How to Draw: Boba Fett

Hi. Welcome to another "How to Draw" session with yours truly. In this session we will learn how to draw a picture of Boba Fett, the bounty hunter from Star Wars. I do not think this will be too difficult, but it will require some patience. Make sure your pencils are sharpened, have an eraser ready and some clean sheets of drawing paper ready. I hope that you will have fun drawing this character. When I drew this picture I used an action figure as my model reference. When you draw it is important to have a photographic reference. Overall, I felt pretty good about the final drawing. So here we go.... (click on a picture to see larger image.)

Step Zero:
 In this step you need to draw out your basic pose. First create your action line. That is the line that goes down the center showing you the direction of motion.  Remember to draw really lightly. I used colored pencils to show the different steps. Some comic book artists use a non-photo blue pencil to sketch their layout, then pencil in the drawing with a mechanical pencil or a 2B pencil. We will cover that more another time.

Step 1

In this step use your basic shapes to fill out the stick figure you have drawn. what shapes do you see shown here? Remember to keep your drawing simple, and avoid drawing very hard with your pencil. You will need to erase your lines later after you ink your drawing. In this picture I worked from the top down to the toes. 

There are different art books that can help you draw. The one's I like to reference are by Christopher Hart. He is pretty easy to understand. I also refer to Marvel's: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema. I think the only way to become good at drawing is to draw every day, and do it for at least a few hours a day no matter what.

Step 2

Here you will likely need to look at an action figure or a photograph. I will admit, I was pretty loose with my details, but I have drawn it as close as I am able to getting Boba Fett's likeness. For some strange reason, he has been one of my favorite anti-heroes ever since I was a young boy.

Okay, back on topic...As you draw this picture your lines are going to change. Look at the shapes of the helmet, the chest plates, his gun, etc. Are you getting it? I hope so. This was my first drawing of Boba Fett in a long time. I still have trouble areas too. Don't worry if you make a mistake, that is why there are erasers.  One way to improve is to study people and make sketches of their poses. I like to sit at parks or in malls and take my sketchbook along. I am easily entertained. The more you draw the easier it will become to identify how things should look when you create a picture.

Step 3

You are getting close to being finished. How does your picture look? Are you satisfied? That is important. You are the one who has to be happy with your drawing. Don't worry too much about what others think. Notice that I added a circular shape in the background so as to bring Boba Fett forward to the foreground. It gives the illusion that he is actually up close. How you draw your lines is completely up to you. As I drew this I tried to keep a medium weight line. This is the point where you start adding final details, erasing lines, correcting lines, looking at how your light source will look with shadow, and writing down what colors to use for your drawing. 

There are different ways you can color this. You can use marker, water color, color pencil. It all depends on how you want it to look. You can even digitally color your picture in a paint program or Photoshop. It is your drawing, you make it look the way that your want. I like simple back grounds but you could add his ship or other characters or scenery if you'd like.

 Step 4

Here is your drawing in black and white. The picture on the left is not great. I copied this before I was finished but you can see that the picture is more detailed and ready to color. You have another option too, and you could leave it as black and white and color it grey using different values of black and white. This is known as a monochromatic scale. -just a little FYI.

Here is where I am my own critic, but since this is a how to draw session and not a pageant, I am not going to worry about small mistakes. By now you ought to have a basic idea of how to draw Boba Fett. One good thing about drawing characters is there is almost always an opportunity to make a better picture, to improve on what you drew previous. I will likely make another picture of this, and will post my improvements here as an extended feature. 

 I hope you have enjoyed this lesson. Please let me know what you think. Make sure you sign your drawing.

Until next time, keep drawing.

How to Draw a Girl's Face

 Hi. Welcome to another "How to Draw" session. This lesson is about learning to draw a cartoon face of a girl. 


Step 1  Start by lightly drawing a circle as shown in #1, then creating a basic center line. (I drew from right to left on this one, not sure why, it is what it is.)

Step 2  Draw the face portion as shown and the ear. If you were to trace your fingers across your face you would find that the ear is at a distance between the eyebrow and the base of the noses. To accent the ear you can use a lower case "h", an "S" or a "5". Use whatever you are comfortable using.

(click on a picture to see larger image.)

Step 3  Place guide marks as shown where the   eyes,eyebrows, nose and mouth will go.

Step 4  Begin to fill in the facial elements such as the eyebrows, lips and nose. Notice that you can sort of draw an upside down number "7" to make the nose.  How does your drawing look now? I hope you are doing well.

Step 5 Finish your drawing by adding hair the way you want it to look. In this cartoon, I sort of drew it quickly. It's not my best, but you get the idea, right? On the hair, I drew lines for shadow on the cartoon girl's hair. There is more that can be done, but this is the basic of basic of "how to draw" for this picture. 

I hope your drawing turns out well. I will draw an updated version of this picture and share with you in the near future.

Until next time, keep drawing.

How to Draw Faces: Luke Skywalker

Promotional Drawing-How to Draw Luke Skywalker by Kirk McConnell, 2012

This is from my first promotional poster I did for the City of Ontario Library, California. It is a basic layout of drawing the face. In this case I had selected Luke Skywalker from his early years before he became a Jedi. 

On this basic layout, the person who would like to learn how to draw Luke will first have to understand the basic composition of the head. Having looked at other art books, most if not all, use a circle with a simple cross-hair formation to begin the structure of the face (See step 1).
During this process remember to draw lightly. It is important to do this so you can erase your pencil marks later.  In step 2, I have added some more lines. When drawing the face it is very important to see and understand the distance of the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Even the hair requires a little bit of attention. No worries, though, I will definitely have more "how to draw faces" samples for practice and future lessons. This one is just a sample.


I noted on the picture that one can draw realistically or in a cartoon manner. I tend to draw more cartoon like in my pictures, but I also possess a thorough knowledge and experience drawing portraits in pastels, charcoal, and other mediums. One way to become good at drawing faces is to practice drawing your own face while looking in the mirror. As you draw, you will begin to familiarize yourself with your own facial geometry and have a better understanding of how something ought to look.


Another way to practice is by looking at pictures in magazines and trying to copy them realistically. This can take some time, and occasionally be frustrating, but rewarding when you complete a drawing you know you made. I look forward to sharing more about how to draw pictures step-by-step with you. 

Until next time, keep drawing.

How to Draw a "Clone Trooper"

I have wanted to have a "how to draw" blog for sometime. I cannot say that all of my drawings will be perfect. But my desire is to make the drawings step-by-step with enough clarity that anyone who wants to learn how to draw will not be afraid to learn how to draw. It is my hope that you will become more confident as you practice drawing each day and grow in the knowledge you will acquire. (Click on the picture to see larger.)

Sometimes when you draw, you have to learn how to "see" and not just look. One thing that is very important when you draw is being able to see shapes in relation to the lines and other elements that go into composing a picture. The drawing below is a very basic step-by-step. At the time I made this picture, I was looking at an issue of Star Wars Insider magazine, and examining how the "Clone Trooper" looked from the animated series. I attempted to keep the image looking as close as possible to the original. When you draw a likeness, it is important to remember details. Yet, do not get so caught up in every single detail that you get discouraged and stop drawing. I know my character drawing for this picture is good, but it could be better, and I will tell you this, as I improve, I will post my improvements too. Even good artists make mistakes. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Sometimes that is how one learns.

As you try to draw from this image, take your time. Draw lightly. Be sure to erase your pencil marks after you ink your picture. It is your choice to leave it as-is, or color the drawing. Good luck as you begin learning to draw.

Until next time, keep drawing.