A Guide to Anime Emoticons

And why they're getting popular

By Sohan D'souza

At the dawn of the internet era, BBS-users discovered that the lack of face-to-face communication resulted in conflict when, for example, parodies or humorous comments were taken seriously. Even telephone users could use voice tone to indicate anger, sarcasm or humor.

As such, they needed to find a way to express the tone of the messages they were posting. No need to go into how exactly it happened, but the first emoticons were a godsend, and prevented many an awkward, confusing or flammable situation. Over the years, with the evolution of the BBS into the Internet, and then the explosion of online websites, forums and chat interfaces, the proto-emoticon regularly evolved into a myriad sets, mostly unique to their hosts, and even developed into codes that were translated by the communication engine into images and sometimes even animations.

As the environment molds evolving lifeforms to its demands, each online community tends to mold the emoticon concept to its own needs and characteristics. The online community of anime fandom is no exception. The creativity and experimentation of fellow anime fans has given rise to the following set of anime emoticons that have withstood the test of time.

Emoticon Meaning Illustration

Root emoticons

^_^ or ^__^ Eyelids raised: smiling, happy

U_U or u_uEyelids lowered: solemn, sad, sometimes exasperated

X_X or x_x Cross eyes: dead, tired, knocked out

*_* Starry eyes: fascination, admiration, euphoria

=_= or -_- Narrowed eyes: bliss, happy mood

O_O or o_o Wide round eyes: concern, shock, confusion

._. Dot eyes: blank expression, or puzzled

@_@ Spiral eyes: dizzy or confused

T_T or ;_; Tear streams or drops: crying

>_< Contorted eyes: anger, frustration

O_o or o_O One widened eye: sudden confusion

^_- or ^_~ Winking eye: humor, joke

$_$ Dollar eyes: money on the mind

9_9 or 6_6 Directed eyes: looking up or down

>_> or <_< Directed eyes: looking left or right

z_z or #_# Sleepy eyes: snoozing away

h_h "h" eyes: thinking perverted hentai thoughts

^o^ or ^O^ Laughing or humorously calling out someone

^.^ or ^.^ Oooh, amazement

=3 Neko mouth: Catty mischief or feline attribute

Diacritics/Accents

; as in ^_^; Adds a sweat drop to express awkwardness

# as in >_<#Adds a popping vein to express irritation or added frustration

* as in *^_^*Adds blushing cheeks to express embarrassment or humility

zZ as in -_-zZ Indicates that one is sleeping, or sleepiness

= as in =^_^= or =(|)_(|)=

Adds whiskers to express felinity and catty mischief

^ as in ^o_o^ Adds pointy animal ears, usually represents a dog

x as in ^_^xAdds a scar like Kenshin (other scars also applicable)

So why are anime emoticons growing in popularity? Well, for one thing, nearly all of them are aligned such that you don't have to read them sideways like traditional emoticons. There is a large variety of expressions from which to choose, and not all of them require acquaintance with anime emotional conventions (no, not that kind of convention ^_^). For the most part, anime emoticons let the eyes do the talking, which comes across as natural. And of course, within the anime fan community, their use is a means of acknowledging fellowship and belonging.

I hope this little illustrated guide encourages more of us to use these emoticons among ourselves, and among outsiders when appropriate.

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How to Draw Chibi Elfen Lied

Location: Drawing Tutorials » Anime Manga » Chibis » How to Draw Chibi Elfen Lied

How to Draw Chibi Elfen Lied

STEP 1.

Begin drawing a circle for her head, and then add the facial guidelines. You will then draw a smaller circle for her torso and from there draw in the lining for all of her limbs and body.

 

STEP 2.

As you can see instead of drawing out her face first, you will start drawing out the shape of her face, and then draw in her long straight hair. As you can see the bottom is jagged which conveys a straight hairstyle. 

STEP 3.

Draw in her cat like ears, because after all she is considered to be a neko style manga character. When that is done draw out the thick, bold lining for her eyes and make sure the lining for the eyes lightens up

dramatically for the bottom lids. Next draw a mouth, and then draw out the entire outline of her small chibi body. You will end this step by drawing a feather curl of hair that is flowing inward toward her face.

 

STEP 4.

Sketch out her bangs which also cover the sides of her face, and then draw in the actual eye shapes. Add some blushing marks on her cheeks just under her eyes as shown here, and then draw the detailing lines inside of her ears. Lastly for this step, you will draw more hair, and then give her some fingers, toes, and some body definition. 

STEP 5.

Now it's time to draw out the bandages around her body like so, and be sure you draw then where you see them placed here in the tutorial. Once you have conquered that feat, you can begin erasing the shapes and

lines you drew in step one. 

STEP 6.

When you are all done you should end up with a character that looks just like Lucy and like the chibi you see here. I hope you had fun learning how to draw chibi Elfen Lied. Color her in to give Lucy that special pop.

How to Draw an Anime Cartoon Kitty

Location: Drawing Tutorials » Anime Manga » Animals » How to Draw an Anime Cartoon Kitty

How to Draw an Anime Cartoon Kitty

STEP 1.

Okay, like I said this is going to be a very simple lesson to learn. The first thing you will do is draw a big rock like shape for the kitty's head and then add the facial guidelines. You will then draw out a smaller circle

shape for the body of this cartoon kitten. 

STEP 2.

Now using the guidelines you drew for the kittens face, you will draw two circles for the big eyes that you would commonly see on an anime cartoon kitten. Once that is complete you can then draw out the little kitten nose and then the mouth line. Next draw out the shape of the body as well as the front and back legs and paws. 

STEP 3.

Well you are already on step four and all you will have to do here is draw out the two ear shapes and then ruffle up the chest fur. Continue to draw out the shape of the legs and head as well as adding the shape of

the little kitten like tail. 

STEP 4.

This is your last drawing step and all you have to do is add the daze circles in the kitten's eyes and then give him some whisker lines. You will then add some more fur fuzz on the top of her/his head as well as inside of the right ear. Draw lines for toe separation and then start erasing the guidelines and shapes that you drew in step one. 

STEP 5.

Once you are done your cartoon kitten should come out looking like this. All you have to do now is color him/her in any color you like. You have now completed this tutorial on how to draw an anime cartoon kitty

step by step. 

megsy2010

 

1 month ago ~ Nov 30, 2010, 8:45:23 AM

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ccccccccccccccccuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutttttttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeee

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warriorcat

 

1 month ago ~ Nov 29, 2010, 4:52:50 PM

CUTE!

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awesome82706

 

1 month ago ~ Nov 26, 2010, 5:33:49 PM

i love it

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