How to Draw Anime Hats & Head Ware
This tutorial shows how to draw different kinds of anime hats and head ware. It includes a total of twelve examples with step by step drawing instructions for each.
The types of hats and head ware included in this tutorial are:
- Baseball Cap
- Cat Ears Hat
- Sun Hat
- Santa Hat
- Winter Hat (with Pom Pom)
- Fedora Hat
- Wizard Hat
- Hoodie
- Beret
- Cowboy Hat
- Explorer Hat
- Newsboy Cap
If you are going to be drawing any of the hats in this tutorial using pencil and paper be sure to make very light lines until you are nearly finished. You will need to erase some parts of the drawing when moving between the different steps. The lines in the example have been made dark simply so that they are easier to see.
Drawing Hair With a Hat On
Something to note before drawing hats is that when wearing a hat the hair will usually get compressed. This means that when drawing the hair with a hat on you may want to give it slightly less volume. Also keep in mind that generally anime hair tends to be drawn a lot puffier then real hair so even when compressed you can still draw it a good distance away from the head.
Please note that as the focus of this tutorial is on drawing hats it will not go into the details of drawing the hair. For a tutorial on drawing female anime hair see:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Hair – Female
You can of course also experiment by drawing different hairstyles than the one used in the examples.
How to Draw Anime Baseball Cap Step by Step
Start by drawing an outline of the head and the estimated volume of the hair underneath the hat as shown int he above example. Draw the baseball cap over top of these to get its correct placement on the head.
Draw the top part of the cap close in shape to the outline of the hair but slightly farther away from it on top then on the sides. Draw the bill curving up around the forehead area.
After you draw the main shape of the hat erase the parts of the head and hair outline that should be hidden by it.
Next add the smaller details to the hat. As anime hats are often simplified compared to real hats you really just need to add a few small touches. In this case simply add a line tracing the outline of the bill to show the stitching that baseball caps usually have around that area. Next add a few lines going from the edges of the bill up along the sides of the hat to show the splits in the different panels baseball caps are usually made up of.
You can see a larger drawing of the finished hat along with some basic hair shading above.
How to Draw Anime Cat Ear Hat Step by Step
The cat ear hat is very common in anime and manga. It’s also quite easy to draw.
First outline the head and hair.
Draw the top portion of the hat with the cat ears sticking out to the sides with just a few curved lines as shown in the example above.
The bottom portion of these types of hats usually has a thick rim around either as part of the design or because the hat is folded up over itself at that point. Draw this part as sort of ring that wraps around the head/hair.
Erse the parts of the head and hair that should be hidden after you draw the hat.
You can finish the drawing by adding the rest of the hair sticking out from under the hat.
You can see a larger version of the cat ear hat drawing with some basic hair shading above.
How to Draw Anime Sun Hat Step by Step
The sun hat is a very commonly worn by female anime characters during during the summer.
To start draw the outline of the head/hair.
Draw the top portion of the hat a slight distance away from the hair on the sides with more distance between it and the hair at the top.
Draw the brim of the hat with a twist and afterwards add a curve on top of it as shown in the above example.
Finish the drawing by adding the hair.
You can see the fully drawn out hat with some basic shading above. In this case (excluding the hair) only the underside of the brim is shaded as that part will usually be in shadow.
How to Draw Anime Santa Hat Step by Step
The Santa hat is very common for both male and female characters in anime and manga that show the winter holiday celebrations.
First draw the outline of the head and hair.
Draw the bottom part of the hat on a slight angle tilting to the side with the pom pom.
Add the top part of the hat by first drawing the line that curves all the way around the head to the pom pom. Next draw the line that defines the other side of the hat curving up but stopping before it touches the top of the hat. Finally draw another curved line going from around the ear area to the pom pom. Draw the pom pom itself as pretty much a circle excluding a small curved indent at the top where it connects to the hat.
Erase the parts of the head/hair covered by the hat once done.
Add some fluff to the pom pom circle as shown in the above example and erase any extra line afterwards.
