Free Guide

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

The short answer: Start with the back. In seiza, keep the back straight and let the figure widen toward the floor like a triangle. For a cross-legged pose, check how high the knees rise and keep the hip-to-knee length the same on both legs. Seen from behind, attach the legs to the hips when the knees are hidden, and build the legs from the knee joints when you can see them.

If your sitting characters look slumped, or you can't tell how their legs fold under them, the back and the hips are usually where it goes wrong. This guide covers seiza from the side, the front and the back, sitting cross-legged from the front and the side, and W-sitting from behind and from a back angle.

Four sitting poses of the same anime girl in a T-shirt and shorts: seiza from the side, seiza from the front, sitting cross-legged, and W-sitting seen at an angle from behind — One character, four ways to sit on the floor.

The seven stages at a glance

An anime girl in seiza seen from the side, with a blue line standing straight up behind her back and a blue line along the floor

Seiza from the sideStraighten the back.

An anime girl in seiza seen from the front, with a blue center line from the top of her head to the floor and two blue lines that spread out from beside her head to the floor

Seiza from the frontThink of a triangle so the pose looks stable.

An anime girl in seiza seen from behind with one hand on the floor, a blue center line curving down her back to her heels, and a blue frame on the floor

Seiza from the backLet the center line follow the curve of the spine.

An anime girl sitting cross-legged in sneakers, seen from the front, with a blue line across the tops of her knees and two blue arrows curving up beside them

Cross-legged from the frontHow high the knees rise, and where the feet tuck in.

An anime girl sitting cross-legged seen from the side, looking up, with blue lines for the back of her hips and the floor

Cross-legged from the sideHip to knee is the same length on both legs.

The same anime girl seen from behind three times: standing, in seiza and W-sitting, with one blue floor line, curved arrows for toes pointing inward in seiza and straight arrows for toes pointing outward in W-sitting

Seiza and W-sitting from behindAttach the legs to the hips, and check the toes.

An anime girl W-sitting, seen at an angle from behind as she looks back, with blue circles on her knee and ankle joints, faint blue legs stretched forward, a blue ellipse on the floor and two blue axes marked front, back, left and right

W-sitting from a back anglePlace the knees first, then bend the legs at the knees.

Step 01 · Seiza from the side

How do you draw seiza from the side?

Straighten the back, and the seiza looks clean.

Tea ceremony clubs, karuta matches, dinner at a low table: seiza is everywhere in anime. It's the Japanese way of kneeling and sitting back on your heels. Draw it with the back straight and the chest open. When the posture looks right, the whole pose looks graceful and dignified.

From the side, the back shows whether the posture is right. On this drawing, the blue line stands straight up behind her, and her back runs up beside it without leaning forward.

Red-pen checkRounded back? Lift the chest and pull the shoulders back. A slumped seiza looks tired, not neat.

Step 02 · Seiza from the front

How do you make seiza look stable from the front?

Think of a triangle.

From the front, a seiza is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Picture a triangle around the whole figure: two lines spread out from beside the head down to the floor, and the floor is the base.

Keep that shape in mind, and the pose looks settled and steady. The blue line down the middle runs from the top of the head to the floor, between the knees.

Red-pen checkSame width from the shoulders to the knees? Let the outline widen toward the floor, or the pose looks unsteady.

Step 03 · Seiza from the back

How do you draw seiza from behind?

Think about the shape of the spine.

From behind, you can't see the face, so the back carries the pose. Think about the shape of the spine first.

Then draw a center line that follows the curve and the arch of the back, from the head down to the heels. On this drawing, the blue frame on the floor shows the floor she sits on, and her hand rests on it.

Red-pen checkCenter line drawn with a ruler? Let it bend with the back. A straight stick down the middle makes the back look flat.

Step 04 · Cross-legged from the front

How do you draw a cross-legged pose from the front?

Check how high the knees rise and where the feet tuck in.

When you sit cross-legged, the hips sit right on the floor, so the legs can move pretty freely. That gives you a lot of room to play with the pose. Try a few different ways of crossing the legs.

From the front, two things decide the look: how high the knees rise, and where the feet tuck in. On this drawing, the blue line runs across the tops of the knees, and the arrows beside them show the knees lifting.

Red-pen checkDecide where each foot goes before you draw the shins. If the feet have no clear place, the legs look tangled.

Step 05 · Cross-legged from the side

What does a cross-legged pose look like from the side?

The length from the hip to the knee is the same on both legs.

From the side, one leg sits in front of the other, and it's easy to draw the two thighs at different lengths. Don't forget: the length from the hip to the knee is the same on the left and the right.

The blue lines mark the back of the hips and the floor, so you can see where the legs start and where they rest.

Red-pen checkOne thigh shorter than the other? Measure again from the hip to each knee. Both should match.

Step 06 · Seiza and W-sitting from behind

How do you draw seiza and W-sitting from behind?

The knees are hidden, so attach the legs to the hips.

Seen from straight behind, the knees disappear in both seiza and W-sitting (the hips on the floor, the lower legs folded out to each side). You can't build the legs from the knee joints here. The easy way is to draw the legs as if they attach to the hips.

Then tell the two apart by the feet and the height. In seiza, the toes point inward, and the hips rest on the feet, so she sits a little higher than in W-sitting. In W-sitting, the toes point outward, and the hips sit right on the floor.

Red-pen checkCan't tell your seiza from your W-sitting? Look at the toes: inward for seiza, outward for W-sitting.

Step 07 · W-sitting from a back angle

How do you draw W-sitting from a back angle?

When you can see the knees, build the legs from the joints.

Turn her a little, and the knees come into view. Now you can draw the legs from the joints, in two moves. 1: Bring the legs forward and decide where the knees go. 2: Bend the legs at the knees. The heels land beside the hips.

As the lower legs swing around the knees, the feet trace a circle on the floor. The floor is in perspective, so that circle looks like an ellipse.

Red-pen checkHeels drifting away from the body? Bring them in so they land beside the hips.

Where people usually get stuck

My seiza looks sloppy.

Straighten the back and open the chest. A straight back is what makes a seiza look clean.

The legs look uneven when she sits cross-legged.

Measure from the hip to each knee. The two lengths should be the same.

My W-sitting from behind looks like seiza.

Point the toes outward and put the hips right on the floor. In seiza, the toes point inward and she sits a little higher.

Anime sitting pose FAQ

What is seiza?

Seiza is the Japanese way of kneeling and sitting back on your heels. When you draw it, keep the back straight and the chest open.

What is W-sitting?

W-sitting means sitting with the hips on the floor and the lower legs folded out to each side, so the legs make a W shape. The toes point outward.

How do I draw the legs of a sitting character seen from behind?

From straight behind, the knees are hidden, so draw the legs as if they attach to the hips. At an angle from behind, you can see the knees, so place the knees first and bend the legs from there.

How do I get feedback on my sitting 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.