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Drawing a Tauntaun

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.

Creator of the comic Mouse Guard, artist David Petersen explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw a tauntaun.

For his drawing, David Petersen used:

• a 0.5 mechanical pencil with HB lead
• a variety of erasers (white, kneaded, and click)
• a SAKURA Pigma Sensei ink pen
• Strathmore Bristol

“However, as an artist, you should always find the materials you enjoy and feel most comfortable with,” Petersen says. “You can do just as nice of a drawing with a traditional wooden pencil or a ballpoint pen as you can with expensive art supplies.”

Steps 1-4 are drawn lightly with pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
Start with the tauntaun’s spine line. I started with this rough “S” shape so that I know my drawing is going to fit on my paper.

Step Two:
By using rough and simple shapes like these ovals and circles, I can start filling out the body, head and snout of the tauntaun.

Step Three:
Make a line across where the shoulders will be and add little circles for where the shoulder joint will go. Another oval shape gets added for the start tauntaun’s big leg.

Step Four:
Tauntauns have little T-Rex like arms, so starting at the shoulder joint, add lines to show where the arms and hands go. Add the bottom of the leg facing you. Don’t worry about the back leg yet, we will get to that later. Tauntaun legs have a knee joint that bends backward from what we humans have.

Step Five:
Now it’s time to start filling out the body shape. Add the lines for the tauntaun’s outer neck, belly, leg and tail. Don’t forget the little spade shape on the end of the tail.

Step Six:
The same way we filled out the body in Step 5, we do the same for the arms in Step 6. Three little ball shapes at the bottom of the foot will form the toes. On the head, add two little ovals for the ears, draw in the line for the mouth, and add the horns. The horns are a little tricky, but they are basically shaped like a crescent moon that lost its tip.

Step Seven:
Using circle shapes, make guides for where the nostrils will go (tauntauns have two pair) and where the brow ridges are. There are a lot of steps here about placing where things go. If you jumped right in to drawing features, you might find that one eye is higher than the other is or they are spread too far apart. That is why these simple shapes help you see if the placement is right. If you don’t think you have it right, just give a quick rub of the eraser and try again!

Step Eight:
Add the first set of nostrils and make two almond-shaped circles where the eyes will go. Tauntauns have some little horn bumps that protrude from their skin. I added little nubby shapes where I want mine to go on the forehead and cheek.

Step Nine:
The second set of nostrils gets added under the first set. Start working on details like the ridges on the horns, the fold around the nose and cheeks and the mouth. Add furry lines on the body (something that I’ll do a lot more of when it’s time to ink the drawing.)

Step Ten:
This step is just more of going over the lines you like to bring out the forms of the nose, eyes, hands (three fingers each) and add fur.

Step Eleven:
This is the last pencil step. We finally get that back leg! Because we wouldn’t see much of it, I waited until I had the shape of the front leg all drawn. Work on the eyes by adding lids and pupils. The bottom of a tauntaun’s take is kind of scaly, like the belly of a dragon, and the spade shape at the end of the tail had some similar ridges on it.

Step Twelve:
Using my ink pen, I go over the lines I like to finish the drawing. A lot of the details of my finished artwork is all done in the inking step. I focus on textures: lines that taper together or are all in the same direction for fur. Tauntauns are rather furry, they have to have it to live on ice cold Hoth!

Dots can be added to make snow textures on the ground. Smooth circles can look like falling snow. I find that when I ink it’s fun to make noises like the thing you are drawing. It helps get you to think more about what that think is like, how it moves or would feel like to touch, perhaps even how it would smell — bad on the outside, worse on the inside!

Step Thirteen:
Here is the final inked piece. Normally, I would erase the pencil lines using my softer kneaded eraser, but I left them in to show you that all those silly lines and shapes really went into making this final tauntaun drawing.

Step Fourteen:
You can take this farther and color the drawing with color pencils or markers or watercolors. If you are worried about messing up and ruining your drawing, it’s possible to photocopy the drawing and work on the copy.

Hope you enjoyed our trip to the Hoth zoo. Keep practicing drawing!

This Article was Originally posted 2023-12-08 15:30:42.

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Drawing Bettybot

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.