To finish the drawing add the hair.
You can see a large drawing of the entire hat with some light shading above.
For drawing a character wearing this hat see:
How to Draw Anime Christmas Santa Hat Girl
How to Draw Anime Winter Hat Step by Step
Somewhat similar to the previous example is the winter hat with the pom pom. This is another very common item for female anime characters to ware during winter.
Draw the head with the outline of the hair.
Add the top part of the hat as one big curve that is farther away form the head on top and closer to it on the sides. Next draw the bottom part of the hat wrapping around the hair/head. Finally add the pom pom as pretty much a circle that is partially hidden behind the the hat.
Once done erase the parts of the head and hair covered by the hat.
Around the circle of the pom pom draw the fluff in small pointy clumps of slightly different size similar to the example above. Erase the circle line once done.
To make the hat look a little more interesting you can add some lines along its bottom (see step by step example or the one below) as a small design element. Draw the lines farther apart towards the middle of the head and closer together as they move to the sides. This will help show that the hat is actually wrapping around the head.
You can finish the drawing by adding the details of the hair.
Above you can see the finished drawing of the winter pom pom hat with some basic shading.
How to Draw Anime Fedora Hat Step by Step
This type of hat is usually worn by male characters especially gangsters. It can also sometimes be worn by female characters as well though this is usually as part of a costume.
Start by drawing a basic outline of the head/hair.
Draw the top portion of the head wider towards the bottom with slightly curved in sides. Afterwards add medium sized brim around it.
Erase the parts of the head/hair covered by the hat once you are done drawing it’s main shape.
Finish the drawing by adding a stripe between the brim and the top part of the hat as a design element that fedora’s often have. You can also add the details of the hair.
You can see a larger shaded drawing of the fedora hat above.
How to Draw Anime Wizard Hat Step by Step
The wizard hat is very common to fantasy anime. For drawing a character that can wear this type of a hat also see the following tutorial:
How to Draw an Anime Wizard Girl Step by Step
Start by drawing an outline of the head/hair and draw the hat over top of this.
The entire hat should be somewhat similar in shape to an upside down ice cream cone but with the top part hanging to one side.
To show that the hat is tilted slightly upwards show some of its underside by drawing a pair of lines going from the bottom left and right tips of the hat towards the ears. These lines will define the inner/background part of the at.
Erase the parts of the head and hair that are covered by the hat after you are done drawing its outer shape.
To finish the drawing you can add a little band around the area where wizard hat transitions from the brim to the top. You can also draw the details of the hair.
You can see a larger finished drawing of the wizard hat above with some basic shading.
You may noticed that the background/inner portion of the hat (at the very bottom) is shaded slightly darker then the rest as usually less light will reach there.
How to Draw Anime Hoodie Step by Step
The hoodie or hoods in general are very common in anime and manga. They can be worn by a wide variety of characters for many reasons.
For a different type of hoodie also see:
How to Draw an Anime Panda Girl Step by Step
Start by drawing an outline of the head, hair and the top part of the shoulders. As a hood generally will not press much on the head you can draw the hair volume the same as when no head ware is being worn.
Draw the hood itself in two parts, the outline of the fabric and the hole in it for the face. The outer shape of the hood should first pretty much trace the shape of the hair (a slight distance away from it) and then get wider as it goes down towards the neck. Around the neck area it should curve back inwards towards the head.
Draw the inner shape of the hood similar to the outer shape shape but start from around the forehead and end around the upper chest area with a sort of pointy downwards tip (we will add a zipper here later).
Erase the parts of the head/hair covered by the hood.
Add another line around the inner part of hood that first traces it’s shape almost exactly and then moves away from it around the shoulders and goes towards the bottom tip of the inner shape of the hood.
Around the area where this line starts to split away from the main inner outline of the hood draw a second pair of lines.
To finish the drawing you can add a zipper as well as the details of the hair (shown in the step by step example or the drawing below).
You can see a large drawing of the hoodie with some basic shading above. Generally you will want to shade the inner part of a hood darker then the rest as that area almost always tends to be in shadow.
