The mechanical behavior of zinc has been studied and linked to the formability of sheets. An anisotropic elastic-viscoplastic behavior law has been developed to take into account the anisotropy of the material. Anisotropy is induced by crystallographic and morphological textures, and possibly by the spatial distribution of intermetallics. The temperature dependence is introduced through a Zener Hollomon type term. The resulting anisotropic formability of sheets implies a new approach by adapting the forming limit diagram with a stress based criterion. This approach is confronted and validated by considering the industrial forming of a head clip. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.