How to Draw an Anime Half-Face in Perspective with Foreshortening

Object Drawing Lessons

Drawing half an anime face in perspective means showing only the visible side of a turned head while making features shrink and shift correctly as they recede. This lesson defines a clear convention: the face is split by a vertical midline, and only the half on the viewer's left is drawn. You will use a baseline-to-midline x-height rule for the eye, a foreshortening checklist, and simple arithmetic to place features. All measurements are hypothetical examples; measure your own paper and tools. The goal is a believable half-face, not a single universal answer, because anime letter styles vary.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Set the half-face frame and perspective midline

Start with a rectangle for the head. Draw a vertical midline slightly left of center to represent the turn. The visible half is the left side of the face. Mark a horizontal baseline for the chin and a horizontal midline for the eye level. These two lines are your reference grid.

Because the head turns, the far side is hidden. The visible half becomes narrower near the far edge. Use a simple taper: the top and bottom of the frame stay fixed, but the far vertical edge moves inward by a chosen amount, for example 10 mm on a 100 mm wide frame. This is a hypothetical value; measure your own frame and choose a taper you can check.

1. Draw a rectangle 100 mm wide and 120 mm tall (hypothetical example).
2. Place the vertical midline 40 mm from the left edge.
3. Mark the chin baseline 20 mm above the bottom edge.
4. Mark the eye-level midline 55 mm above the chin baseline.
5. Taper the far edge inward by 10 mm at eye level to suggest perspective.

Foreshorten the eye using the x-height convention

Convention: x-height is the vertical distance from the lower edge of the eye shape to the eye's horizontal midline. The eye's lower edge is its own reference line, not the chin baseline. For anime, the eye is often tall, but in perspective the visible eye becomes shorter horizontally and may tilt. Draw the eye on the visible half only. Its inner corner sits near the midline; its outer corner sits near the tapered far edge.

Use a simple ratio. If the full-face eye width would be 30 mm, the half-face perspective eye might be 22 mm wide and 18 mm tall (hypothetical). The x-height from the eye's lower edge to its horizontal midline is 9 mm. Check that the outer corner is higher or lower than the inner corner depending on the head tilt; either is valid if consistent with your chosen tilt.

1. Mark the inner corner 5 mm from the midline at eye level.
2. Mark the outer corner 22 mm from the inner corner toward the tapered edge.
3. Set the eye's horizontal midline 9 mm above the eye's lower edge.
4. Draw the upper lid curve from inner to outer corner, keeping the x-height (lower edge to horizontal midline) constant.
5. Add the iris as an oval that is narrower horizontally than vertically.

Place the nose and mouth with foreshortening

The nose on a half-face sits close to the midline. In perspective, the bridge recedes, so the nose tip may appear closer to the midline than in a full face. Draw a small triangle or curve for the nose, with its base 15 mm below eye level (hypothetical). The far side of the nose is hidden.

The mouth is also foreshortened. Its visible half runs from the midline to the tapered edge. If a full mouth is 40 mm wide, the half-face mouth might be about 20–22 mm wide (hypothetical). The mouth line curves slightly upward or downward; choose one and keep it consistent with the eye tilt. For this lesson, use a fixed hypothetical tolerance of 0–8 mm for the check: mouth width minus eye width must fall within that range. Use this same stated tolerance in the worked example, the exercises, and the rubric. This range is a chosen example, not a universal standard.

1. Mark the nose base 15 mm below eye level on the midline.
2. Draw the nose tip 8 mm to the left of the midline.
3. Mark the mouth center on the midline, 25 mm below the nose base.
4. Draw the visible mouth half 22 mm wide toward the tapered edge.
5. Check that mouth width minus eye width is between 0 and 8 mm.

Use the foreshortening checklist and rubric

Before finishing, run a checklist: Is only the left half drawn? Does the far edge taper inward? Is the eye x-height measured from the eye's lower edge to its horizontal midline? Are the nose and mouth closer to the midline than in a full face? Are all units consistent in millimeters?

The rubric allows valid alternatives. You may choose a different taper, eye tilt, or mouth curve, as long as your choices are consistent and your arithmetic checks pass. There is no single universal answer for anime letter styles.

1. Confirm the midline is left of center.
2. Confirm the far edge taper is visible at eye level.
3. Measure the eye x-height from the eye's lower edge to its horizontal midline and record it.
4. Measure mouth width and eye width; subtract and check the result.
5. Note any alternative style choice and why it is consistent.

Worked example

A learner draws a 100 mm wide frame with the midline 40 mm from the left. The eye inner corner is 5 mm from the midline, the outer corner is 22 mm farther left, and the eye x-height is 9 mm. The mouth is 22 mm wide and the eye is 22 mm wide. Check the mouth-width rule using the lesson's fixed hypothetical tolerance: mouth width minus eye width must be between 0 and 8 mm.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Drawing both eyes or a full symmetrical face. Erase anything right of the midline; the brief excludes full-face symmetry.
• Making the far edge straight instead of tapered. Move the far vertical edge inward at eye level by a measured amount, such as 10 mm on a 100 mm frame.
• Measuring eye height from the top of the eye instead of baseline to midline. Use the defined convention: x-height is the vertical distance from the eye's lower edge to its horizontal midline.
• Placing the nose and mouth too far from the midline. Shift them closer to the midline to show foreshortening; check with simple millimeter measurements.

Self-check rubric

• Only the left half of the face is drawn; no full-face symmetry.
• The far vertical edge tapers inward at eye level by a stated, measured amount.
• The eye x-height is measured from the eye's lower edge to its horizontal midline and recorded.
• The nose and mouth are placed closer to the midline than in a full face.
• Mouth width minus eye width is between 0 and 8 mm, or an alternative check is stated.
• All numerical values are labeled as hypothetical examples and units are consistent.
• Valid alternative style choices are allowed if consistent and checked.

Questions and answers