How to draw chibi body ratio

When drawing the human figure the head to body ratio is vital.

An adult body of average height has an head to body ratio roughly between 1:9 (very tall) and 1:6 (teenagers and girls). You can add half head for your feet.

When you draw a chibi this body ratio change drastically to 1:4 (small child) up to 1:2 (super chibi).

 

The trick to make your chibified character look human is all in to get right other body proportions.

Ready? Let’s go!

 

ARMS LENGTH.

 

When the arms is stretched in a relaxed position your hand will roughly reach the upper half of your tight: this proportion should stay constant in a chibified drawing since it helps to identify your character as a human. Another helpful body ratio: your elbow (when your arm is down in a relaxed position) will roughly correspond to your navel height: this is especially helpful when you draw your character in motion.

 

HEAD AND RIBCAGE.

 

The ribcage is more or less an head big. In a chibi with a 1:4 ratio it would be advisable to maintain this proportion since it will look more like a small child. If you go for a 1:3 ratio one head is the length that roughly spans from the chin to the navel.

 

HEAD AND FACE.

 

How much big should my hand be? Open your hand and press it over your face: you will notice that they will be roughly the same length. If you want your chibi to have a more cartoonish look you can keep this body ratio. If you want him to have more of a manga appeal its hands will be roughly half of their natural length.

 

HANDS AND FEET.

Hands and feet in a chibified version of your character must be smaller and rounder: their length is roughly half or their normal one. When drawing the hands I suggest you to reduce them by a phalanx (so drawing two instead of three), if you want them to look even smaller you can choose a more cartoonish look and remove a finger (so you’ll have to draw three finger and a thumb). You can remove a finger also from your feet to make them look cuter and smaller, but only if you’ve done the same with the hands. Heads and feet in a chibi should be roughly of the same length.

 

CURVIER LINES.

To achieve a strong chibi look remember to ban from your drawing straight lines: everything must be soft and curvy. When drawing your character face remember to give its cheeks a softer look with lots of baby fat as you would do with a baby or a small child. Your characters eyes will be bigger, its nose smaller and its ears… well they will depend on your own visual taste, but big ears are super cute in a chibi character.

 

AND….

THAT’S IT: have fun drawing chibis!