Drawing a character from the front is one thing. It's relatively symmetrical. You map out the eyes, center the nose, and you're halfway there. But then you rotate that character 90 degrees. Suddenly, everything falls apart. The anime face side view—or the profile—is the notorious "wall" that separates casual doodlers from actual artists. Honestly, it’s because the human brain wants to flatten things out. We want to see both eyes even when one should be invisible. We want to keep that nose small and cute, but in profile, the nose is the star of the show.
If you’ve ever looked at your side-view sketch and thought it looked more like a squashed bird than a protagonist, you aren’t alone. Even pros struggle with this. Look at early 90s OVA animation versus modern MAPPA or Wit Studio productions. The way they handle the "side mouth" or the bridge of the nose has shifted drastically because the industry is constantly trying to solve the problem of how a 3D head works in a 2D space.
The Geometry of the Anime Face Side View
Stop thinking about hair and eyes for a second. That's the fun stuff, but it's the "skin" on a skeleton that hasn't been built yet. Most beginners start by drawing a circle. That’s fine. But a head isn't a circle; it's a sphere with the sides sliced off. In a profile, you are looking at the widest part of that sphere.
The most common mistake? Placing the ear in the wrong zip code. Seriously. If you draw a vertical line straight down the middle of your initial circle, the ear should sit right behind that line. It’s the anchor for the entire jaw. If the ear is too far forward, your character looks like they have no brain capacity. Too far back, and the neck looks like it’s growing out of their throat.
The jawline is where the magic—or the disaster—happens. It starts just under the ear, angles down toward the chin, and then moves up to meet the lips. In anime, we often simplify this into a sharp, single line. But if you look at the work of Yoshihiko Umakoshi (My Hero Academia), you’ll notice he uses subtle breaks in that line to show weight and bone structure. It’s not just a triangle. It’s a series of intentional shifts.
Why the "Side Mouth" is Controversial
We have to talk about it. The "floating mouth." You know the one—where the character is viewed from the side, but their mouth is drawn on their cheek. It makes zero anatomical sense. From a biological standpoint, it’s a nightmare. Yet, it’s a staple of the anime face side view in shows like Code Geass or Dragon Ball Z.
Why do they do it? It’s about expression. If you draw the mouth where it actually belongs—the edge of the lips—you lose the ability to show the shape of the smile or the grit of the teeth. It becomes a tiny, flapping slit. By moving the mouth onto the "flat" part of the cheek, animators can keep the character’s personality visible even in profile.
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However, modern "prestige" anime is moving away from this. Look at Vinland Saga or Chainsaw Man. These shows tend to stick to a more grounded, realistic profile. The mouth stays on the silhouette. It’s harder to animate because you have to rely on the jaw moving up and down rather than just a shape changing on a cheek, but the result is much more cinematic.
The Nose and the "E-Line" Secret
In the West, we talk about the Rickett’s E-line (Esthetic Line). It’s a real orthodontic measurement. If you draw a line from the tip of the nose to the tip of the chin, your lips should fall just behind that line. Anime loves the E-line.
In a standard anime face side view, the nose is often just a sharp point. But that point has to start somewhere. The "indent" right between the eyes—the bridge of the nose—is what determines if the character looks like a child or an adult. A deep indent makes the forehead look prominent and "moe." A shallower, straighter bridge makes the character look rugged or mature. Think of the difference between a character from K-On! and someone like Guts from Berserk. The Berserk profile is almost entirely straight lines, emphasizing a hard, bony structure.
Mastering the Eye in Profile
The eye isn't a circle anymore. It’s a triangle. Or a piece of pizza. Or a arrowhead. Whatever helps you remember it. You’re seeing the eye from the side, so the iris shouldn't be a perfect O. It should be a thin oval.
Also, the eyelashes. This is where people get lazy. In profile, the eyelashes stick out from the face. They don't just sit on top of the eye. They provide a literal "shelf" for the character's expression. If you're drawing a "tsundere" character, those lashes might be sharp and upturned. For a more melancholic character, they might droop down, partially obscuring the iris.
The Cranium Trap
People forget the back of the head. It happens all the time. You spend so much energy on the face that the back of the skull becomes a flat cliff. This makes the neck look like a thick pillar holding up a mask.
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The human skull extends much further back than most people realize. If you're struggling with the anime face side view, try this: draw your face, then draw a second circle of the same size right behind it. That second circle is roughly where the mass of the hair and the back of the skull should sit.
Neck placement is the final boss. The neck doesn't go straight down like a pipe. It angles forward. It attaches at the base of the skull and the jaw. If you draw a straight vertical neck, your character will look stiff, like they’re wearing an invisible neck brace. A slight forward tilt gives them a sense of life and posture.
Lighting the Profile
Shadows change everything. In a front view, you might just do a "neck shadow" and call it a day. In a profile, the light hits the nose, the brow, and the chin. This creates a "staircase" of highlights.
If the light source is in front of the character, the entire back of the head and the "far" side of the neck will be in shadow. This is a great way to add depth without having to draw complex anatomy. Use a "rim light"—a thin sliver of bright light along the very edge of the profile—to pop the character off the background. It’s a classic trick used in high-budget theatrical anime features to make the silhouette more readable.
Style Variations to Study
Not all side views are created equal. You’ve got to decide what "language" you’re speaking.
- The Classic 90s Look: Think Sailor Moon. Big foreheads, tiny noses, and very soft, rounded chins. The focus is on the massive eyes and the flow of the hair.
- The Shonen Standard: Naruto or Bleach. More angular. The nose has a distinct bridge. The jawline is sharp. There is a clear distinction between the "top" of the head and the "face."
- The Seinen/Realistic Approach: Monster by Naoki Urasawa. This is where you actually see nostrils, philtrums (that little dip above the lip), and realistic ear anatomy. If you want to get good at profiles, study Urasawa. He is the master of making a 2D drawing feel like a real person you could meet on the street.
Practical Steps for Your Next Sketch
Don't just read about it. Go grab a pencil. Or a stylus. Whatever.
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First, draw three circles. On the first one, try to draw a "flat" profile where the nose barely sticks out. This is your "cute" or "chibi" style. On the second, make the nose a sharp, long triangle. This is your "cool" protagonist. On the third, try to draw the nose, lips, and chin as distinct, separate bumps. This is your "realistic" study.
Second, fix your ear placement. Draw a horizontal line across the middle of the head and a vertical line down the middle. Put the ear in the bottom-back quadrant. Just doing this one thing will fix 80% of your "weird-looking" drawings.
Third, look at your own face in a mirror with a second hand-mirror. Look at how far your nose actually sticks out. Look at how your jaw connects to your ear. We see our own faces from the front every day, but we rarely see our profiles. That lack of familiarity is why we struggle to draw it.
Finally, quit worrying about being "perfect." Even the best animators at Studio Ghibli have frames where the profile looks a bit wonky. It’s part of the medium’s charm. The goal isn't to be a camera; it's to communicate a feeling. A sharp, aggressive profile tells a different story than a soft, rounded one. Use that.
To really nail this, start by tracing photos of real people but simplifying their features into anime shapes. Notice where the real nose ends and where the "anime" nose begins. This bridge between reality and stylization is where your unique art style will eventually live. Focus on the slope of the forehead today, and the rest will start to click into place tomorrow. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and your characters deserve a profile that looks as good as their front view.
Actionable Summary for Artists
- The Ear is the Anchor: Always place the ear behind the vertical midline of the head. It aligns roughly with the top of the eye and the bottom of the nose.
- Mind the Cranium: Don't forget the back of the skull. The head is deeper than it is wide.
- The Eye is a Wedge: Stop drawing full circles for eyes in profile. Use a triangular shape to represent the eye looking forward.
- Neck Lean: Give the neck a slight forward tilt to avoid a "bobblehead" appearance.
- E-Line Check: Ensure the lips sit slightly behind an imaginary line connecting the nose tip and the chin for a balanced look.