Start with the eye line
It all starts with a horizontal line drawn across the middle of the head. That's the eye line. In Manga Addict, it's often lowered a bit below the middle: the forehead looks larger and the character younger.
Between the two eyes, leave the width of one eye. Closer together, they give a harsh or cross-eyed look. Further apart, a naive look. It's a matter of character as much as proportion. The complete method is in dessiner des yeux manga en 5 formes simples.
Place the nose and mouth on these guides
The nose remains narrower than the space between the two eyes. A nose wider than this gap weighs down the entire lower part of the face.
The mouth is placed in the lower third. A single extra stroke is enough to change the expression, so it is drawn small and corrected very little. The forms are detailed in le nez manga and la bouche manga.
Align the ear on the same band
The ear aligns with the landmarks already established. Its top reaches the height of the eyebrow line, just above the eye line. Its bottom descends roughly to the base of the nose.
It therefore occupies the same vertical band as the eyes and the nose. If it extends too far upward or downward, the face appears unstable. Profile placement and the three shapes are covered in l'oreille manga.
Finishing with the Eyebrows and Eyelashes
Eyebrows and eyelashes are placed last, because they dictate emotion rather than structure. An angled eyebrow turns a neutral gaze into a sad or angry one without altering the eye itself.
Maintain the logic of harmony: eyebrow, eyelid, and mouth must convey the same thing, otherwise the expression becomes muddled. See le sourcil manga, les cils manga, and les six expressions de base.
Common Placement Mistakes
- Drawing the iris before the eyelid: the gaze becomes blank.
- A nose wider than the space between the eyes.
- A mouth positioned too close to the nose, which squashes the lower face.
- An ear outside of the eyebrow-to-base-of-nose band.
- Changing the construction from one panel to the next: the character is no longer recognizable.
To maintain consistent construction across an entire series, keep these light pencil guidelines on every drawing.
Conclusion
A manga face relies on a grid: eye line, one-eye gap, mouth in the lower third, narrow nose, ear aligned on the same band. Set the guides before the shapes, then work on each part with its article. To put this grid into practice on a real board, Bulle.ai lets you compose your pages and keep your characters consistent.
