How to Draw Mulan

Mulan, to a certain degree, embodies most people in life-- especially in her journey of finding out who she is. Through her journey, Mulan also became a great role model for young girls by showing that strength comes from within, and that anyone is capable of anything. Ten years after its release, Disney's Mulan is set to released out of the Disney vault, but before it is, anyone can draw Mulan at any time, before and after her appearance from the Disney vault.

Things You'll Need

• Tablet
• Photoshop
• Drawing pencil
• Drawing paper
• Pencil eraser

Instructions

1. 

   Draw a circle that looks like an egg standing on its small end. Next, at the base, draw a cylinder that curves in on the right. These are the guidelines for Mulan's head and neck.

2. 

   After adding the head and neck, as well as the optional facial feature indication lines, draw the shoulders and chest-to-waist shapes. The shoulders should almost resemble rectangles that are wide on the upper portion and small on the lower portion. However, the right shoulder (back) should be a small sliver as compared to the more exposed shoulder. From the more exposed shoulder, add a long rectangle that goes down about 1 1/2 inches. From there, add a large rectangle to the front that expands from the bottom right corner and extends an inch to the right. Now, take that line up to the right corner of the right (back) shoulder indicator.

3. 

   Add a circle at the base of the larger rectangle you just drew. This is the waist. Now draw a 3D rounded square at the bottom of the circle. These are Mulan's hips.

4. Front Arm. Draw a circle that has the shoulder and side line in the center (where shoulder and side meet). From there, draw a column that goes diagonally downward to the right and another circle to the end. Draw a horizontal column that extends an inch and a half (which is preferably equal to the upper arm portion you just drew) and add another circle. Diagonally, from the upper right of the circle, draw a nub that will represent Mulan's thumb later on. From the lower right portion of the circle, draw another half circle with another nub coming from it. This will be the index finger and closed hand.

5. Draw a circle and a column like you did with the front arm. After you draw a column that is equal in length to the previous arm you've drawn, add a circle to the end of that column. Here is where it gets tricky because we're trying to show arm curvature. The best way to show a curve is by drawing the arm column overlapping the elbow circle and drawing this column slightly shorter than the other arm column. This will show curvature. Now add a triangle to indicate a hand.

6. 

   To indicate a female breast, add a rectangle below the round shoulder pieces across the large midsection rectangle. You may also add an ear to the head.

7. 

   Add a box between Mulan's hands. This will represent a scroll or a cricket cage. You can now add Mulan's facial features. Start at the eyes, since they will help determine the proportions of the face. After you draw the eyes, add Mulan's eyebrows and hairline. Add Mulan's nose about a centimeter away from her eyes. Below the nose, add her lips and create Mulan's face line.

8. 

   After you finish adding your facial details, you can add Mulan's hair. The particular hairstyle here is Mulan's matchmaker hairdo, so it is a loose updo. The part that hangs down almost represents a helmet. The top portion of Mulan's hair looks like a sideways heart wrapped in ribbon. Off to the right side, put a flower.

9. 

   Start drawing Mulan's dress. Follow the guidelines. Draw the dress sleeves long and floating. Add minor details, such as fabric wraps. You can also add her fingers.

10. 

    Add Mulan's skirt, which is very simple. Her skirt goes down to the ground and consists of three tiers. Crickee's cage can also be drawn in Mulan's hands. Erase your guidelines and color.

Tips & Warnings

• You an also draw the cross-bar facial feature indicators. These lines help to center your face and indicate where eyes, noses and mouths go.

• You an draw a mini circle toward the top of the head to show the top of the scalp and hair line.

• If you have an artist's dummy, use it. The artist dummy shows how the human body moves. Artist dummies are great for teaching poses, especially for those who are learning how to draw.

• Mulan's eyes slant up, so make sure you reflect that when drawing her eyes. Mulan has a very round face without a lot of curves. Only her chin is slightly pointed. Mulan's hair also reflects her face's roundness, especially where her hair comes together to a point in the center of her forehead.

• Mulan's image is copyrighted by Disney, so do not use your drawing for any commercial purposes.