The BD-3000 luxury droid, nicknamed Bettybot, is primarily programmed for business tasks and can translate over 1.5 million forms of communication. The standard BD-3000 can also handle over 25 functions including repulsorlift pilot, cook, tailor and nanny.

Star Wars illustrator Jessica Hickman explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw the BD-3000 luxury droid from Revenge of the Sith.

Steps 1-4 are drawn lightly with pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
First get the basic shape of Bettybot (BD-3000) down. Sketch the circle for the head, an hour glass shape figure for her torso, circles where her shoulder joints will be, and rough lines where her arms will be.

Step Two:
Draw a little more detail for her face and joints. Make sure to keep the lines rough and loose, until you are sure how you want her to look. There are also some pencil lines here for her hair.

Step Three:
Now add more detail! Erase the parts you don’t want, and keep what you like. Give her joints more detail, and add her eyes, nose and mouth. Don’t forget her hand!

Step Four:
Now for coloring and inking! She is made of metal, so you might want to look at metal appliances or toys in your own home and study the light and dark shapes that make it look shiny. Put down some light gray colors for her face and arms. Use a darker color on top to give her metal work some depth. Also use those darker colors for her torso and hair. Then lightly color over the darker marks in her torso with red. The colors will blend nicely, and if you want a darker red in certain spots, go over them again. Bettybot also has shiny blue eyes too.

Use a black pen to go around her body and face. It can be hard to get a nice, smooth line. Practice makes perfect. Then add some white to different parts of her body to really make her metal shine! Now you’re done! Don’t forget to sign your drawing before you show it to family and friends.

This Article was Originally posted 2023-12-21 15:30:19.

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Drawing Hammerhead

Star Wars illustrator Amy Pronovost explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw Hammerhead.

Steps 1-6 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
In the middle of your paper draw a long, vertical peanut shape. The peanut is slightly thicker at the bottom than at the top. Very close to the top of the peanut, draw an oval.

Step Two:
Not only is Hammerhead’s head tall and skinny, but it’s also very long! Lightly draw a circle which overlaps the peanut slightly. The top of the circle should be half way up the peanut. Give Hammerhead a little body by drawing an upside-down U that overlaps the circle and the peanut.

Step Three:
Lightly start to add some details to Hammerhead. Draw some circles for eyes. Following the shape of the peanut and then curving off to the right, draw the mouth. Also draw the bottom of his head by drawing a line slightly within the circle. Draw a table for Hammerhead to sit at by drawing a skinny oval.

Step Four:
Give Hammerhead an arm and a hand, and add a sleeve. The little circle on the table will become his other hand. Give his eyes a little glint!

Step Five:
Add some detail to the hands. Give hammerhead three sausage-like fingers on each hand and draw a knobby wrist. To cap it off, give Hammerhead a tasty glass of Juri juice to hold.

Step Six
Lightly draw a line down the middle of Hammerhead’s face, following the contour of the peanut shape. Add five horizontal lines to give his face a bumpy texture. Also draw some lines in his mouth. As Hammerhead has a snazzy Tatooine shawl, start adding some details to the tie.

Step Seven
Polish off your Hammerhead with some more details to his clothing, and add a little shading. Go over only your most important lines with a darker pencil or a marker.

Step Eight
If you want you can add some color to Hammerhead with markers, pencil, crayons, paint or even on the computer! Now your hammerhead is ready to enjoy the mellow tunes of the Cantina band.

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Drawing Jabba the Hutt

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.

As one of the most notorious crime lords of the Outer Rim Territories, Jabba the Hutt was one of the last unsightly characters smuggler Han Solo wanted to cross paths with in A New Hope, and Princess Leia wasn’t too happy to hang out with his crew in Return of the Jedi either. But Jabba’s slug-like legless body makes him a fun character to draw. Star Wars illustrator Katie Cook explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw the slimy crime boss Jabba the Hutt.

Steps 1-4 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One: Start by drawing an eggplant shape to provide a frame for Jabba’s large body. Add a slug-like tail coming off his side. Jabba doesn’t have too much of a form, so make him pudgy and round.

Step Two: Lightly begin to rough in where his facial and body features will be. Draw two ovals for his eyes, two slits for his nose, a wide mouth, little T-rex dinosaur-like arms, and a little curl to his tail. Draw roll after roll of gooey, green rolls of flesh.

