How to Draw a Detailed Knight
Brave warriors who represent the noblest and most virtuous of a king's men, knights have captured the imagination for centuries. It is little wonder that the knight has become an enduring archetype not only in art about the medieval period but most fantasy art, as well. While there are near limitless variations of detail between different knights, they all are drawn with the same basic procedure.
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Instructions
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Draw a line to represent the center mass of the torso of the knight. Draw a line for the angle of the shoulders and the angle of the hips. Construct a stick figure of the final pose, adding legs, arms and the head to the lines you've already drawn, keeping proportion and anatomy in mind as you draw. As John Buscema says in "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way," "Most anyone can draw a stick figure. ... They're simple, they're fun, and most important of all, they're the easiest way for you to get the action and the position you want for your character." (See References 1)
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Overlay basic shapes on top of the stick figure to flesh it out. As noted in "The Figure" by Walt Reed, the head is egg-shaped, the torso, arms and legs are made of cylinders, the hips are a cube, and the hands and feet can be represented by wedges. (See References 2)
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Connect the basic shapes and refine them. Indicate the major anatomical features: the chest, shoulders, arms, hips and legs as well as the corresponding joints. While most of this stage will be covered by the knight's armor, it is essential to make the pose look natural and to properly situate the armor on the figure.
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Lay in the basic design of the armor on top of the figure you've already drawn. Keep the shapes simple and the lines you draw light. Reference material is invaluable at this stage. Find pictures of medieval armor, drawings of knights and even photographs of reenactors dressed as knights. These will give you a feel for how the knight should look and a direction to plan the details of your knight's armor and dress.
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Study your drawing and carefully pick out the shapes you like. Darken the lines that you want in your final drawing, thinking about form and mass as you choose which lines to finalize. Refine the armor, add details and complete any final touches, such as highlights on the armor, the folds of the tunic over the armor or a sword.
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Tips & Warnings
Anatomy books and other figure drawing resources are useful for learning proportion and anatomy, which are essential when drawing a knight.
Research always is useful when working on a drawing. Do some research on knights and medieval weapons to help plan your drawing.
A knight is a complicated and detailed subject, so it might take several attempts before you create a drawing you are happy with.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
