How Do You Start Drawing Comic Characters?

If you’re reading this, you probably like comics. Even if you don't read them that often, you've obviously been inspired by them enough to think about drawing comic characters and clicked on this article.

Whether you’ve been doodling scenes from one of your favorite books or picked up a pen and paper to write down some plotline ideas, you have taken a creative leap that has ultimately led you to this article. No matter the path you took to get here, you’re clearly wondering how to start drawing comic-book characters that pop off the page.

Hopefully, this guide can help you figure this out, and the idea of creating your own comic can ultimately become less daunting. I’ll try to streamline the process of drawing different aspects of comic characters and make the whole idea a lot more attainable. Shall we get started?

3 Simple Steps to Start With

This is not exactly a shocking revelation, but I’ll say it nonetheless — you’re not going to get far trying to draw comic characters without an idea of where to start. So, let’s take it one step at a time.

1. Create The Mannequin

When it comes to drawing a well-proportioned comic book hero, you’ll need one thing above all else — a solid foundation to build upon. This is where our superhero, The Mannequin, swoops in like Batman on an unsuspecting thug in a dark alley.

Think of The Mannequin as a character prototype that you can use as a base to turn your comic character into anything you like. They look the part but don’t have any defining characteristics yet. In other words, they’re a doll but a bit of a dummy. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Again, I don’t mean to throw shade, but The Mannequin is a simple, glorified stick figure — a test version of your character. A prototype that you can use as a base to figure out your hero’s poses, anatomy, and scale. This lets you place the character into any scene without throwing the perspective off.

Try not to go overboard with detail here. You don’t need to put in any distinguishing features, detail, or lighting.

You might be thinking, “OK, no need to be very detailed at this step, so all I have to worry about is drawing a neat and tidy model.” Nope. It doesn’t have to be neat at all. You just need a rough on-the-fly sketch.

This makes The Mannequin the perfect jumping-off point for drawing your would-be character and getting them into a scene. There’s no pressure to produce greatness. That part comes later.

2. Break the Drawing Up into Chunks

Once you’ve got the scale, placement, and pose of The Mannequin down pat, you can start to “dress them up” with all the necessary detail. This includes anatomical elements like muscles, but also costumes, accessories, and other decorations.

The idea is to piece your character’s core together first. This saves you from fleshing out minute details for hours only to find that you need to go back to square one. In fact, you can apply this “first things first” approach to all of your comic drawings (and indeed any project). You need to break things up into small chunks and make them manageable.

I’ve already talked about how starting with the foundations and working your way up is the best way to approach drawing a character. The Mannequin allows us to do this because it is relatively simple and easy to draw. This significantly reduces the chances of your creative mind drawing a blank and becoming paralyzed with the amount of work needed.

Rather than blowing through all of your creative energy at once by focusing on intricate details, you’ll be able to get the foundational structure of your character out of the way first, giving you a massive leg up.

I know, I know. Creating a sturdy framework to build upon is not exactly what you have in mind when you dream of being a great comic artist. However, these simple and somewhat dull parts make the journey more satisfying down the line.

The simple truth is that poorly structured work will show its rotten core, no matter how much decoration you use to pretty it up. An out-of-proportion character remains out of proportion no matter how impressive their cape is, which brings us to our next point.

3. Fix Any Mistakes Early

The best feature of the step-by-step approach and The Mannequin’s true superpower is that they allow you to fix any mistakes quickly and easily. And take it from someone who has been drawing comic characters for a while — mistakes will happen, and they will happen often.

Thankfully, a simple structure means that it takes no time to rescale and reposition any figures on the page, characters included.

Once you become comfortable with drawing The Mannequin, you’ll be able to pop one out in less than a minute. Didn’t quite hit the mark on the proportions or the pose of the character on the first try? No big deal, just give it another go.

Now imagine a different scenario. You’ve covered your character in intricate details from the get-go. The lighting is just right to make their muscles pop as they punch the bad guy right in the face. You’re really pleased with how everything’s turned out. You’re a star.

Then, you take a step back, and it’s a horror show. You’ve placed the character in a completely unnatural pose; their feet are too small, and their head slightly too large. That is hours of work just gone. You have to start all over again.

Taking things one step at a time and fixing mistakes early enables you to avoid these situations altogether.

Wrapping Up

If you’re looking for the secret behind high-quality character illustration, the step-by-step guide outlined above should be helpful. Starring The Mannequin, this approach lets you quickly determine your character’s placement, pose, and proportions, regardless of their relative complexity and the scene in question.

Mistakes made to the core of your drawing are easier to fix before you fill in all the detail, which makes The Mannequin a dependable sidekick in your comic-drawing adventure. Best of all, it enables you to understand the limitations and fix any problems you might have with fundamentals, making you a better artist.

____________

Author Bio: With experience in News Media company for many years with Journalistic Touch and knowledge of how to create and recreate information into News. Now serving ‘The Next Hint’ and 'Netflix Trends' to serve people with right and original Content.

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter