So... all my years of artistic training have brought me to this. I can't draw anything cute.

I was wondering if anyone else out there has trouble drawing chibis. Or if you don't, if you have any tips/critiques that could help. Tutorials?

I am honestly so jealous of you people who can draw adorable things.

• This is funny...but for the longest time, I couldn't figure out how to draw chibis either. XD I'm told I draw cute stuff...but until now, chibis were impossible for me...
  
  Here's what I read up along with some ideas. I think it's very general? @_@;
  
  1. SDs (super deformed) should be two heads tall. So the top circle's the head and then the second should be the body. Really stubby legs that are barely there!
  2. Chibis should be three heads tall. Top circle head, middle body, bottom legs.
  3. Eyes should be huuuge or little dots. XD Most chibis I see, the eyes are eating up the face.
  4. Some are pudgy, some are skinny, but the general idea seems to be massive head and then a small body.
  
  ...hope that gives some ideas? *hasn't seen any tutorials, just messed around drawing them for awhile* ^^;

I couldn't really draw chibis. Mines always turn out like little kids with giant heads, and I make the legs way too long. Then again, I haven't been practicing much on them.

you're jealous of peopel whho can draw cute things!?!? lols. i wish i didnt drw such cute things. seriously everythign i draw poepel will always say "it' s soo cute". arsgs! i wicsh i could draw more un cute serious stuff. im healous of those peopel! XD! hahs!

dude, woe, seriously i couldn't draw a super deformed child looking thing to save my life. it took me some practice, the proportions were just way off [the whole enormous head teeeeeeeny body thing].
when i started to think of them as obese caricatures with smaller heads it got a lot easier.

i've done sd stuff with tiny eyes, huge eyes, small mouths, huge mouths - i don't believe in equations when it comes to this sort of stuff [or mimicking anyone else either]. whether the proportions be realistic or deformed, facial features shouldn't be generic. -HUGE EYES, SMALL MOUTH, NO NOSE, SHINY, SHINY, SHINY, KAWAII, BLA-

as for cute, i don't know. i think that people who draw cutesy stuff don't really do it intentionally, it's just in their nature. i suggest you get in your happy place and start thinking of your nieces/nephews [if you have any] then draw something that might look like one of them :B~
that usually works for me. then again, we have HUGE heads in my family.
-hides size 10 baseball cap in shame-

and who says you haven't done any cutesy stuff???



that is pretty cute stuff right there, it just doesn't make you cry & vomit simultaneously when you see it bc it's subtle cuteness. xD

I wish I could draw normal stuff.
People always say: "Oh yur art is so cuuute."
And sometimes I cringe. Because sometimes it's supposed to be a particularly mean or scary looking person.
But it's not.
How terrible.

Umm...
Cute?
Tips:

• Huge shiny eyes. They don't have to be round.
  Large head, large hands, large feet, large extremities.
  OR, large head and tiny other things for SDs.
  Dainty - girls
  Boys
  Nothing looks serious in this style. The most 'reg anime' looking chibi art I've seen looks rather like a cutesy figurine.
  Take a look at chibi artists. Is always gooood...

Kinda the stereotypes, but still it helps a LOT. Is what most cute things have in common.

It all really depends on which kind of Chibi look you're going for. There's Deformed and Tiny Tot.

Deformed is pretty much what the name means. Deformed Chibi's usualy have long arms, long legs, and a big head, or, they could have small arms, small feet, and a big head. They will almost always have big eyes, but, that's all on your own personal taste. Their noses are either a dot, or not visable at all, but you can still draw in the shadow for them, if you want. Deformed Chibi's still have detail in their eyes, hair, but not so much in their clothing. That's all on your own personal taste, too.

Tiny Tot Chibi's might be a bit eaiser for you. Basicly, what they are, is the normal character, only squished in size and detail. Basicaly, you just lession the detail in the charcter. Let's say the charcter is holding a sword with a very detail handle. You just lower the amount of detail on the handle of the sword, and shrink the size of the sword to fit the character's size.

Both of these types of chibi's can be two to three head sizes. I make mine by drawing a circle around the area where I want the chibi to be, then I either draw two or three heads(circles) on top of eachother, then I just make the top circle the head, and draw the rest of the body wire using the rest of the circles as references to hight.

Hope that helps a little. ^_^

My best advice? Listen to super sappy music, and get in your "KAWAIIDESU" mode. And remember, most chibi things are squishy.

Like, supar squishy.
Like, so squishy they are pretty much pudding.

Thick outlines and crazy pastel/bright/notreallyshaded colors help too.

I'm a master at cute/demented things. : DD It's about all I can do.

Lithium: Ooh yes. :3
I have things to add, thinking of your suggestion:
I like looking at Shin-chan, Super Milk Chan, adult swim things.
Although that's mostly satire. It's still CUUUTE. <3

Card Captor Sakura looks good for chibi art. I just lookit the art, I don't read it tho.

Thanks for the advice guys. This (and two days with a crash course from the lovely ProdigyBombay) helped a lot. So, yeah, haha, here's what I've done:

<333 no prob woe

I find it hard too XD its like.. wtf. The huge pink eyes are there, the chubby arms are there.. but why isn't it oozing cute? I think theres more to it than just cute.. it needs alot of Supa-Hawaii Desu mode training.

Chibis are super easy if you develop a style. I tend to not look at chibis others have made because I tend to want to draw the chibis exactly how they did. Most people don't like that. If you develop a style that is remotly how you want it then you shouldn't worry about drawing them.

I recommend:

-Getting a book w/ examples.
-Drawing the head!!! (practice on this one if you're not good)
-Develop a body style that is you're own and doesn't look weird. (ex: A chibi w/ ultra big head and microscopic body; It's just not practical.)
-Make your own Style. (that's what i do and it works for me. then you can try other styles.

I hope I helped. I'm not an expert, but these tips helped me in the past alot.

Sometimes It's just about having a free hand. My sister always used to study out of books, but if you do to much studying you forget how to be simple, cute, and free. She has been practicing bending what she has learned so that she isn't so uniform in her drawing. To me it sound's like you might have the same problem.

I <3 drawing chibis >w< They are the cutest thing =3
I recommend that you make the head bigger than the rest of the body, big eyes, blushes , and some little bodies. =3

Uh, guys? ^^; This thread was created in July '07. This user also is generally no longer on Menewsha. This thread has been essentially necro'ed and should be left to fall.

lol. Hm, she still pops in once in a while I think...and her chibis are cute now. XD

xD I haven't seen here on here in ages, last I knew she'd told me she'd quit.

And yes, those chibis are cavity cute now xDD You helped her well~

:scoots out:

Originally Posted by fongmingyun

Thanks for the advice guys. This (and two days with a crash course from the lovely ProdigyBombay) helped a lot. So, yeah, haha, here's what I've done:

That's adorable! Wow you do it so well too!