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Drawing Greedo

Ever wanted to draw Star Wars characters and vehicles just like the professional comic book artists? In this step-by-step series, Star Wars artists and illustrators show you how to draw some of the most beloved characters in the saga.

Among an endless variety of bounty hunters plotting and scheming throughout the galaxy, Greedo is one of the most interesting to draw. With his large, bulbous eyes, pointy ears and scaly skin, his appearance is a combination of alien and reptile.

Star Wars illustrator Cynthia Cummens explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw a side view of Greedo’s face. For this lesson, try using a soft lead pencil, such as a 2B. This exercise uses pencil, ink and colored pencil, so it’s a bit of an exploration with mixed media. Have fun with it and if you’re nervous about color, just stick with pencil and marker!

Steps 1-7 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One: Begin by drawing a simple egg shape for Greedo’s head. It will be slightly more rounded on the left side than on the right. Draw a horizontal line through the middle; this will be placement for his eyes. Draw a curved line close to the right side of face, extending past the egg shape. This will become his snout.		Step Two: Greedo has very round, large eyes so place them on the horizontal line you drew (remember, you will erase this line later!). Draw a full circle for the left eye, and a half circle for the right, placing it up against the curved line you drew in Step One.		Step Three: Greedo happens to have very large, pointy ears. Draw the basic shape as seen here, with the horizontal line intersecting it about midway. If you’re having trouble deciding how big to make his ear, think of it as being almost as long as his snout!

Step Four: Here you’re going to draw those funny little ears on top of his head. The shape very much resembles that of kidney beans. Watch the direction. As with his ear, they’re slanted, not straight up and down. When drawing his mouth, think of a soft, curvy ‘W’ shape. Draw his lower lip, extending the into the egg shape as it becomes his jaw.		Step Five: Give Greedo a neck and shoulders so that it’s not just a head floating in space!		Step Six: Begin erasing any stray lines that you are confident you don’t want. For example, the horizontal line you drew in Step One, or any other marks that you don’t want in the final drawing (such as the ones indicated with the red arrows).

Step Seven: This is the fun part! With the basic outline of Greedo now in place, it’s time to add some detail. Be creative — he’s kind of scaly and warty! He also has some unusual spines on the top of his head, which vary slightly in size. His eyes are very smooth and reflective. The skin on his nose is a bit smoother, but not nearly as smooth as his eyes. Try drawing tiny little half circles or “C” shapes for his bumpy skin. Add some detail to his ears and around his eyes, as shown.

Step Eight: Grab a black marker — you’re going to do some inking! Trace along your pencil lines — be confident! Use the marker to fill in shadow areas (under his jaw, alongside his ear, for example). Those highlight on his eyes are very important to giving him a lifelike quality. You might want to pencil those in before you fill in his eyes with your marker.

Step Nine: Time for color! When using colored pencil, think about building two or three layers of color, using light pressure as you go, rather than pressing very hard to cover the surface. Allow some of the white paper to show through in area’s to give the effect of highlights. Colored pencils are fun but tricky. It’s best to keep an electric pencil sharpener nearby since you’ll need to sharpen your pencils often. And keep in mind that colored pencil can be tricky to erase, which is another reason to press lightly. Be bold and daring with your color, and don’t be afraid to experiment with watercolor or even acrylic paint! The sky’s the limit when it comes to making art, especially in the Star Wars galaxy!