Step Three: Now that you have Jabba’s basic form and his features sketched, add more folds to his skin and details to his eyes and face. Refine the lines around the body as you go, erasing some of the earlier lighter lines.

Step Four: Give Jabba some personality by adding slime dripping from his ever-so-smug lips, wrinkles and pock-marks on his skin, and even more rolls of fat. Draw a few of his sidekicks like the jester Salacious Crumb peeking out from behind his mass or the frog-dog Bubo looking in on the scene. Now that you have a finished pencil drawing, it’s ready for inking!

Step Five: For inking, use any pen or marker that you’re comfortable with. I use Pigma Micron Pens, but any good black pen or marker will work great! When you’re done make sure your ink is dry and then erase all the pencil lines so you’ll be left with nice, clean black lines.

Step Six It’s time for color, color, color! Use markers, crayons and colored pencils! Look at Star Wars books to see the different ways to color Jabba and his friends, or give him your own wacky colors. Have fun!

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Drawing Kit Fisto

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.

Star Wars illustrator Noah Albrecht explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw Jedi Master Kit Fisto from The Clone Wars animated TV series.

Steps 1-3 are drawn lightly with pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
Lightly sketch in pencil Kit’s skeleton in the pose that you want him to have. In this particular one, Master Fisto is harnessing the dual lightsabers, crouched down and ready for action! The reference lines that go down the middle of his chest and head show where Kit is facing, and help give your drawing more depth as you fill in shapes as you progress through the next steps. For the lightsabers, draw a very light line to remind you where to put the energy blades. Make sure to do the same for Kit’s tentacles, so you know where to draw them in later on.

Step Two:
Use your pencil to loosely fill in the areas to define the shape of Kit’s figure. This is where you use those reference lines in his head, tentacles, chest, etc. in order to fill out the Master Jedi in more detail.

Step Three:
Now on to inking. Before you start, I recommend using a pen that is both “archival” (meaning it doesn’t fade over time) and “waterproof” (in case you want to use something like watercolors to color your masterpiece). For this particular drawing, I used a Copic brush pen which lets me draw both thick and thin lines with the same pen.

Use your pen to carefully go over your pencil drawing. Ink everything except the area where the lightsaber blade will be. This is very important for the last step. Take your time, and make sure it’s as clean as you can possibly make it, or if you work loose and sketchy that’s cool too. Once you’re happy with it, wait a few minutes or so for the ink to dry (usually 5 to 10 minutes). Once it is dry, take your eraser and carefully erase all of your leftover pencil markings except for the line for the lightsaber blades.

Step Four:
On to coloring. I colored my drawing on my computer using Adobe Photoshop. However, you can pretty much use anything you want for this, like watercolors, markers, colored pencils or crayons. Remember that light pencil line that I told you to leave for the lightsabers? Color that last so the green and blue colors to make the glowing outlines of the blades, leaving white space in the middle — simulating the awesome energy core of the lightsabers! Once you’re finished with the blades, erase the pencil line. You’re finished.

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Drawing Mace Windu

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.

Star Wars illustrator Noah Albrecht explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw Jedi Master Mace Windu from The Clone Wars animated TV series.

Steps 1-4 are drawn lightly with pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
Lightly sketch (in pencil) Mace’s skeleton in the pose that you want him to have. The line that goes down the middle of his chest represents “the line of action” (kind of like a spine), which is responsible for setting the tone and personality of the character that you are drawing. In this case, it’s Mace Windu, so I drew the line of action to show off the Jedi Master’s bold stance and leadership. For the lightsaber, draw a very light line to remind you where to put his infamous blade of purple energy.

Step Two:
Use your pencil to loosely fill in the areas to define the shape of Mace’s figure.

Step Three:
In this step (still in pencil) sketch in all of the details in his face, clothing and lightsaber hilt.

Step Four:
Now on to inking. Before you start, use a pen that is both “archival” (meaning it doesn’t fade over time) and “waterproof” (in case you want to use something like watercolors to color your masterpiece). For this particular drawing, I used a Faber-Castell Pitt pen with a brush tip which lets me draw both thick and thin lines with the same pen.

