Free Guide

How to Draw an Anime Lying Down Pose: A Step-by-Step Guide by Japanese Pro Artists

The short answer: Let the floor shape the pose. When a body lies on its side, the waist sinks toward the floor, so the shoulder line and the hip line tilt in opposite directions and the body's axis bends into an S-curve. Find that S first, then build each side-lying pose on top of it.

If your lying characters look like a standing figure tipped over, this is the fix. Below are five steps: on the side, propped up, twisted, curled up and on the stomach, each with blue guide lines that show where the shoulders, hips and weight go.

Five lying poses of the same anime girl in a T-shirt and shorts: on her side propped on one elbow, on her side with her upper body raised, twisted with both hands on the floor, propped on an elbow with a twist, and on her stomach — The same girl in five lying poses from this guide.

The five poses at a glance

An anime girl lying on her side, propped on one elbow, with blue lines for the hips, the shoulders and an S-curve body axis

On the sideThe waist sinks, the shoulders and hips tilt opposite ways, and the axis becomes an S.

An anime girl lying on her side with her upper body raised on one arm, with blue lines for the hips and the shoulders

Propped upRaise the upper body and the waist curve gets stronger.

An anime girl on the floor with her upper body facing forward on both hands and her legs on their side, with blue lines for the shoulders and the hips

TwistedTwist the upper and lower body and the tilts and the S-curve get stronger.

An anime girl seen from above, curled up asleep on her side with her hands near her face, with blue lines for the hips and the shoulders

Curled upSketch the floor first. Even curled up, the hips tilt up and the shoulders tilt down.

An anime girl lying on her stomach, seen at an angle, upper body raised on folded arms, with a blue arrow for lifting the upper body and a blue arrow at the waist

On the stomachLift the chest, arch the back, and keep the chest and hips close together.

Step 01 · On the side

Why does a body lying on its side bend into an S?

The waist sinks to the floor, so the shoulders and hips tilt in opposite directions.

Lay a body on its side and it can't stay ruler-straight. The waist is the narrowest part of the torso, so it drops toward the floor, and the whole side of the body ends up resting on the ground. The hips and the shoulders follow it: the hip line tilts up, the shoulder line tilts down, and the line through the body becomes an S-curve. It's the same opposite tilt as contrapposto in a standing pose.

Here's the part that trips people up. Standing, the hip on the side that isn't carrying the weight drops. Sitting or lying, it's the other way around: the weight sits on the hip touching the floor, and the hip on the far side rises. Put the center of gravity on that floor-side hip, let the top hip lift, and let the waist dip between the hip block and the chest block.

Red-pen checkYour hip line and shoulder line are parallel, so she looks like a standing figure tipped onto the floor. Tilt them opposite ways and let the waist sink.

An anime girl lying on her side, propped on one elbow, with blue lines for the hips and the shoulders, an S-curve body axis, a center of gravity on the floor-side hip, an arrow at the waist and an arrow for the lifted hip — The hip line tilts up, the shoulder line tilts down, and the body axis runs in an S from the hips to the head.

Step 02 · Propped up

What changes when she raises her upper body?

The waist curve gets even stronger.

Push the upper body up on one arm and the waist curves in even more than in the first pose.

Keep the same two lines as before. The hip line tilts up just past the hand resting on the thigh, and the shoulder line runs through both shoulders and tilts down toward the supporting arm. The weight still sits on the floor-side hip.

Red-pen checkShe's propped up, but her waist is still straight. Raising the upper body should deepen the waist curve, not flatten it.

An anime girl lying on her side with her upper body raised on one arm, with a blue hip line tilting up, a blue shoulder line tilting down and a center of gravity on the floor-side hip — Hips tilt up, shoulders tilt down, and the weight stays on the floor-side hip.

Step 03 · Twisted

How do you draw a twisted lying pose?

Turn the upper body and the lower body different ways, and the tilts get stronger.

In the first pose below, her upper body faces you on both hands while her legs stay on their side. Because the chest and the hips point in different directions, the shoulder line and the hip line tilt even harder against each other, and the S-curve of the body gets more obvious.

The second pose uses the floor itself. She leans on one elbow and the floor pushes back on her side, which lets the hips roll one way while the shoulders turn the other. Use that push from the floor to get a strong twist.

