How to Make an Anime

Co-authored by Lucy V. Hay

Last Updated: March 16, 2023 Approved

Making an anime is no simple task. It’s an entire process of building and illustrating a world, finding motivations, weaving stories – this is a major undertaking! However, it’s also a great exercise in creativity. If you’re passionate about anime, you’ll probably really enjoy making your own.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Outlining a World

1
Figure out where you want your story to be set. Is it going to be on an alien planet? Is it going to be in a place that is relatively similar to places on earth? You don’t need to figure out everything about the entire world, but you do need to figure out where you want your story to occur.
- For example, maybe you want the major action of your story to occur in a world where most people live in caves because outside of caves there are a ton of dangerous slime pits that you could fall into.
2
Find interesting things about your world. Like slime pits! Anime often have parts of their world that are slightly magical or strange in some way. Maybe pianos talk and give people lots of advice. Maybe there are flying beasts that people use to get from place to place. It doesn’t have to be something incredibly fantastical or something out of a science fiction novel – just pick something that works with your world and your story.
- For example, the magic of the world could be a simple folk tale that may or may not be true. Maybe in the slime pit world, there is a story that if you fall into a slime pit and survive you’ll be granted special powers but no one knows if this is true or not.
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3
Decide the technological advancement of this world. Are the residents of your world living in apartment complexes or in wooden huts? Are they hunting for their food, or can they go out to dinner at restaurants? Obviously, there are a ton of other possibilities in between and beyond these examples. The technological status of your world will inform a lot of the ways that your characters interact with the problems that face them.
- For example if someone falls into a slime pit in a technologically advanced world, maybe it’s no big deal because everyone wears anti-slime suits.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Creating Characters

1
Decide on what they look like and their personalities. You should try to decide what they look like at the same time that you decide on their personalities. Try drawing the characters and then jotting down beside them what their personality traits would be. Maybe you have one character that is really intelligent and perceptive but prone to losing their temper. Maybe you have another character that is very loyal but very unkind to strangers. Sketch drafts of your characters.
- The way the characters look is important because it can play into their personality. For example, maybe the very muscular character is the hero. Conversely, maybe the very muscular character is a total coward. Either way, his body informs his personality in an interesting way.
2
Decide on a protagonist. You don’t need to have just one main character, but it’s nice to give the reader somebody to root for. Most anime have a protagonist. ^{[1]
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3
Consider giving them special abilities. Anime often feature characters with special abilities accomplishing extraordinary things. It might be a good idea to give your main character some kind of power that will help him or her deal with whatever the problem in your anime is going to be. Your character doesn’t have to be able to fly or have super strength – find something small and interesting that helps the character deal with unique challenges.
- For example, maybe your character is incredibly brave! That’s a special ability, but it isn’t magic.
4
Create relationships between the characters. Family members, love interests, and friends of your protagonist should all play a major role in your story. These are the strongest connections that people have with others and they help motivate, inspire, and create conflict. All of those things are positive attributes in a fun story.
5
Figure out each character's motivation. The other characters can play into your characters' motivation, but find a unique thing that drives them. It can be getting educated or getting the girl, it just has to be something that the protagonist is very passionate about.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Beginning to Animate Your Anime

1
Start by drawing your world in an animation program. You can find many free web animation programs online that allow you to easily create a world and character. You’ve already decided what you want the world the look like, so now you just need to bring it to life. Take your time and don’t worry if it changes from your original plan.
2
Draw your characters. Make your characters in the same animation program. Refer to the drawings and sketches that you have already done in order to inform your final product.
3
Draw your characters interacting with the world. Now, all you have to do is combine the characters and the world. This will immediately start to give you ideas for stories and potential plot lines to follow. Maybe your characters want to explore those massive cliffs out in the distance that they have never been to before. Maybe the sun is getting dimmer and dimmer each day and they have to figure out what is going on. The environment can be a huge impetus in any story, and anime is no different.
- For example, maybe your world has giant slime pits all over the place. Maybe your main character's little brother falls into one of these slime pits and the other characters have to figure out a way to save him. Now, you have the beginning of a plot!