Use your pen to carefully go over your pencil drawing. Ink everything except the area where the lightsaber blade will be. This is very important for the last step. Take your time, and make sure it’s as clean as you can possibly make it. Once you’re happy with it, wait a few minutes or so for the ink to dry (usually 5 to 10 minutes). Once it is dry, take your eraser and carefully erase all of your leftover pencil markings except for the line for the lightsaber blade.

Step Five:
On to coloring. I color my drawing on my computer using Adobe Photoshop. However, you can pretty much use anything you want for this, like watercolors, markers, colored pencils, or crayons.

Remember that light pencil line that I told you to leave for the lightsaber? Color that last. Use the purple color to make a glowing outline of the blade, leaving white space in the middle — simulating the awesome energy core of the lightsaber! Once you’re finished with the blade, erase the pencil line. You’re finished!

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Drawing Mara Jade

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.

Trained since childhood and honed into a weapon, Mara Jade learned self-sufficiency, piloting, marksmanship and talents in the Force while serving her dark master, Emperor Palpatine. Initially, Mara was to assassinate Luke Skywalker, but over time she fight alongside, fell in love and married Skywalker.

Star Wars illustrator Sarah Wilkinson explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw Mara Jade.

Steps 1-4 are drawn lightly with pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
First start by drawing a circle towards the top of the paper. This will be the main section of the head.

Step Two:
Next add the lower jaw. You now have a side view of the basic head shape!

Step Three:
Add the neck — which is long and slender.

Step Four:
Next draw guide lines for Mara’s facial features. Pretend these lines are pieces of string being draped over the face. They follow the shape of the head. Draw a line horizontally across the center of the shape. Then draw a line vertically down the center. Make sure the line is leaning towards the left since her head is angled to the left.

Step Five:
Next are facial features! The eyes go on the vertical line. The left eye sits centered in the left half of the head. The space in between the two eyes is the length of one eye. Halfway between the eyes and the bottom of the chin is the nose. Halfway between the nose and the bottom of the chin are the lips!

Step Six:
Now add more shape to the rest of the body. At the front of the neck, add a long and graceful line to indicate the shape of the rib cage. Next, add a smaller circle to the other side of the neck. This is the shape of the arm and shoulder area.

Step Seven:
After adding that circle, now we can draw two straight lines from the edge of the circle. This will make Mara’s strong arms. Next extend the “rib cage line” down to the rest of the chest. Add a line indicating where her back is.

Step Eight:
After finishing the eyes, draw in the nose and the lips. As the nose protrudes from the rest of the face, a shadow is cast under the nose. This helps give a 3-D look. The lips are drawn with a slight shadow underneath the lower lip, because it also protrudes from the rest of the face. The upper lip is slightly darker than the lower.

Step Nine:
Next add the hair. Mara has beautiful, curly, red hair, so feel free to look at a picture of someone with long curly hair, it helps to have a picture to refer to. As this drawing gets closer to being finished, start to erase your facial feature guide lines. Also start to indicate Mara’s clothing. Here I added a sleeveless shirt hole.

Step Ten:
Add lot of detail to the hair. Each lock of hair gets light and shiny as it bends out and catches light, and gets darker as it bends into itself. Add some shadows, based on a light source coming from above Mara, shining down. Have fun and keep drawing!

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Drawing R2-D2

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.

The spunky and adventurous astromech droid R2-D2 not only is an excellent ship mechanic and computer expert, but his bravery towards his friends helps them get out of tricky situations all throughout the saga. He’s no ordinary droid, that’s for sure. He’s also a postal superstar, with hundreds of R2-D2-styled mailboxes popping up across America. Try finding one of the cool R2-D2 mailboxes near you and draw his portrait!

Star Wars illustrator Grant Gould explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw a cartoon-style R2-D2.

Steps 1-5 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One: First begin with the basic shapes. For Artoo’s main body, it will look like an oval with a flattened bottom. Across the body draw the “T” lines to give you an idea of where to place the “eye” in Step Two. You’re also creating the main structure lines for Artoo’s legs as well.

Step Two: Draw a small circle near the top of the dome (this is Artoo’s “eye”) and use the “T” shape to darken in the area that separates the dome from body. Next draw a rectangle along the centerline as shown. Use this step to flesh out Artoo’s legs a bit more, too. When this step is complete, you should have a pretty good idea of where the rest of the details will fit in.

Instead of drawing in all of Artoo’s details (and he’s got a lot of them) at once, try tackling the drawing one section at a time. Let’s begin with the legs. Use a steady, thick line over your previous pencil work, and start adding in the details as shown in the sample image. As with most of the droids in Star Wars, there are a lot of little gizmos and shapes to be found, so don’t get too worried about this stage. If you miss one or two tiny details, that’s okay! As long as the basic shapes and forms are there, your Artoo drawing will be a success!

Step Four: Next up, draw Artoo’s dome. Most of these details are fairly simple, so again, using the sample image as your guide, fill in the missing shapes. Be sure your lines are appropriately rounded, because as we know, Artoo’s dome is round. Try to think of it as the top of a sphere. If you have an Artoo action figure, keep it in front of you while you’re drawing to use as a guide! Sometimes having an actual 3-D shape as reference can help a lot, especially while drawing droids.

Step Five: The last section to draw is Artoo’s mid-section, or “main body.” Use that rectangle you drew earlier as a guide, as well as the surrounding areas. Again, don’t be too worried about each and every tiny detail. The key is to focus on basic shapes. Focus on one shape at a time then move on to the next.

Step Six: Your Artoo drawing is almost complete! In this step, go over your final lines with a pen or marker. I like to use artist brush pens, though they take some getting used to. Once your ink lines are dry, erase the pencil lines. Or use heavier pencil lines over the lighter ones. However you decide to finish your drawing is completely up to you. Be sure to darken in the shadowed spots as shown in the sample.

Step Seven: If you want to color your Artoo drawing, first photocopy your final drawing and use that to color him in. This way you can try different methods and you won’t have to worry about making a mistake on your original. There are many ways to add color. Use crayons, markers, colored pencils, or even use your computer if you have a painting program.

Step Eight: This is the final image colored in Photoshop. I added a desert background (much like the scenes we see in A New Hope) and played around a little by adding some extra shadows and colors.

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Drawing Qui-Gon Jinn

YOU WILL NEED:

• Paper
• Drawing pencil
• Colored pencils
• Colored pens

STEP ONE

Drawing lightly with a pencil, create a simple framework.

STEP TWO

Using his shoulders and elbows as a guide, draw the outline of his robes.

STEP THREE

Roughly sketch in the main edges of his clothing, hair, and lightsaber.

STEP FOUR

Add more detail to his outfit and lightsaber.

STEP FIVE

Now you can focus on the head. Use thin lines to show the flow of his hair. Take note of his mustache, beard, forehead, nose, and other details that make Qui-Gon unique.

STEP SIX

At this point, you should have a fairly detailed pencil drawing. Once you’re happy with how it looks, you can go over your lines with pen, marker, or heavier pencil lines.

STEP SEVEN

Color your drawing, too, if you want. It’s completely up to you!

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Drawing Todo 360

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.

Star Wars illustrator Jessica Hickman explains with these easy-to-follow steps how to draw Cad Bane’s techno-service droid, Todo 360, from Season Two of The Clone Wars.

Steps 1-3 are drawn lightly with pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
First draw the basic shapes for Todo’s body. The head is basically a box, with a smaller box for the upper body, and circles for the lower body and feet.

Step Two:
Next put in the placement of Todo’s eyes, arms and legs. The perspective of the head can be a bit challenging, so take your time and don’t get frustrated. If you have some boxes at home, look at those for reference. Looking at tires on your family car or on toys are good references for Todo’s feet too. Keep your pencil marks light so you can erase any mistakes you make.

Step Three:
Once you’re happy with the drawing, make sure to tighten up the lines in preparation for inking and coloring. I like to color with markers, but you can use anything you want — crayons, colored pencils, and even the computer. You can even make copies of your finished pencil drawing to practice using different coloring media.

Step Four:
Now we get to color! Todo is very easy in that he is a gray droid. I colored him with gray markers, and once the first layer dried, I went over it again in some parts to add shading and dimension. Don’t forget his yellow eyes. I wait until the markers are completely dry, then I go over it with black ink outlines and add some white highlights. Be sure to sign your artwork before you show it to family and friends!

