How to Draw Emo

While there doesn't seem to be a specific way to draw emo, you can be sure the same emotion that drives the scene also drives the art. Whether you want to express your inner emo creatively or just draw up emo icons and graphics for your website, you can easily achieve an emo look in your art.

Instructions

Create Emo Style Art

1. Make your characters look sad. This staple crosses all genre lines, from anime to pop art. Sometimes this can be done by simply focusing on gloomy or wistful eyes.

2. Put your characters in desolate situations. Nothing conveys emo like someone sitting alone with his head down. Throw in some rain, fallen buildings or schoolbooks, and you've drawn an entire emo scene.

3. Draw silhouettes instead of completely sketched-out features. This style is not only popular on emo shirts, but it can also be used as website graphics and on album covers.

4. Use muted colors in your drawings. This style, reminiscent of hardcore albums of the late 1990s, creates an emo feeling through the many shades of grey. Yellow, greens and blues do sneak in, but they all portray a feeling of despair or sadness.

5. Take a look at "Pon and Zi," by Jeff Taylor, which epitomizes much of what's going on in the emo art scene (see Resources below). Simplicity, angst and a touch of tenderness create an emotional story in single frames.

6. Try to make anything you draw convey emotion. While portraits of your favorite emo band may look cool, you can take your art to another level by trying to say something with it. This creative outlet also helps you get through tough times as you pour all your excess emotion into drawing.

7. Create collages of iconic images, mixed with text, ink splatters or design elements. This style of art can not only create an emo feeling, but it also lends itself to those who don't draw well.

Tips & Warnings

• Since emo does not reflect a specific genre of art, but more of a style, you can do anything from simple sketches to complex pen-and-ink drawings. Use this freedom to let your imagination soar.

• Keep practicing. The more work you put into learning how to draw, the more emotion your end product will convey.

Resources

• Pon and Zi comics at Azuzephre.net