How to Draw Sailor Moon
Especially for anime and manga fans, I’ve created this cute tutorial on how to draw Sailor Moon in her classic white and blue sailor uniform.
How to Draw Sailor Moon: Introduction
Sailor Moon is probably one of the most recognizable characters from classic anime and manga. This character has a distinctive appearance as well as a unique drawing style. In this simplified tutorial, we’ll try adapting that style as we learn how to draw Sailor Moon in nine easy steps.
In many ways, this lesson repeats the stages found in tutorials on drawing an anime girl. However, we’ll add specific details and features that make Sailor Moon instantly recognizable. These little touches are important to achieving an accurate and appealing finished drawing.
Besides her drawing style, appearance, and clothing, Sailor Moon’s distinctive gestures also set her apart. She frequently uses expressive hand movements and poses in both anime and manga. Capturing these gestures correctly helps make your drawing more authentic and recognizable.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw Sailor Moon standing in her iconic pose, with one hand raised near her forehead. After mastering this pose, you can experiment further by drawing Sailor Moon in different poses and demonstrating various gestures.
Sailor Moon Drawing Tutorial
Materials
- Pencil
- Paper
- Eraser
- Coloring supplies
Time needed: 45 minutes
How to Draw Sailor Moon
- Sketch the basic body shapes.
Sketch the basic shapes for the head and torso. Use simplified anime or chibi proportions. Directly below the head, draw Sailor Moon’s torso as a smooth oval shape. In simplified anime style, the head is typically larger, contributing to a cuter appearance. Adjustments can be easily made now rather than later.
- Sketch the face details.
Next, draw Sailor Moon’s anime-style facial features. Sketch two large oval eyes and add short eyelashes. Below, lightly sketch a simple small nose using minimal lines. Finish the face with an open-mouth smile. Keep proportions typical for simplified anime: large eyes, a minimal nose, and simplified mouth.
- Start drawing the hairstyle.
Continue by sketching Sailor Moon’s recognizable anime hairstyle. Begin with fluffy bangs using short, wavy lines across her forehead. Maintain symmetry so that both sides frame her face evenly. After that, draw Sailor Moon’s ears at the sides of the head with a couple of simple curves.
- Add the buns and ponytails.
Now add Sailor Moon’s iconic hairstyle buns and flowing ponytails. Sketch two symmetrical circular buns on the top of her head. From these buns, draw long ponytails cascading downward. After that, draw Sailor Moon’s tiara on the forehead with a small oval and a couple of curved lines.
- Sketch the sailor uniform.
Next, draw Sailor Moon’s iconic sailor costume. First, sketch the sailor-style collar around her shoulders and chest. Sketch a large bow at the center, clearly defining the rounded knot. Below the bow, draw her simplified anime-style skirt with subtle curves representing pleats.
- Draw Sailor Moon’s arms and hands.
One arm should be bent upwards, her hand near the forehead, recreating Sailor Moon’s classic salute gesture. The opposite arm rests naturally by her side, slightly bent. Use simple lines to define shoulders, elbows, and hands.
- Draw the legs and boots.
Use long and smooth lines to illustrate the legs and feet. After that, add her iconic boots extending to mid-calf height with clearly defined details like curved tops and decorations. Experiment later by varying stance width or leg positioning, creating alternative poses.
- Trace the final sketch.
Trace facial features, hair strands, costume details, arms, legs, and boots with precision. Carefully erase unnecessary pencil lines or marks. Smooth outlines make your drawing polished and professional-looking. Adjust any disproportionate elements.
- Color the drawing of Sailor Moon.
Use bright yellow for her hair, classic white and blue for her costume, and red accents for bows and boots. Apply peach tones for skin and pink for decorative elements. You can experiment later by subtly adjusting color tones or adding slight shading.
Simple Sailor Moon Drawing Tutorial
This tutorial on how to draw Sailor Moon demonstrates more simplified, chibi-style version. Unlike the first drawing tutorial, this method shows a larger head, smaller body, and simplified shapes. Also, this tutorial uses a completely different sequence of steps.
Sketch a simple U-shaped line for the face outline. Add rounded, fluffy bangs above, framing the top half clearly. Draw two large buns on top, with long ponytails flowing down on either side. Next, sketch the simplified body using basic shapes for the torso and skirt. Draw two short legs beneath the skirt, each ending with small boots.
Continue by adding simplified arms and hands, placing one hand near the forehead in Sailor Moon’s classic salute pose. Clearly define simplified anime facial features, such as large eyes, a small mouth, and minimal details. Add the costume elements like the sailor collar, bow, and skirt details. Finally, apply flat and simple colors like yellow for hair, blue and white for the costume, and red for accents.
Conclusion
Now you’ve learned two methods for how to draw Sailor Moon – both the more classic anime version and a simplified chibi style. Try experimenting with variations, such as different poses, facial expressions, and alternative costumes, to personalize your drawings.
Also, don’t forget, that the same methods can also be adapted easily to draw other characters from the Sailor Moon series. You can anlso include interesting backgrounds like cityscapes, starry skies, or magical settings.
Visit my other anime tutorials to practice more characters and styles, building your skills and creating your own unique anime artwork collection.
I love it so good I have done a good job also