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Drawing an Ewok

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.

Native to the moon of Endor, Ewoks may resemble harmless teddy bears, but they are actually extremely skilled in forest survival techniques (and defense) and can build amazing things like gliders and catapults. This came in handy when the Ewoks helped Chewie, Han Solo, and Princess Leia fight against the Imperial forces in Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars illustrator Amy Pronovost explains her easy steps to draw an Ewok with examples below.

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: Draw a circle for the head and a tall oval for the body. Next draw a straight line up and down through the middle of the head and body. Then make a horizontal line through the center of the head and one through the center of the body. Next draw a line underneath the oval about the same height as the head so the Ewok stands on solid ground.		Step Two: Next you’ll want to draw some curvy lines for the arms and legs. Use the center line on the body to line up the arms.		Step Three: Draw circles at the ends of the arms and half circles for the feet.

Step Four: Put two circles on either side of the head and give the Ewok a rough spear.		Step Five: Sketch in the shape of the Ewok’s hood making sure to use curvy lines around the ears. This makes it look like its ears are really coming out of the hood! For the face, very lightly draw two small dashes on the horizontal line, halfway between the vertical line and the sides of the head. Draw a dash to mark the nose and a longer dash to mark the mouth.		Step Six: Now is the time to make the Ewok fluffy! Add some fluff to his cheeks, chin, arms, legs and feet. Draw the hand holding the spear with three ovals and give him three sausage-shaped fingers on his other hand. Use the guides you made for the face to give your Ewok some personality with tall, oval shaped eyes, a button nose and a wide grin.

Step Seven: Begin to erase your light working lines and add more detail to the hood. Give the Ewok some fluffy knees and draw fingernails and thumbnails. Draw four lines near the top of the spear to make it look like there’s some leather wrapped around it.

Step Eight: Here’s where you’ll want to add some finishing touches like feathers to the hood, a masked pattern around his eyes and some fluff between his body and his arms. Make the spear look like it’s made of wood by drawing some extra lines on it and add some feathers.

Step Nine: Try your own ideas by creating your own hood and trying different fur patterns on the face and body. You can even draw other weapons. Create the whole tribe! Yub Yub!

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Ever wanted to draw Star Wars characters 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 and memorable characters in the saga. So get your pencils and paper ready!

To show you how to draw a gruesome Gamorrean Guard, Star Wars illustrator Cynthia Cummens explains her easy drawing steps with examples below.

Steps 1-8 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 with drawing the overall shape of the head, which is somewhat like a kidney bean. Since being a Gamorrean Guard requires more brawn than brain, the top of the head is narrower than the bottom (jaw). Lightly draw 2 horizontal lines to indicate the placement of the eyes and bottom of the nose. Draw a vertical line through the center of the head and make sure it’s slightly offer center (to the right), since this will be a 3/4 view. (Tip: these lines are just temporary — keep them light as you will be erasing them later).		Step Two: Indicate where you want to place the horns with two lightly drawn lines. Draw a “V” shape for the front of helmet. Define the chin with a wide arc. Draw a large curved line to indicate where the mouth will be.		Step Three: The nose is easy — just draw a wide pig’s nose, placing the bottom of the nose on the line you drew in Step 1 (Tip: you’ll see a little more of the left side of the nose than the right). Remember to place the shapes along the vertical line to place the features into proper 3/4 view. Draw the bridge of the nose just under horizontal eye line. For the lower lip, draw a round “W” shape extended well past the outside edges of the nose.

Step Four: The Gamorrean Guards have beady eyes, so draw small circles on the line you drew in Step 1 (don’t forget to add the pupil either now or later when you’re adding detail). Give expression to the face by overlapping the eyes with the brow (you’ll later add the upper and lower lids). Draw the upper lip, making it wider than the lower lip. Leave space for the fangs!		Step Five: Draw two horns where you drew the lines in Step 2. The right horn will be behind the helmet. Give them character — maybe the tip of one is broken off after a fight with one of Jabba’s henchmen. It’s up to you! Draw four fangs, which jut out from the lower lip and rest in front of the upper lip (for effect, you can add some drool if you like!)		Step Six: Now you’re going to draw the helmet. The outside edge of the helmet is wider than the overall size of the head, but not by much. At this point you might want to start erasing some of the temporary lines you drew in Steps 1, 2, and 3.

