How to Draw Anime Pouting Face Tutorial
This tutorial shows how to draw an anime or manga style pouting face with puffed up cheeks in the front and three quarter (3/4) views.
A pouting face is a very common expression in anime and manga. It can be a tiny bit more tricky to draw because unlike many other expressions where only the facial features are adjusted it also “warps” the shape of the face with the puffed up cheeks.
Pouting faces tend to primarily be drawn in two views, the front view (looking directly at the viewer) and the 3/4 view. The front view is commonly used to show a “ticked off” character while the 3/4 view is used for situations where in addition to being “ticked off” the character is also shy or embarrassed (often looking away from the viewer).
In the example the pouting face is that of a girl as it’s usually female characters that are drawn with this particular look.
For drawing other facial expressions see:
12 Anime Facial Expressions Chart & Drawing Tutorial
Normal Expression Before Pouting Expression – Front View
Before drawing a pouting anime or manga character it’s a good idea to know what they will look like with their normal expression. This makes it easier to see how much you should adjust the shape of their face and facial features.
For the character used in this tutorial you can see their normal expression above.
For drawing different types of anime characters see:
How to Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
Anime Face Proportions – Front View
Above you can see the “standard” anime/manga face drawing proportions recommended in most similar tutorials here on AnimeOutline.
In this case the eyes are below the horizontal halfway point of the face with the nose between that and the chin. The ears are positioned between the top of the eyes and the bottom of the nose. The mouth is placed by first determining the position of the bottom lip (between the nose and the chin) and then drawn slightly above that.
For a detailed step by step breakdown of drawing a female anime face similar to this one see:
How to Draw an Anime Girl’s Head and Face
For a tutorial on drawing hair see:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Hair – Female
Anime Pouting Face Drawing – Front View
You can see what the same character will look like with the puffed up cheeks above.
Drawing a Pouting Anime Face – Front View
You can see the shifting of the facial features in a puffed up face in the example above.
For a pouting face you will usually want to draw the eyebrows lower down with the eyes slightly squinted. Draw the mouth in an upside down curve (reverse of normal/smiling) with tiny curves on the sides (created by the puffed up cheeks).
For drawing eyes in different states see:
How to Draw Closed, Closing & Squinted Anime Eyes
Finally draw the cheeks sticking out to the sides (making the bottom of the face slightly wider) to show that they are puffed up.
Anime Puffed Up vs Normal Cheeks – Front View
Above you can see an overlapping comparison of the regular bottom portion of the face (in the front view) vs the pouting one with puffed up cheeks.
Normal Expression Before Pouting Expression – 3/4 View
For the 3/4 view we can again look at how the face looks like with its normal expression first.
Anime Face Proportions – 3/4 View
You can also again see the proportions of an anime/manga face in 3/4 view. These will be the same as described earlier for the front view (as it’s the same character).
For a full tutorial on drawing the face in this view see:
How to Draw an Anime Female Face 3/4 View
Anime Pouting Face Drawing – 3/4 View
You can now once again see what the same character can look like with a pouting face and puffed up cheeks in 3/4 view.
Drawing a Pouting Anime Face – 3/4 View
For a pouting face in the 3/4 view yet again draw the eyebrows slightly lower down with the eyes looking downwards (optionally) and slightly squinted.
Add some blush to the cheeks and draw the mouth pushed slightly forward towards the nose. Again draw the mouth with an upside down curve (reverse of normal) and two smaller curves on the sides.
As already mentioned this expression is slightly different from the forward facing one as it also adds some shyness to the character. Adding blush to the cheeks and drawing the eyes looking down helps to further reinforce the shy/embarrassed look.
For drawing anime and manga style blush see:
How to Draw Anime & Manga Blush in Different Ways
Anime Puffed Up vs Normal Cheeks – 3/4 View
Again you can see the comparison of normal vs puffed up cheeks (or cheek in this case) of an anime character this time in the 3/4 view.
Conclusion
Pouting anime and manga style faces are slightly more complicated then some of the other anime expressions due to the puffed up cheeks and the commonly used (more difficult to draw) 3/4 view. Hopefully this tutorial helped you gain a better understanding of how to draw them.
For more on drawing anime facial expressions and emotions see:
