This tutorial explains how to shade an anime or manga style face to show unlike lighting conditions.

Anime face shading different lighting
Anime face shading different lighting

Anime and manga generally utilize a technique known every bit "Cel" shading which is shading without gradients. Cel shading is generally much faster and easier to apply to a drawing than realistic shading which makes it great for shading quickly shading multiple frames of an animation or many panels of manga.

General Lighting Anime Face Shading

Anime face shading normal lighting
Anime face up shading normal lighting

This shading option is usually suitable to nearly common lighting weather where in that location is no peculiarly strong i directional light source.

In this blazon of full general lighting the shadows will usually be drawn as follows:

  • Forehead – shadows bandage past the hair
  • Eyelids – tiny shadows every bit these areas are indented in the head
  • Nose – minor shadow to i side
  • Neck – a big shadow cast by the head

Side/Meridian Lit Anime Face Shading

Anime face shading top side lighting
Anime confront shading height/side lighting

When the light is coming from in a higher place and to one side of the character the shadows will be bandage on an angle. One side of the confront will mostly be light and 1 will be dark. On the nighttime side there will more often than not exist a light spot around the cheek os equally that area volition catch some light. On the calorie-free side there will be a tiny shadow around the eyelid.

The shadow on the neck will be angled opposite of the light source.

Side Lit Anime Face up Shading

Anime face shading side lighting
Anime face shading side lighting

When the calorie-free is coming directly from ane side yous volition pretty much have an evenly split (down the center) light and a dark side of the face.

Bottom Lit Anime Face up Shading

Anime face shading bottom lighting
Anime face shading bottom lighting

When the calorie-free is coming from the bottom pretty much the entire face will be lit up with the shadows being cast as follows:

  • Chin – a modest shaded area at the top of the chin as the mentum usually tends to stick out a scrap and that bump will bandage a tiny shadow
  • Upper Lip – the upper lip will bandage a very small shadow as it sticks out merely a little chip blocking some of the light
  • Nose – upper surface area as the nose volition cake some of the light going upwardly casting a shadow
  • Cheeks – as the cheekbones too tend to stick out a trivial they volition create some shadows
  • Forehead – volition pretty much be entirely dark as it curves abroad from the bottom light source

Meridian Lit Anime Face Shading

Anime face shading top lighting
Anime confront shading pinnacle lighting

Top lighting will basically be the opposite of the bottom lighting described above. Most of the face will be shaded with the lighter areas being placed as follows:

  • Forehead – will be completely lit up equally information technology curves towards the higher up calorie-free source
  • Nose – the upper side as it faces towards the low-cal
  • Cheeks – the upper area of the cheekbones
  • Upper Lip – every bit information technology sticks out merely a little bit and will catch some of the light
  • Chin – upper surface area of mentum as the chin curves a little bit outwards from the face

Dorsum Lit Anime Face Shading

Anime face shading back lighting
Anime face up shading dorsum lighting

Back lighting volition pretty much create a sort of "outline" of light around the character. Most of the light will be on the cheeks and sides of cervix.

On a real face in that location volition likewise be some light on each side of the nose just for an anime olfactory organ you can merely exercise one small light spot on the tip.

Decision

While Cel shading is fairly like shooting fish in a barrel to utilise as long as you have a general understanding of where to place the shadows. Hopefully this tutorial helped you gain a better agreement of how to shade an anime or manga manner face in unlike lighting.

If you liked this tutorial you lot tin besides check out:

Beginner Guide to Picking Colors When Drawing Anime & Manga