Chibi style: proportions, faces and when to use it

The proportions

A typical anime adult stands about seven to eight heads tall. A chibi version of the same character stands two to three heads tall: the head is a third to a half of the whole body. Everything else follows from that.

Part	Regular	Chibi
Height	7 to 8 heads	2 to 3 heads
Eyes	Detailed, in proportion	Large, round, one or two big highlights
Nose and mouth	Drawn	A dot or nothing, and a mouth that opens wide
Hands and feet	Fingers and toes	Mitten shapes and small rounded feet
Outline	Varied	Thick and smooth, with rounded corners
Shading	Several tones	One soft shadow tone, or none

Keep the character recognizable

A chibi loses most of the details that identify a character: height, build, face shape. What remains has to do the work. Before you shrink a character, list the three or four features that a reader would spot from across a room.

The hair shape. Exaggerate it. A spiky fringe gets spikier.
One signature color. A red scarf, a yellow raincoat.
One prop. A satchel, glasses, a sword that is now comically large.
The face they make most. A grump stays grumpy in chibi form.

Chibi: Small, round, playful — The same character in Chibi and in Retro anime. The red scarf, the short dark hair, the satchel and the fox carry over. Samples from Konyomi's art-style step.

Retro anime: 90s cel look, film grain — The same character in Chibi and in Retro anime. The red scarf, the short dark hair, the satchel and the fox carry over. Samples from Konyomi's art-style step.

When to use chibi

Manga often switches to chibi for one panel: an embarrassed reaction, a tantrum, a joke that undercuts a serious scene. The sudden change of proportion tells the reader to laugh. A whole story in chibi suits comedy, stories for younger readers, four-panel gags and slice of life.

Be careful with stakes. A fight drawn in chibi rarely feels dangerous. If your story turns dark, a chibi look will fight the text.

How to draw or brief a chibi

Draw a large circle for the head. Draw the body one to two head-heights below it.
Place the eyes low on the face, near the middle line or below it.
Simplify the hands to mittens and the feet to rounded shapes.
Ink with a thick, smooth line. Round every corner.
Color flat and bright, with one soft shadow tone.

This is the description behind Konyomi's Chibi style:

Chibi comedy manga style: super-deformed proportions with a large round head on a
small body two to three heads tall, thick smooth rounded outlines, large simple round
eyes, small simplified hands and feet, flat bright candy colors with one soft shadow
tone, clean smooth digital finish.

Using chibi style in Konyomi

Pick Chibi on the art-style step. The style applies to the whole story, so every character is drawn small and round from chapter 1 on. Konyomi does not switch styles for a single panel. For that effect, you would need an artist. Learn more in text to manga.

Common questions

What is chibi style?

Chibi is a way of drawing characters two to three heads tall, with an oversized round head, large simple eyes, tiny hands and feet, thick rounded outlines and flat bright color.

What does chibi mean?

It comes from the Japanese chibi kyara, "tiny character". In Japanese, chibi is a casual word for a small person or a child. Super deformed, or SD, names the same style.

How many heads tall is a chibi?

Usually two to three. The head is a third to a half of the total height.

Can Konyomi draw a whole story in chibi style?

Yes. Pick Chibi on the art-style step. Kon draws the cast and every chapter in that style.

Sources

Wikipedia. Super deformed: proportions and the word chibi.

Have a story? Kon will draw it.

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