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Incorporating Plot and Dialogue

1
Incorporate dialogue that matches the motivation and personalities of the characters. Once you have characters and a world, you can start turning the characters interacting with the world into a story. This involves creating dialogue. Use dialogue that matches the situation and the character. Try to make the dialogue as realistic as possible. Think about the way you talk and create conversations like that. Conversations are rarely 100 % directed. They sway and change the subject constantly. Figure out a way to add authenticity, and humor to your dialogue.
2
Make sure that you have a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning, middle, and end don’t have to be incredibly distinctive, but keeping this organization in mind will help you plan out your plot. Take a look at other classic books and start to figure out what the beginning, middle and end of those stories are.
- For example, maybe the beginning of your anime has the protagonist’s little brother falling in a slime pit. The middle could be when your protagonist decides to travel alone into the slime pit wearing an anti-slime suit to try to find his little brother. The end would be the thrilling conclusion where the slime demons living in the slime pit allow only one of the brothers to leave, and your protagonist stays behind so that his little brother can go home. ^{[2]
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- If you want your anime to stand out in the crowd, it has to have a great concept, structure, and character. Since competition is so hard in this media, it's not enough to have a great concept without a good structure or captivating characters.
3
Include a character arc. Character arcs don’t need to be really simplistic and dull. Not every story has to start with a sad character and end with a happy character. Rather, a character arc should allow the main character to undergo some sort of minor transformation or come to a realization. Even if that realization is that nothing changed from when the story started, that still adds a dimension to the story. What you don’t want is your character just running around doing assorted activities without any chain of logic.
- For example, maybe your protagonist is selfish at the beginning of the story but after helping save his brother he starts to realize that he really does care about other people but that he was shutting himself off to the world. Now you can address why he was shutting himself off to the world in the next episode.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Finishing Your Anime

1
Think of a good title. The title is what catches people's attention. Make sure the title has something to do with the plot.
2
Decide if you want your anime to be one story or a series. This may determine how your story ends, or if it ends at all. If you want your stories to be a series, then you have to figure out a way to keep people interested. If everyone is satisfied with the way the first story ended, then there is no reason for them to watch your next episode. Create cliffhangers.
3
Add an exciting climax and conclusion. This is a big part of creating a cliffhanger. If you’re making multiple episodes, you want to balance the line between concluding the previous episode and setting the next episode up. They shouldn’t feel like they watched the first episode for nothing, but the viewer should also be excited to see what happens next. Find this balance.
4
Tie the knots in your story. If there was a love interest at the beginning of the story, there should be some acknowledgment of that at the end of the story. Not everything needs to tie up perfectly, but you want your anime to look well planned and professional. If you have a bunch of untied storylines, it feels messy.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Spreading Your Anime to Others

1
Share with family and friends. This is the easiest way to make fans. Your family and friends are bound to be supportive and they will probably share your work with others that they know. This can help you build a small base.
2
Create a blog or website. Publishing your work on the Internet is a great way to start to build an audience. You can’t expect to get paid for the stuff you create immediately, but if it becomes popular then you might be able to! Try to market your blog through social media by creating a Twitter and Facebook page for your anime.
3
Contact a publisher. Try to find someone who is excited enough about your story and anime to consider publishing it. You can find a publisher near you online. Look for someone who specializes in anime and who has a history of getting other young artists started. Who knows, they might love your work.
4
Send out your anime to competitions. If you don’t want to send the whole story you can just send out chapters of your anime to shorter competitions. There are plenty of film and writing-related competitions that accept anime, as well as anime specific competitions that you can find online.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you write a good anime?

Lucy V. Hay
Professional Writer
Lucy V. Hay is a Professional Writer based in London, England. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lucy is an author, script editor, and award-winning blogger who helps other writers through writing workshops, courses, and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers, and Bang2Write has appeared in the Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life and is a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK. She received a B.A. in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University.

Lucy V. Hay

Professional Writer

Expert Answer

Watch movies, anime and TV shows to analyze them. Don't just watch them and decide whether you like them or not. Really think about the craft of writing and how that analysis would actually apply to an anime or a TV show that's produced. Think about things like the concept, the structure and plotting of that story, but don't stop there. You also need to analyze the characters as well — what's their role function and their motivation? You will only develop these techniques by practicing and studying.
Question

How do I write a script?

Lucy V. Hay
Professional Writer
Lucy V. Hay is a Professional Writer based in London, England. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lucy is an author, script editor, and award-winning blogger who helps other writers through writing workshops, courses, and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers, and Bang2Write has appeared in the Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life and is a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK. She received a B.A. in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University.

Lucy V. Hay

Professional Writer

Expert Answer

To learn this craft, you will need to read a lot of screenplays. In the age of the internet, it's easier than ever to find screenplays through simple searches. Also, join Facebook groups to swap work with other screenwriters and do peer review so you all get better together.
Question

I'm too shy to ask for help, I'm afraid they will think it's stupid and not want to be a part of it. How do I get more confidence?

Community Answer

Just ask for help. That's the only way you'll get better. If someone makes fun of you, they're not a good friend. Most likely anyone you ask will just say yes or tell you they're not interested. Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone if you really want something. Just give it a try, I bet you'll be glad you did.