Drawing Superheroes 4: Final Details

Now is where you can add shading, define exact lines, tidy up any construction lines and put in any other details that you need to. This should be very close to your finished pencil sketch. You'll have to excuse the very boring pose that we have our web-slinger in, but it was necessary to show the anatomical basics! (sorry Spidey!!!)

Notice how many of the lines are heavier now and there is extra shading to show various parts of the body. Also notice how not all of the muscules are drawn. I know it's a lot of fun drawing muscles on superheroes but sometimes you have to resist the temptation!

Drawing Superheroes 3: Costume details

This is the first part of the detail that has to go into your character. As you know every superhero has a specific costume which we know them by. Here is where you fill in those details -the pattern, boots, gloves, etc.

Okay so you see now that we are recognizing our neighbourhood friend.

Drawing Superheroes 2: Lines

Lines:
The next thiing you do, when you are happy with your superhero's pose or stance, is to fill in the basic lines.

These are your anatomical lines that define the superhero's outline and musculature (big word). Even though the construction lines are close to what you want they are definitely not the exact lines of the human body. Notice by comparing the two sketches that many construction lines have slightly changed.

Drawing Superheroes 1: First Things First

We're going to start with the human figure first. I'll go over the different stages just to give you an idea of how I do it. There are various approaches so don't worry if you're used to doing it another way.

Construction
I've used the basic-shape construction in the sketch below. You use boxes, cylinders, spheres -all 3-dimensional shapes to construct your body. Think of it like the little art manikins you can get. Now, when drawing human anatomy there are a few basic rules of proportion. I'll mention one or two here: the elbow is at the same height of the navel; the chest is in line with the bottom of the shoulders; the wrist is in line with bottom of the groin. And each body section is measured against the length of the "head".

Usually I don't do construction lines this dark or this extensively, but I have here so you can see the lines and how they go.