Male · Front · Crying

About This Reference

Frontal view of a male anime face showing tears and emotion.

1. Construct the Front View

A straight-on anime face is built from a circle and a few crossing guidelines. Start with a clean circle for the cranium and drop a vertical centerline down the middle for symmetry. Add a horizontal eye-line across the exact vertical center of the circle; this is where both eyes sit. Halfway between the eye-line and the bottom of the circle, mark the nose line, and halfway between that and the chin, mark the mouth line. Dividing the lower half into thirds keeps every feature balanced.

• The distance between the two eyes should equal roughly one eye-width.
• The nose tip sits halfway between the eye-line and the chin base.
• The mouth line rests halfway between the nose line and the chin.
• Keep the jaw tapers symmetrical on both sides of the centerline.

2. Anatomy Notes for a Male Face

Male anime faces read through structure. The jaw is broader and more angular, the chin stronger, and the brow ridge more defined. The eyes are narrower and sit slightly higher on the head construction, the nose is sharper with a defined bridge, and the neck is thicker. Use firmer, straighter lines for the jaw and neck to sell the masculine silhouette.

3. Breaking Down the Crying Expression

Crying pushes sadness into overflow. The brows scrunch inward and upward, the eyes squeeze closed or well up with tears, and the mouth opens into a wobbly downward shape. Add glossy tear tracks from the inner corners of the eyes, a reddened nose tip, and occasional tear blobs. The key is contrast: scrunched brows against a very open, wet mouth.

• Brows: deeply scrunched inward and upward.
• Eyes: squeezed shut or full of pooled tears.
• Mouth: wide and wobbly with the corners down.
• Tears: glossy tracks running from the inner corners.

4. What to Watch for in This Reference

When studying a front-view reference, pay most attention to the symmetry of the eyes and the width of the mouth. Even slight asymmetry in the eye placement or the jawline will make the face read as off. Use a ruler or the side of your pencil to check that both eyes sit at exactly the same height on the eye-line.

Crying references show the face at its most compressed. Study how the brows scrunch together at the inner corners, creating horizontal crease lines across the forehead. The tears are not just lines — they are glossy, rounded shapes that catch light. The nose reddens because of increased blood flow, which is a detail many artists miss.

5. Common Mistakes at This Angle

Beginners often draw the eyes at different heights or make the mouth too wide. The mouth should span less than the distance between the eyes in most anime styles.

Drawing tears as simple diagonal lines. Tears in anime are glossy teardrop shapes with a small highlight on the upper curve. They also tend to pool at the inner corner of the eye before falling.