Red-pen checkThe chest and the hips face the same way, so there's no twist. Turn the chest toward the viewer and keep the hips on their side.

An anime girl on the floor with her upper body facing forward on both hands and her legs on their side, with a blue shoulder line tilting down, a blue hip line tilting up and a center of gravity on the floor-side hip — Upper body facing forward, legs on their side: the two lines tilt hard against each other.

An anime girl leaning back on one elbow with her upper body facing up, her legs turned on their side, her other hand on her hip and her top knee raised, with a blue shoulder line tilting down, a blue hip line tilting up and a center of gravity — Leaning on the elbow, the floor pushes back and the shoulders and hips twist against each other.

Step 04 · Curled up

How do you place a body lying diagonally across the page, seen from above?

Rough in the floor first, then lay the body on it.

Seen from above, the body lies diagonally across the page, and it's hard to tell how it rests on the floor. Before the body, sketch a simple flat rectangle for the floor in perspective. Once the floor is there, it's much easier to see how the body lies on it.

The contrapposto rule still works when she curls up asleep. The hip line tilts up through the waist and the hip, and the shoulder line tilts down from the top of the shoulder toward the hand at her face.

Red-pen checkShe looks like she's floating. Sketch the floor plane first so the side of her body clearly rests on it.

An anime girl seen from above, curled up asleep on her side with her hands near her face, with a blue hip line tilting up, a blue shoulder line tilting down and a center of gravity on the hip — Curled up and seen from above, the hips still tilt up and the shoulders still tilt down.

Step 05 · On the stomach

How do you draw a character lying on her stomach?

Lift the chest off the floor so the back arches and the curve of the hips stands out.

When the front of the body lies flat on the floor, the curve of the hips stands out clearly. Lift the face and shoulders so the chest isn't pressed flat against the floor. That lift puts an arch in the back, which makes the curve of the hips stand out even more.

Lying poses tend to make the torso look too long. Keep the chest block and the hip block close together at the waist. From the side, point the toes and the legs look longer. At an angle, the upper and lower body get hard to connect, so think of the chest and hip blocks joining at the waist and show the waist where they meet. Seen from the head end, draw the near head big and the far hips small, and the pose gets real depth.

Red-pen checkThe torso is too long, so she looks stretched. Bring the chest and hip blocks closer together at the waist.

An anime girl lying on her stomach seen from the side, arms folded, with blue arrows for lifting the head and arching the back to bring out the curve of the hips, pale blue chest and hip blocks, and pointed toes — From the side: lift the head and shoulders, arch the back to bring out the curve of the hips, keep the chest and hip blocks close, point the toes.

An anime girl lying on her stomach seen from the head end, arms folded, with her head large in front and her hips and feet small behind — From the head end: the near head is big and the far hips are small.

Where people usually get stuck

My lying character looks like she's standing on her side.

The hip line and the shoulder line are probably parallel. Let the waist sink to the floor, tilt the hips up and the shoulders down, and check that the body axis bends into an S.

Which hip goes up when she lies down?

The one away from the floor. Standing, the unweighted hip drops; lying or sitting, the weight sits on the floor-side hip and the far hip rises.

Her torso looks too long on her stomach.

Keep the chest block and the hip block close together at the waist, and lift the chest so the back arches.

Anime lying down pose FAQ

What is contrapposto in a lying down pose?

Contrapposto is the opposite tilt of the shoulders and the hips that bends the body axis into an S-curve. When a body lies on its side, the waist sinks to the floor and creates this tilt on its own: the hip line tilts up and the shoulder line tilts down.

Where is the center of gravity when a character lies on her side?

On the hip that touches the floor. The weight rests there, and the hip on the far side rises.

How do I add depth to a character lying on her stomach?

Draw the part closest to the viewer bigger and the far part smaller. Seen from the head end, the head is big and the hips and feet are small behind it.

How do I get feedback on my lying down pose drawings?

When you join an Anime Art Academy course, a professional Japanese artist gives you personal advice and draws red-line corrections directly on your drawing. There is no limit on how many times you can submit. The only rule: post one drawing at a time, and wait for your teacher's reply before posting the next.