A high angle looks down on your character and a low angle looks up at it, and which one you get depends on whether the eye level (the height of the viewer's eyes, or the camera) sits above or below the character. The basic method is to set the eye level first, then draw the parts nearest the camera bigger and the parts farther away smaller, and move the face's cross guide up or down to match the angle. From a high angle, the top of the head and the shoulders look big and the feet small; from a low angle, the underside of the chin and the feet look big and the top of the head small.
This guide covers how eye level works, how the face and body change from above and from below, how to handle short-proportioned (chibi) characters, and a step-by-step order for drawing once you've chosen the angle. It also covers checking an angle you're unsure of by turning a 3D model of your own character to look down on it or up at it.
Note: Figmee currently provides figurine-style images made from your drawings, 3D model data (GLB / 3MF) and turntable videos of the model. Ordering physical 3D prints is Coming Soon. Photographs and images that look like photographs are not supported as input.
What changes between a high angle and a low angle? (How eye level works)
The difference comes down to where the eye level falls on your character. A guide by ClipStudioOfficial, the official account of Celsys, the developer of CLIP STUDIO PAINT, defines eye level as the height of the eyes or camera of the person viewing the scene: anything above the eye level is seen looking up, and anything below it is seen looking down.
So if you put the eye level above your character's head, you look down on the whole body (a high angle). Put it below the feet and you look up at the whole body (a low angle). Put it around the chest and you get a near-straight view, where the upper body is seen slightly from below and the lower body slightly from above.
The vertical lines change, too. According to the same guide, the vanishing point for height (where vertical lines converge) sits above the object when you look up and below it when you look down. A perspective tutorial on Celsys's Japanese drawing-guide site calls the method for drawing this "distortion in height" three-point perspective, and describes it as what you use for high and low angles.
| Where the eye level is | Shot | Height vanishing point | Vertical lines of the body |
|---|---|---|---|
| Above the character's head | High angle (looking down on the whole body) | Below the character | Narrow toward the feet |
| Around the chest or waist | Close to straight-on | Barely noticeable | Stay almost vertical |
| Below the character's feet | Low angle (looking up at the whole body) | Above the character | Narrow toward the head |
The same tutorial warns that putting vanishing points too close together tends to make a drawing look unnatural. If you've pushed the angle too hard chasing drama, moving the vanishing points a little farther apart calms it down.
What looks bigger and smaller from a high angle?
From a high angle, the top of the head, the shoulders, and the top of the bangs are nearest the camera and look big and wide, while the feet, farther away, look small, and the body narrows as it goes down. On the face, set the cross guide a little lower than you would for a straight-on view, so the eyes, nose, and mouth sit lower on the face.
MediBang Paint's tutorial on overhead faces counts even a view from slightly above the character as an overhead angle, and points out the following:
- Cross guide: place the "+" that marks the face a little lower than normal
- Top of the head and hair: the higher the viewpoint, the more of the top of the head shows, so keep track of where the hair whorl is when you draw the hair
- Eyes: from even a little above, the eyelids and lashes become easier to see than the eyes themselves
- Nose: think of it as a downward-facing triangle
- Neck: imagine it as a cylinder and follow its curved side
- Ears: they narrow toward the bottom, and more of their top surface shows
The body gets smaller from the shoulders down to the feet. Because the head and shoulders loom large in the foreground, a steep high angle tends to tuck the chest and everything below it behind the shoulders, so decide at the block-in stage how much of the feet will show.
How do you draw the face and body from a low angle?
From a low angle, the underside of the chin and the feet are nearest the camera and look big, while the top of the head, farther away, looks small, and the body narrows toward the head. On the face, put the eye line above center as an upward-curving arc, and add the underside of the chin and the nostrils.
MediBang's tutorial on low-angle faces points out the following:
- Eyes: the eye line sits above the horizontal center line. The face is a sphere, so the eyes follow a gentle curve too
- Upper and lower face: the more you look up, the wider the area under the chin becomes, while everything above the chin gets squeezed together
- Nose: think of it as a triangular pyramid; the more you look up, the more you see of its base, where the nostrils are
- Ears: in a low angle with the face toward the viewer, the ears appear lower, and they get shorter the more the face tilts up
A tutorial on angled faces on Celsys's Japanese drawing-guide site makes similar points: because the head is a sphere, draw the eyes as if you were wrapping them around it, and at some angles the underside of the jaw becomes visible and looks unnatural if you leave it out.
Seen as a whole, the legs look long and the head looks small.
Side by side, the two angles compare like this:
| Angle | Looks bigger or wider | Looks smaller, narrower, or hidden | What to watch when drawing |
|---|---|---|---|
| High angle (looking down) | Top of the head around the hair whorl, shoulders, top surface of the ears | Underside of the chin, front of the neck, feet | Set the face's cross guide lower. Draw the eyes mainly as lids and lashes |
| Low angle (looking up) | Underside of the chin, the nostril side of the nose, feet | Top of the head, forehead | Put the eye line above center as an upward arc. Add the underside of the jaw |
How do you handle high and low angles with chibi or short-proportioned characters?
With a character only two or three heads tall, the head takes up most of the body, so a steep high angle tends to hide the body behind the head, and a steep low angle tends to let the underside of the chin fill much of the frame. Start with a gentle angle, and block in the head as a ball and the torso as a small box to keep the shapes from falling apart.
Three things to watch with short-proportioned characters:
- Large facial features: big eyes make every shift of the cross guide more noticeable. Curve the eye line along the ball of the head.
- Bangs and hair accessories change a lot with the angle: from a high angle, the top of the bangs and any hair accessories cover much more of the face; from a low angle, you start to see the underside of the bangs.
- Short arms and legs: if you make the feet too big in a low angle, the proportions look different. Decide the size difference between the feet and the head with the box block-in first.
General drawing mannequins and pose assets may not share your character's proportions, so how the head and body overlap from above can be hard to borrow directly. To check angles with your character's own proportions, you can use the method in the next section.
How can you check your character from above and below?
The Figmee viewer doesn't just turn 360° left and right; it also tilts from a near top-down view to a near worm's-eye view, so you can check high and low angles on a 3D model of your own character made from a single front view. How to make the model and use it as a drawing reference is covered in A Drawing Mannequin Alternative: a 3D Model of Your Own Character. The viewer uses a camera with perspective, and zooming works by moving that camera closer, so the closer you zoom, the bigger the nearest parts look and the stronger the perspective; pull back and it softens. Surfaces you never drew, like the top of the head or the underside of the chin, are shapes inferred by AI, so treat them that way.
What order should you draw in once you've picked the angle?
For an angle you're unsure about, draw in this order: eye level, box block-in, features, finish. That keeps the angle from drifting partway through. Budget roughly 50 minutes to an hour for a rough of one character.
- Set the eye level (about 5 minutes): decide what height on your character the eye level falls at, and draw one horizontal line across the canvas. For a high angle it goes above the head; for a low angle, below the feet. Then place the height vanishing point below the character for a high angle, or above it for a low angle.
- Block in with boxes (10–15 minutes): turn the head, chest, and hips into boxes, and narrow their vertical lines toward the height vanishing point. The perspective tutorial on Celsys's drawing-guide site notes that practicing boxes also gives you a block-in for figures in perspective.
- Place the features (15–20 minutes): lower the face's cross guide for a high angle, or raise the eye line above center for a low angle, and wrap the eyes along an arc as if they were stuck onto the ball of the head. Draw the eyes first and add the nose afterward; the nose is then easier to place on an angled face.
- Draw the hidden parts, then finish (20–30 minutes): lightly sketch the far eye and the hidden lines of the body to check the balance, add the underside of the jaw for a low angle or the top of the head and hair whorl for a high angle, then clean up your lines.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a drawing I made from a high or low angle as input for 3D?
Drawings at an angle close to the front work best as input for 3D. A strongly angled drawing, like a low angle, makes it harder to read how the parts relate to each other, which works against the shape inference. Why front-facing input matters, and how to use a 3D model of your own character as a reference, is covered in How to Use a 3D Model as an Illustration Reference. We recommend making the 3D model from a front-leaning drawing and checking the high and low angles by tilting it in the viewer.
At what angle does a shot count as "high angle" or "low angle"?
There's no hard line. MediBang's tutorial counts even a view from slightly above the character as an overhead angle. Even a small angle looks unnatural if you draw the face exactly as you would straight-on, without moving the cross guide or eye line, so adjust the cross guide even when the angle is slight.
Do I pay tokens every time I try a different high or low angle?
No. Tokens are only used to generate the figurine-style image (1–3 tokens depending on quality) and the 3D model; once the model exists, tilting it, rotating it and zooming in and out are free as often as you like. Your first 3D model per account is free, and building another one from a drawing in a different pose costs 5 tokens (extra tokens cost $5.99 for 5). The 5 free tokens you get when you sign up (valid for 3 months from registration, granted on first registration only) cover everything up to your first model. The route from a front-facing drawing to a 3D model is explained in How to Turn an Illustration into 3D.
Summary
High and low angles come down to where you put the eye level on your character. Set the eye level and the height vanishing point first, draw near parts bigger and far parts smaller, and move the face's cross guide and eye line to match the angle, and angled drawings will hold their shape. Proportions for a face seen exactly from the side are in How to Draw a Side Profile, and the view from behind is in How to Draw a Character from Behind.
Sources
- CLIP STUDIO TIPS (ClipStudioOfficial, Celsys): "Basics of perspective drawing and perspective rulers -Basic perspective rulers 1-": what eye level means, looking up and down, and the height vanishing point
- CLIP STUDIO drawing guide (Celsys): "Perspective Basics: Drawing with a Sense of Depth" (in Japanese): what high and low angles mean, three-point perspective, the warning about vanishing points, practicing boxes as a block-in
- CLIP STUDIO drawing guide (Celsys, provided by Ichiup): "Four Tips for Drawing Angled Faces, Including Low and High Angles" (in Japanese): wrapping the eyes around the head, drawing the eyes first, hidden parts, the underside of the jaw
- MediBang Paint: "How to draw various face directions [Aori]": eyes, chin, nose, and ears in a low-angle face
- MediBang Paint: "How to draw faces from different perspectives [overhead perspective]": cross guide, top of the head, eyes, nose, neck, and ears in an overhead face
