When drawing super heroes, the most important thing to know is that you are in no way restricted to realism. You can branch into cartoon caricatures or very detailed portraits and still have true-to-source-material drawings. That is because superheroes are a product of imagination and a venue for an artist’s unique style.
That said, there are some guidelines to follow when drawing superheroes. There are also some tips you should follow to produce great-looking superhero artwork.
The Standards
Superheroes are, by definition, beyond ordinary heroes. They possess traits and attributes normal humans typically do not. These traits generally include extremely developed musculature, ideal physical appearance, and elaborate costumes.
Superheroes are often drawn in dynamic poses. What this means is their bodies are illustrated as taunt or poised or in action. There should be a sense of motion or drama to a superhero image.
Creating Drama and Motion
There are a number of ways to bring drama to a superhero drawing. One of the best ways is to use opposing colors, such as black and white or blue and orange. It is not enough to simply use these colors- they need to be part of the central focus of the drawing.
One way to accomplish this is to make the only source of lighting in the picture the opposing colors. For example, moonlight overhead provides a blue light, while fire near the bottom of the picture provides orange light. These two opposing colors then frame the picture and create a sense of drama and contrast.
Motion can be created through lines of motion or by using flowing objects. The illustration at the top of the page uses lines of motion to focus your attention along the alleyway. Both the lines of the character’s body and the lines of the left side of the alleyway are drawn diagonally from left to right. This gives the picture a sense of drama and movement without any movement of objects actually being suggested.
Movement can also be created with flowing objects like capes or water. Drawing curves to these malleable objects can create fluidity within your drawing, helping to frame and showcase the characters in the drawing by flowing around them.
Things to Avoid
Be careful when drawing multiple heroes that you do not make all their musculature or builds the same. Hulk and Wolverine are two very different characters, and their height, body structure, and the way they move their body should all be drawn differently. Even the types of developed muscles on their body will be different. It can help to use photos of bodybuilders and athletes as reference. They both have highly developed muscles, but their musculature and build are very different.
Also watch out for “same face syndrome”, a rut many artists get into that make all their characters’ faces look like roughly the same person. A good way to avoid this is to use a photo of a real person as a model for your subject’s face. That way you can draw in little details that will differentiate one character from another.
Another common pitfall of superhero drawing is unoriginal poses. It may be that there is no undrawn pose left for characters like Spider-Man and Superman who have been drawn by hundreds of artists for decades. But there are ways to differentiate your art. Try new angles, like an overhead shot. Experiment with different lighting techniques, like lighting a character from only on side. You can also try new styles, such as black and white art or silhouettes.
Whatever you do, make the drawing and character your own, bringing your unique style to established characters or ones from your imagination.