Picrew Anime Maker

Picrew grew up around anime-style art. Most of its image makers come from Japanese illustrators, and the look people associate with the site is the anime portrait: large eyes, expressive hair and a clean outline. This maker uses a simple version of that style and opens on the Eyes tab, because in anime design the eyes carry the character.

The character you make is original. It is not taken from any series, so it is safe to use as your own.

Anime character archetypes and how to build them

Anime uses visual shorthand. A viewer can guess a personality from hair and eyes before a word is spoken. You can use the same shorthand here.

• The cheerful lead: Wispy with ahoge, Sparkle eyes, Open grin. The single hair strand on top is a classic sign of an airhead or optimist.
• The cool one: Over one eye, Sharp eyes, Flat mouth, dark palette.
• The tsundere: Twin tails, Angry brows, Pout, Blush.
• The quiet one: Straight bangs, Bob, Sleepy eyes, Round glasses.
• The trickster: Messy spikes, Wink, Fang or Cat mouth.

Hair color means something

Anime hair is not limited to natural colors, and the color often hints at role. Red and orange suggest energy, blue suggests calm or distance, pink suggests warmth, white and silver suggest mystery, purple suggests elegance or danger. These are habits, not rules, and going against them is a design choice too. A sleepy character with bright red hair is immediately more interesting.

Uniforms and everyday outfits

The Sailor uniform with the Pleated skirt is the standard school setting. The Blazer and tie gives the other common uniform style and works with Jeans standing in for uniform trousers. For a slice-of-life look, the Hoodie or Striped sweater with Shorts covers most weekend scenes. For fantasy anime, see the fantasy maker.