Want to Be Good at Anime Animation? These Are the Skills You Must Master

Anime Animation is one of the art fields that requires high creativity, technique and patience. It is not only a tool for telling stories through images but also a bridge to convey emotions, culture and the unique style of each artist. If you want to improve your Anime Animation skills , you not only need to learn how to draw beautifully but also have a deep understanding of character movement and emotions, use specialized software and constantly update new knowledge. In this article, SaDesign will guide you through practical experiences to help you improve your skills effectively from basic to advanced.

1. Master the fundamentals of drawing and motion

A quality animation does not only come from beautiful drawing but also depends on how the characters move, how they interact with the space around them. This is the factor that creates the authenticity and appeal of your work. Below are three core elements to help you improve your drawing and movement skills in anime animation.

1.1. Learn to draw anime characters in depth

Drawing characters is the first and most important step in animation. If you want your characters to look alive, have their own style, and be easy to animate, you need to build solid drawing skills.

Practice drawing characters from different angles

An anime character does not only appear in a fixed pose but they must be flexible, expressing many different states. Therefore, you need to learn how to draw characters from many angles to create consistency in each frame.

Start with simple angles like frontal, 3/4 profile, top down and bottom up views.

Once you get used to it, try drawing your character in more complex moving poses like running, jumping, turning, or crouching.

An important tip is to use basic shapes (circles, cylinders, cubes) to build your character's pose from different angles. This makes it easier to control proportions and avoid distortion.

Improve your anatomy drawing skills

Even though anime characters have distinct features like big eyes, long limbs, or stylized body proportions, they still follow basic anatomical principles. Understanding how the body works will help you draw more natural characters.

Learn basic anatomy: Studying the skeleton and how muscles work will help you easily create appropriate postures and movements.

Get hands-on: You can look at real people, use 3D models, or take figure drawing classes to improve your skills.

Gesture Drawing: Practice drawing poses quickly in 30 seconds – 1 minute to help you understand how the body works without getting bogged down in details.

Refer to anatomy guides for artists such as Figure Drawing for Artists by Steve Huston or Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth.

Use 3D models or art software like Posemaniacs, Magic Poser or Blender to view from different angles.

1.2. Study the principles of motion in animation

Here are some important principles that you need to pay special attention to:

Squash & Stretch: When an object moves, it changes shape to show momentum and weight. For example, when a ball falls to the ground, it flattens before bouncing back up. In anime, this technique is often used to make characters appear more alive, especially when running, jumping, or expressing strong emotions.

Anticipation: Before a character performs a major action, they often have a preparatory movement. For example, before jumping, the character will slightly bend their knees. This makes it easier for the viewer to follow and anticipate the next action.

Follow-through & Overlapping Action: When a character stops suddenly, parts like hair and clothes will continue to move according to the inertia before stopping. This principle makes the movement look more natural.

Timing & Spacing: The speed of an action can affect the mood of a scene. A fast, forceful movement can create excitement, while a slow, gentle movement helps convey sophistication.

2. Improve acting techniques and character expressions

2.1. Understanding acting in animation

Acting in animation is the way a character expresses emotions, thoughts, and personality through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. A character can be beautifully designed, but if they lack rich expressions or natural gestures, the viewer will feel lifeless and have a hard time connecting with the story.

Unlike live-action acting, animation acting requires a certain amount of exaggeration to emphasize emotions. However, regardless of stylization or exaggeration, animators must still follow realistic acting principles to make the characters appear more alive and natural.

2.2. Use live-action reference

One of the effective methods to make animation more natural is to use Live-action reference, which means filming actual acting scenes to use as reference when drawing animation.

Why use live-action reference?

Helps understand how the body moves in real life: When you watch video frame-by-frame, you'll see how body parts move in unison, helping you create smoother, more logical animations.

Improve accuracy of expressions and gestures: Some complex emotions like confusion, bewilderment, or grief have so many small nuances that it's hard to imagine if you just draw from memory.

Save time: Instead of experimenting multiple times to find the right motion, you can directly observe from the video and apply it immediately to your animation.

3. Proficient in tools and software for making Anime Animation

Nowadays, there are many softwares that serve the process of making anime animation from drawing characters, creating movements to processing visual effects. Choosing the right tool for your style and personal needs will help you develop your skills quickly and improve the quality of your products.

3.1. Clip Studio Paint EX

Clip Studio Paint EX is not only a popular digital painting software but also supports creating simple but quality 2D animations. This is an ideal choice for those who want to make anime animations in a traditional style without investing in overly complicated software.

Powerful drawing tools: Clip Studio Paint is famous for its natural brush simulation, making it easy to create smooth strokes that feel like drawing on paper.

Frame-by-frame animation support : Allows you to create keyframes and in-betweening for basic animation.

Professional layer management: Helps you easily adjust character details without affecting the entire work.

Integrated timeline panel: Allows control over the timing and sequence of frames in animation.

3.2. Toon Boom Harmony

Toon Boom Harmony is one of the leading software in the anime and animation industry in general. Many major studios such as Toei Animation, Studio Ghibli and Cartoon Network use Toon Boom Harmony to produce high quality animated films.

Supports both hand-drawn and vector animation: Gives you flexibility in drawing style and movement.

Integrated rigging system: Allows you to create character rigging for faster animation than drawing each frame.

Powerful effects tools: Helps you add effects like lighting, shadows, and motion blur professionally.

Support high quality file export: Easily export animations in high resolution without losing image quality.

3.3. Live2D Cubism

Live2D Cubism is a specialized software for creating animated 2D anime characters without having to redraw many frames. This software is often used in the VTuber (Virtual YouTuber) industry and anime games to create characters that can move naturally while still maintaining traditional 2D drawing.

Smooth motion from 2D drawings: Without the need to create each frame like traditional animation, Live2D uses motion simulation techniques based on a single drawing.

Motion tracking support: Helps synchronize character gestures and expressions according to the user's actual movements (often used in VTuber).

Integration with Unity and Unreal Engine: Supports exporting files for use in games, apps, and interactive projects.

Flexible character expression customization: You can change expressions, angles, and effects easily without having to redraw multiple times.

3.4. Blender & After Effects

In addition to 2D animation software, you should also learn how to use Blender and After Effects to create beautiful visual effects or combine 2D and 3D in anime animation.

Blender is an open source software that supports 3D modeling, scene building, and animation. Some modern anime series such as Land of the Lustrous have used Blender to combine 2D and 3D, creating beautiful images while still maintaining the traditional anime style.

After Effects is the leading software for creating visual effects and post-production for animation.

There is no “best” software, it's all about what you feel fits your style and workflow.

Improving your Anime Animation skills is not something that can be done overnight, but rather a process of persistent practice. You need to master drawing techniques, understand movement, use software proficiently, and continuously learn from quality resources. Most importantly, practice diligently and never stop creating. If you are passionate, the results will come to you over time. Wishing you success on your path to becoming a professional animator.