Step Seven: Draw the lower and upper lids of the eyes (the key is expression — if you reveal too much of the pupil, he’ll have a surprised look, which might be want you want — it’s up to you!) Add the nostrils, which are bean-shaped. Draw a bit more of the right side of the face next to the nose. Also draw the right side of the helmet (sort of like a “V” turned on its side). Extend the line of the flap-like, fleshy jowl on the left side of his face to reach the helmet. If you haven’t done so, start erasing of those temporary lines you drew in Steps 1, 2, and 3.

Step Eight: Finish erasing all those lines you’ve been using for placement and keep only what you’ll need for the final drawing. Now is the time to adjust or change anything you don’t like because the next step is adding detail and polishing the final drawing.

Step Nine: Darken your lines by adding more pressure with your pencil, or retrace the lines with a marker. Vary the line thickness — this will add weight and will give more interest to the drawing. You know how angry the Gamorrean Guard looks (when he’s not cowering in a Rancor pit), so add some wrinkles under his eyes and on his brow to give him that ornery appearance. Add some decorative detail to his helmet. This creature’s skin isn’t smooth, so there may be wart or two on his chin, along with some slobber! You can add as much detail as you want — be creative! Finish your drawing by adding a suggestion of shoulders and don’t forget to sign your artwork!

Welcome to a look inside The Holocron. A collection of articles from the archives of *starwars.com no longer directly available.

(*Archived here with Permission utilising The Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

Drawing Porkins

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. Lieutenant Porkins, otherwise known as the Rebel starfighter pilot Red Six, found himself useful during the Battle of Yavin, but unfortunately had a mechanical malfunction on his X-wing fighter, which led to a crash after being hit by Imperial forces.

Star Wars illustrator Randy Martinez explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw a funny caricature portrait of Jek Porkins.

“One of the greatest things about drawing is that you can express your ideas, or how you see things anyway you want,” Martinez explains. “I love to draw caricatures, which are humorous portraits with exaggerated features. Caricatures are fun because they make people laugh, and it lets me express my silly side.”

To do a caricature, you’ll need a reference picture like the one here.

Try to point out his most distinctive characteristics. Keep them in mind, or even write them down if you like. Caricature is no different than any other kind of drawing. It is very important to build up from the guides and keep your sketching loose. Steps 1-8 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One: First thing to do is to draw his head in the shape of a pear.		Step Two: Now that you have a basic shape, draw some guidelines. This helps you know where to draw the facial features as well as his accessories. Start with a circle in the top of the pear shape. Draw some horizontal lines as well as vertical guidelines as in the example shown. This will help you to figure out where the eyes, nose and mouth will go.

Step Three: Next to draw are the basic shapes of his helmet and shoulders. Draw a larger circle around the head for the helmet, and then a simple arch as shown in the example.		Step Four: Next up are the facial features. Draw almond shapes in for eyes. His eyes lay right where the top horizontal guideline meets with the two outer vertical guidelines. The tip of the nose should be where the middle horizontal line meets the middle vertical line. The bridge of his nose is just a simple line. His most distinctive feature is his mouth, so exaggerate his lips. First, draw the open space of his mouth, just the basic shape. The middle of the mouth is where the bottom horizontal guideline meets the center vertical line. His bottom lip is pretty big, so draw a line below the mouth to show how big his lip is. Make a “U” shape to draw his chin, leaving room between the chin and the bottom of his face. Draw simple line across the top of his forehead that represents the brim of the helmet.

Step Five: Next draw the basic shape of the Mohawk-like element that runs down the middle of his helmet. And don’t forget his goggles! To finish his facial features, start by drawing his upper lip. He has a bow like upper lip, so feel free to exaggerate that. Next draw a little jellybean shape near his mouth for where the helmet microphone goes. After that, draw some lines for his armpits as well as the vest-like clothing on his body.		Step Six: Follow along the steps 6-8 and sketch in these basic detail lines. Remember, light sketching!

Step Seven		Step Eight

Step Nine: Once you are done, your drawing should look something like this example. It might look like a mess right now, but it will look awesome in just a few more steps.		Step Ten: Lastly grab a marker, and draw over only the lines you want to keep. For instance, you don’t want to keep those guidelines, so don’t draw those. After you do that, since you built up the drawing with light pencil, and inked it with marker, you can now erase all those lines you didn’t want. Have fun adding color to your very own Porkins caricature!

Welcome to a look inside The Holocron. A collection of articles from the archives of *starwars.com no longer directly available.

(*Archived here with Permission utilising The Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

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!

Welcome to a look inside The Holocron. A collection of articles from the archives of *starwars.com no longer directly available.

(*Archived here with Permission utilising The Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

Drawing the Millennium Falcon

Ever wanted to draw Star Wars characters 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 and memorable characters in the saga. So get your pencils and paper ready!

To show you how to draw Han Solo’s fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy — the Millennium Falcon, Star Wars illustrator Chris Trevas explains his easy drawing steps with examples below.

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:
Start by drawing two ellipses, one on top of the other. An ellipse is what a circle looks like from an angle, similar to an oval, but not as rounded at the sides. In the early days George Lucas used to describe the Millennium Falcon as a “Flying Hamburger,” think of these two ellipses as the bun.

Step Two:
Now draw a smaller ellipse within in the top ellipse. It should be just a little above the center. From the center of this new small ellipse draw a straight line angled down and to the right. This line will be the direction the Millennium Falcon is pointing.

Step Three:
Draw a straight line coming from each side of the larger top ellipse to a point on the center line. Then draw two more lines from the sides of the lower ellipse parallel to the lines coming from the top one. You now have a big triangle coming off the front of the “Hamburger.”

Step Four:
Cut the front off of this big triangle by drawing a wide rectangle. The sides of this rectangle will be straight up and down. The top and bottom of the rectangle are angled from this point of view. The corners will be where the sides cross the lines drawn in Step Three. Divide this rectangle into three smaller equal size rectangles with two more short lines.

Step Five:
Draw two long straight lines from the top of the new center rectangle to the small ellipse on top of the “Hamburger.” These lines should be parallel to the center line we drew in Step Two. Draw one more line from the bottom right corner of the small center triangle. This one should be parallel to the rest but you can stop short at the edge of the bottom large ellipse. Now draw two lines from the small center ellipse out to each side of the larger ellipse. These will be angled like the front rectangle.

Step Six:
The lines out to the sides are the guides for drawing the raised areas that divide the front and back of the ship. Draw the long rectangles and angled sides for them. At the end of each of these draw a tapered cup shape. These cups don’t stick out any further than sides of the “Hamburger Bun.” Draw an even smaller ellipse inside the top center ellipse. This is the gunner’s window. Draw the center rectangle between the front wedge shapes now. Follow the earlier guidelines but make it a little wider. It will stop short of the wedge shapes so you will also draw a little bit of the bottom rectangle too. Now the Millennium Falcon is really taking shape!

Step Seven:
Han and Chewie need a place to sit! Add a cockpit and the hallway to it. The cockpit is a cup shape with a short cylinder behind it and the hallway angles in towards the center of the ship. George Lucas referred to the cockpit as an olive off to one side of the hamburger.

Step Eight:
Now all the main shapes of the ship are drawn and you can lightly erase the lines you don’t need and start to darken up the others. It’s time for the details! There are two round holes on each of the front wedges and an octagonal hole between the cockpit hallway and the center rectangle. Draw a group of six ellipses on the back end for the rear vents of the engine. Also add a line to either side of these vents. The radar dish is a simple ellipse with a couple more below it to make the base.

Step Nine:
More detail! Add the bracket to support the radar dish and a small cone in the center of it. The gun turret on top is basically a box with four cylinders sticking out. Across the back behind the engine vents add the wide stabilizer fin. Shield generators go to each side of the center rectangle. Add some shadows in the gap under the center rectangle and within the holes. Don’t forget the cockpit windows!

Step Ten:
Draw some more detail lines and the different color panels on the ship’s hull. Along the edges add the “meat” of this flying hamburger, you can keep it simple by drawing some lines and boxes. I also like to add a sweep behind the Falcon coming from the engines to give it that extra burst of speed!