How to Draw 3D Figures
- 1). Sketch the basic outline of your figure first. If you are a beginner, keep the sketch simple. Draw a face, simple lines for the shoulders and arms, the waist and the legs. Add details to the body by sketching in light lines to create the swell of breasts if your figure is a woman, or lines to bring out the chest and abdomen for a male. These areas are developed using horizontal, vertical and curved lines and will later be enhanced with shading.
- 2). Detail the face and hairstyle of the figure. For hair, draw either long, wavy lines for straight hair or small, swirl lines for curly hair. Pencil in arched lines above the eyes for eyebrows and vertical lines for eyelashes. Draw a slightly angled line centered between and beginning just beneath the eyes. This is the bridge of the nose. End it with an upward curve, then add a small curved beside that one. This curve should go the opposite way you drew the first. It will help fill out the nose.
- 3). Sketch in a horizontal oval for the mouth, narrowing each end of the oval, then draw another oval inside this one to finish forming the mouth. Draw small squares inside the second oval for teeth.
- 4). Shade the drawing for the 3D effect. Determine which way the light will be coming from. The shadows should appear on the opposite side the light comes from. For example, if the light is coming from your left the shading should appear on the right side of the figure.
- 5). Shade beneath and around the eyes to help give them dimension and bring them away from the paper. Add shading around one side of the nose to create the illusion the nose is extending. Add shading to both cheeks to create definition.
- 6). Shade the edges of the character's legs, particularly around the thighs to help enhance the musculature of the figure. Add shading around the stomach muscle lines and thicken the curves of the breasts or chest to help lifts those areas away from the paper. Thicken the lines on one side of the drawing from top to bottom to relieve some of the flat appearance.
