How to Draw Wild West People
Deeply ingrained in the American psyche as a modern myth, the Wild West has been a popular subject for artists and illustrators since the days of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. Drawing people from the Wild West combines the artist's interest in figure drawing and historical research. A well researched Wild West drawing is visually exciting, tells a story and conveys emotion against the backdrop of 19th century American westward expansion.
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Things You'll Need
- Drawing pencils
- Camera
- Sketch book
- Cowboy hats
- Bonnets
- Bandannas
- Drawing pens
- Bristol board 9 inches by 12 inches
- Drawing board
- Masking tape
- Kneaded eraser
- Colored pencils
Instructions
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Preparation
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1
Research the "Wild West" era (1830s to 1920). Choose the time period you want to draw. Read about the lives of people from that time, paying close attention to details about dress, grooming and mannerisms. Find pictures depicting people from that period. Look closely at clothing, posture and facial expressions.
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2
Using pictures you found as references, sketch out potential characters for your drawing. Build your people from simple geometric shapes such as ovals for the heads, rectangles for the torso and triangles for the feet. Gradually give them shape, sketching in the head and figure before adding hats and clothes. Work quickly to capture action and mood rather than laboring over details.
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Ask your friends and family to pose for you. Dress them in costume pieces such as hats, bonnets and bandannas.Give them props that can stand in for period items such as guns, lariats and tools. Take several photos of them in a variety of action poses.
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Using the photos, earlier sketches and any other reference materials, make more detailed sketches of the characters for your drawings. Develop them into people, giving them unique clothing, faces, body types and facial expressions.
Final Drawing
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Tape a piece of Bristol board to your drawing board. Your drawing board can be any smooth rectangle of wood that you can hold easily. A thick, stiff paper used by professional illustrators and cartoonists, Bristol board will give your finished drawing a professional appearance.
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Lightly lay out your drawing with simple geometric shapes and then gradually add more and more details. Create visual interest by depicting your people in dynamic action poses rather than standing still in a group.
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When you're satisfied with your pencil work, ink your drawing with your pens to give it a finished quality. You're not just tracing the pencil lines with your pen but redrawing it in ink using the pencil lines as a guide. Use thick, bold lines for the parts close to the viewer and thin lines for elements further away.
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Let the ink dry for a few minutes before erasing unwanted pencil marks.
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Add color to your drawing with colored pencils. Make the objects closer to the viewer darker than those further away. Color can add a sense of realism and emotional impact to the drawing. Colors such as turquoise, pink and salmon are often associated with the Southwest setting of many Wild West stories. Warm colors like yellow, orange and red can convey intense emotion, such as joy or anger, while cool colors, such as green and blue, often represent tranquility or sadness.
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References
- Photo Credit Cowboy riding a bucking bronco image by patrimonio designs from Fotolia.com
