A beginner-friendly guide to learning how to draw a great-looking Anime Elf with easy, step by step drawing instructions and video tutorial. Great for beginner artists!
Jump to the step-by-step instructions.
Though the legends of these mischievous forest spirits originated in Europe, elf characters have been adopted into many manga stories. You can master this easy anime elf drawing by following the steps below.
Did you know? Mythical elves were small beings, identified by their pointed ears (see the Elf Ears drawing) and unusual clothing.
The anime and manga elf is often human-sized, human in every way except for its ears and supernatural abilities.
Step-by-Step Tutorial for Drawing an Anime Elf
Anime Elf drawing - Step 1
1. Begin drawing the anime elf man by sketching his face in 3/4 perspective. Use curved lines to outline the head, chin, ear, and neck. The outline is similar to those we have done before, with the exception of the pointed nature of the ear.
Draw a grid across the face to help you place the features in the next step.
Anime Elf drawing - Step 2
2. Center the nose and mouth over the bottom half of the vertical grid line. Center the oval of the crown near the top of that same line. Contour the ridges of the ear and the cheekbones with curved lines.
Anime Elf drawing - Step 3
3. Center the eyes and arched eyebrows over the two halves of the horizontal grid line. Draw curved lines to indicate the lower lids below the grid line.
Anime Elf drawing - Step 4
4. Erase the grid lines from the face. Then, use curved lines to sketch the crown, the hair on top of the head, and that above the ears.
Anime Elf drawing - Step 5
5. Extend curved lines below the ears and allow them to meet in sharp points, forming long locks of hair. Use pairs of curved lines to sketch the collar of the garment and additional curved lines for the shoulders.
Anime Elf drawing - Step 6
6. Complete the outline of the hair using long lines. Texture the hair with shorter lines.
Anime Elf drawing - Step 7
7. Color your masculine elf.
Drawing idea: pointed ears have also been used to demarcate certain alien species. That makes this character suitable for a fantasy or a science fiction manga.
What to draw next?
In this tutorial, we learned how to draw an elfin male. But many anime elves are female. If you want to try this out, you can take a look at the female anime elf drawing guide we've created for you.
How would you adjust the facial features to gender swap this character, making him a female? Pay attention to the shape of the face, eyes, nose, and lips.
You can keep the long, straight hair and the crown, or you could give your new elf a cute kawaii hairstyle like odango buns or twin tails.
You can also practice the details of drawing an anime elf ear by turning your other characters into elves! Why not draw a sweet elfin little girl or a sexy anime elf.
Learn how to make your own manga characters with our collection of over 100 different anime and manga drawing tutorials.
Printable Drawing Tutorial
This printable is for members only. Join now!
Learn how to get access to thousands of printable pages!
MEMBER TROUBLESHOOTING
Still seeing ads or not being able to download the PDF?
First, check that you're logged in. You can log in on the member login page.
If you're still not able to download the PDF, the likely solution is to reload the page.
You can do this by clicking the browser reload button.
It is a circular arrow-shaped icon at the top of the browser window, typically found in the upper-left side (you can also use keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+R on PC and Command+R on Mac).