How to Draw Anime Beret Step by Step
The beret is sometimes worn by anime characters as a fashion item or as part of a uniform.
Start by drawing an outline of the head and hair. Similar to the hood you can leave the volume of the hair uncompressed (same as when no hat is being worn).
First draw the very top part of the beret somewhat wrapping around the top part of the head but a good distance away from it (berets tend to be fairly “puffy”). Afterwards add the small strip at the bottom wrapping about halfway around the head. Draw one side of this strip covered by a fold from the top part of the beret which will be hanging down to one side of the head. You can show the fold with just one angled curved line as in the above example.
Finish the drawing by adding the detail of the hair.
You can see the beret drawing above with some basic hair shading to make it stand out a little bit more.
How to Draw Anime Cowboy Hat Step by Step
The cowboy hat is often worn by anime characters as parts of costumes but some characters have it as a normal part of their outfit.
First draw a basic outline of the head and hair.
Draw the bottom of the top part of the hat with a large curve. This will make the hat look like its slightly pushed down on the forehead (how cowboy hats are often worn). The top part of the head should also be wider towards the bottom and narrower as it goes up. The very top of the hat should have a bit of an indent at the middle where the hat curves slightly downwards.
Draw the brim of the cowboy hat with its overall shape similar to a sausage where the ends on each side curved upwards.
Once done drawing the main shape of the hat erase the parts of the head and hair that are covered by it.
For some basic details add a wave like shape just below the top of the hat to better show that that part is slightly folded downwards. You can also add another line that traces the outline of the brim. This line can represent stitches that these hats tend to have in that area. Draw it some distance away from the brim at the front and closer to it as it progresses towards the back finally merging the two lines.
Finish the drawing by adding the details of the hair.
You can see the cowboy hat with some basic hair shading in the example above.
How to Draw Anime Explorer Hat Step by Step
The explorer hat is often worn by anime characters that are on some sort of an adventure, often in a jungle type environment.
Stat by drawing an outline of the head and hair.
Draw the top part of the explorer hat as close to a half circle in shape and a much lighter curve for its bottom. Make the brim fairly short. Draw its shape following the bottom curve of the top part of the head a slight distance away and then sticking out a little bit more to the sides.
For the finishing touches you can add the split lines between the different panels that are so icon of these explorer hats along with a button like shape on the very top.
To show the panels simply draw a pair of curved lines from each side of the hat towards it’s top tip and add the button at the very top where those lines meet.
Finish the drawing by adding some basic hair details.
You can see a close up drawing of the explorer hat above along with some basic hair shading.
How to Draw Anime Newsboy Cap Step by Step
In anime newsboy caps tends to be a fashion variation of the actual thing that female characters sometimes ware when going out.
Draw a basic outline of the head and hair before drawing the hat.
Start the hat drawing by first adding its very top section of the hat. It should somewhat curve around the head with it’s sides being slightly farther away from it than the top. Afterwards draw the bill and the narrow strip that separates it form the to part of the head. Draw the bill with a curve that goes up around the forehead area and draw the strip between it and the hat pretty much tracing it’s shape. You will also notice a tiny fold added in the middle of the hat to help show that it’s made of fairly soft material.
Erase the parts of the head and hair covered by the hat after you are done drawing it’s main shape.
The only details added for this example will be a few curved lines to show the splits in the different panels of the hat. Draw these lines to make the front panel (facing towards the viewer) the widest with the other panels getting narrower as they move toward the sides.
To finish the drawing you can add the details of the hair.
You can see a larger drawing of the newsboy hat with some hair shading above.
Conclusion
This tutorial covers some of the more common types of anime hats and head ware but there are obviously a lot more options. Whatever hat type you are looking to draw you can probably still apply the same principals as for the examples in this tutorial. Do a quick outline of the head and estimate what the hair will look like under the hat. Afterwards draw the main shape of the hat followed by the smaller details.
For more on good practices and tips on avoiding mistakes when drawing anime and manga see:
