Chibi drawings by real artists
There's no one right way to draw a chibi. Here are 23 ways artists on Magma drew theirs, and how you can learn from them.
Big head, small body
What makes chibi art a chibi is the proportions: a head as big as the rest of the body, two to three heads tall in all, with short arms and stubby legs. Everything else, from the outfit to the horns, gets squeezed into that small body.
Two heads tall
The little devil (#77) is two heads tall: the head and hair take up the top half, and a gray dress with a scarf takes up the bottom half. The legs are just two round feet, and the wings and tail are small flat shapes.
A whole outfit, shrunk
In (#5) the head is wider than the shoulders, yet the long coat, cape, belt and boots are all there, packed into a body not much taller than the head. He holds a birthday cake with a lit candle and licks frosting off one finger.
Fewer details, bigger feelings
The angel (#138) has two dark rectangles for eyes, an open mouth, pink ovals for blush and no nose. Her hands are green mittens, and one arm is thrown up as she jumps.
#77
Faces and expressions
With a face this big, small changes to the eyes and mouth do all the acting. Many artists draw sheets of chibi faces to work out how each of their characters looks happy, grumpy or sad.
Ten characters, ten faces
The line-art sheet (#123) gives each of ten characters, all named, a different face: a frown, closed smiling eyes, a tongue sticking out, a wink, a fang. The heads are almost the same size; the hair, horns and ears tell them apart.
Sad in three marks
In (#66) the sadness comes from white tears hanging under the eyes, a wobbly frown and tilted brows. Round orange blush and freckles keep it cute.
Chibi poses
Short arms and legs hide small movements, so chibi poses are pushed further: arms flung up, a whole body leaning, one foot kicked out. Putting two or more chibis together makes a scene.
One character, four poses
The cat chibi in (#141) stays the same, a pointed head and a blue jumpsuit, while the pose changes: fists raised, drawing with a pencil as tall as itself, kicking with a wink, and crying with both arms out.
A group on the move
Four chibis run down a road in (#65), arms swinging, while a fifth tumbles in upside down from the left.
Flying
The two fairies in (#133) fly toward each other at an angle, one with her arms spread wide, their legs and wings trailing behind them.
Animal and creature chibis
The same rules work for animals and creatures: a big head, a short, round body and tiny legs. Cats, puppies and dragons all shrink well.
Two kittens in pixels
The pixel kittens (#57) have heads as big as their bodies, two dots for eyes and a few short lines for whiskers. One is white and one is black, facing each other.
A cat as a box
In (#116) the cat's body is one rectangle on four short legs, with a big striped tail curling up behind it.
Paws up
The puppy (#145) lies curled up with its paws in the air, showing the round paw pads. Floppy ears, small horns and bat wings are added as simple shapes.
Lines first
A chibi starts as a few lines. Sketches and line art show the proportions most clearly, before color.
Line art, then color
(#30) shows two chibis holding hands: one is still line art, the other is colored with soft pink hair, a blue sweater and black shorts. The proportions are the same in both.
Pose in pencil
In the pencil sketch (#101) one chibi stands with folded arms and a frown, the other holds her hands to her cheeks with worried marks beside her head. The poses alone tell you who they are.
#101How to draw chibi: learn it with others
The fastest way to get better at chibis is to draw them next to other people. 2 of the 23 drawings on this page were made in Art Jams: shared canvases where everyone draws at the same time. One of them comes from a jam called "draw chibis".
Join a chibi jam, watch how others shrink their characters down and pick their poses, and ask them how they did it. Or host your own: try a theme like "draw your OC as a chibi with one oversized accessory", share the link, and compare what everyone makes of it.
Drawing chibis on Magma right now
No chibi jam is live at the moment. Browse the open Art Jams, or start your own and share the link.
Prefer steps? A quick guide
The basic shapes behind a chibi. Once they're down, pick a way from above and make it yours.
- Big headLightly sketch a large circle near the top of the page, with a short, rounded chin.
- Two to three heads tallMeasure the head and mark the body below it: one more head for a round, cute chibi, two more for a slightly older one.
- Simple bodyA small bean for the torso, about as wide as the face, short tube arms with mitten hands and stubby legs.
- Eyes low and wideBig eyes on or below the middle of the head, wide apart, with one or two white highlights. Skip the nose or make it a dot.
- Expression and poseA tiny mouth sets the mood. Tilt the head or throw the arms up so the pose reads at a glance.
- Hair, then colorHair in a few big, rounded clumps outside the head circle. Erase the guides, then fill flat colors and add a blush.
Chibis on Magma
Counts from Magma's public Art Jams (10+ artists each) and posts, September 2026.
Draw your chibi now
Open a free canvas in your browser. Nothing to install, and it works on Chromebooks too. Post it when you're done, and it could end up on this page.
Draw a chibi nowQuestions
How do you draw chibi?
There's no single right way. Start with simple shapes (a big circle for the head, a small body one or two heads tall below it, big eyes set low, a tiny mouth, stubby arms and legs), then play with the face, the pose, or turn an animal into a chibi. The easiest way to improve is to draw alongside others in a chibi Art Jam and see how they do it.
How many heads tall is a chibi?
Usually two to three heads tall. Two heads looks very round and cute, like the little devil with the scarf on this page; three heads leaves more room for the body and outfit.
How do I draw chibi poses?
Keep the body simple and push the movement further than you would for a normal character: tilt the head, raise both arms, kick out a leg. The cat chibi drawn in four poses on this page is a good example.
Can my chibi drawing be on this page?
Draw it on Magma and post it to your public feed. We pick drawings for this page from public posts, and every one is credited to its artist. We only feature original characters, not fan art.
More drawing guides
Draw your chibi now
Draw a chibi now
