyebrows is far apart, it will give a soft, gentle impression.

Think about the distance between the eyes and eyebrows as you draw, depending on the personality of the character you want to draw.

Combine the shape of the eyebrows and eyes to expand the range of your character!

You can express the individuality of your character even more intricately by combining the shape of the eyebrows and eyes.

You could try deciding on the shape of the eyebrows in combination with the shape of the eyes, as in the example below, for a character with eyes upturned at the corner and drooping eyebrows, or a character with drooping eyes and eyebrows upturned at the edge.

Examples of variations in eyebrows

In addition to the angle, the shape of the eyebrows can also be used to express the character’s personality and to differentiate between characters.

In order to draw a variety of characters, it is also important to know the different variations of eyebrows.

Please refer to the images above.

It is also a good idea to pay attention to the way eyebrows are drawn in existing manga and anime characters.

Nintama Rantarō and Golden Kamui are two works that feature a wide variety of eyebrow styles.

Let’s check out how the eyebrows of your favorite characters are drawn.

Advanced: Let’s learn about how eyebrows change shape depending on the emotion

The shape of eyebrows changes greatly depending on your emotions.

When you are sad, your eyebrows droop down in a V shape, and when you are angry, they droop up in an inverted V shape.

As an advanced technique, if you draw a face smiling but with eyebrows drooping down in a V shape, you can draw a “bitter smile” expression, and if you draw a face crying but with eyebrows drawn up, you can draw a “frustrated” expression.

By deliberately drawing the emotions of the face and eyebrows separately in this way, you can draw more complex emotions.

You could check the changes in eyebrows according to facial expressions in manga or anime, or you could try making different facial expressions in front of a mirror and observing the shape of your eyebrows at the time.

Once you can draw eyebrows, your characters will come to life!

Even if you can’t draw eyebrows well at first, if you keep practicing while being aware of the tricks, you’ll definitely be able to draw them.

Please try using this knowledge to create various characters.