How to Draw a Monster Step by Step
Using guides is a great way to get started with your drawings. It creates a road map for where to draw your details.
And it helps to get over that hurdle of staring at a blank piece of paper.
The idea comes from the book Drawing Monsters with Letters by Steve Harpster. This is a lesson I used to do with my students when I was still teaching in the classroom.
But I quickly realized it could be adapted to much more advanced drawing styles. And it’s a great exercise in creativity. So let’s get some supplies and get started drawing our monsters.
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Art Supplies
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How to Draw a Monster Using the Letter A
So as I mentioned earlier we’ll be using the letter A as our guidelines for this drawing. Most of the art tutorials on this site begin with basic shapes and guidelines.
This serves many different purposes when creating artwork. So don’t skip this step.
When you’re drawing your letter A you can draw it short and wide, or tall and narrow. Or anything in between. Keep in mind that these guidelines will indicate where the facial features of your monsters get placed.
The eyes will go at the top point. The nose will be located where the bar goes across the middle is. And the mouth will be where the two lines end at the bottom.
Start by drawing the eyes where the point of your letter A is. There are a ton of different ways to draw your monster’s eyes, which is why I love this drawing so much.
You can start by drawing a brow line. This can be straight, curved, angeled, or however else you can think of.
Then draw the eyes underneath that line. You can make your monster look cute, or not so cute. The bigger, and rounder the eyes, the cuter it will look.
And on the flip side of that, if you make your eyes smaller with straighter lines and sharper edges to make your monster look a bit more scary.
Draw the nose where the bar goes across the center of the letter A.
Where the bottom of the A is, draw a curved line for the mouth. As with the eyes, there are a ton of different ways to draw the mouth. You could draw it happy, sad, or fierce. It’s best to sketch things out lightly so you can change them as needed.
Now start adding in some extra details like wrinkles, teeth, and eyebrows.
How to Draw a Monster Head
Next you need to draw the shape of the head. There are so many different shapes and styles you could use for this. I like to start by drawing the lower lip.
Then add the chin, cheeks, ears, and some horns. Of course you can skip the horns if you want.
And like with everything else, there are many different ways to draw all of these things. Keep in mind that all of these variations will change how your monster drawing will look when it’s finished.
You can also add in some fur lines to show some texture. Or maybe some spots instead. Add in any little extras you think will look good.
Monster Outline
There are a lot of different ways you could choose to finish your monster drawings. And how you decide to do this will depend largely on your artistic style.
I prefer to use markers for coloring my artwork. And I prefer to add a heavy outline to my work. This is part of my artistic style, which I’ve developed through practice and repetition.
If you’re unsure about what your own artistic style is, this means you need to practice more and try new things. Your style is developed by what you find visually appealing. Which is different for everyone.
When adding outlines to my monster drawings I usually use a thin black pen. This can be used to add to the line weight until the desired thickness is achieved.
You could also use a thick black marker, or a different color altogether. This is a good opportunity to experiment and try new things.
You can also try varying your line weights to see what looks good. Try using a combination of thick and thin lines.
How to Draw a Monster with Markers
I prefer using markers for most of my artwork. But colored pencils or watercolors would work just as well.
Regardless of what medium you’re using, you should add two or three different colors to each area of your drawing. This will help add dimension and keep them from looking flat.
This could be a light, medium, and dark blue. Or it could be red with gray added for the shadows. There are a lot of different color combinations you could use.
Monster Drawing Ideas
One of the best ways to improve your art skills and your creativity is with repetition. And these monster drawings are a perfect opportunity to practice new ideas. And the more of them you draw, the easier they will get.
Try doing a series of several monster drawings and see where it takes you. I like doing mine on Artist Trading Cards to save time. By working smaller you’ll be able to get more drawings done in less time. Which means you can create a lot of different monsters.
You can make a few small changes to each drawing that will change the overall look of each monster.
Conclusion
Learning how to draw a monster using the letter A is easy and fun. And it’s a great way to exercise your creativity.
And there are so many opportunities to come up with new and original ideas. The more frequently you draw, the better your skills will get. Try to draw for at least a few minutes each day. That time will really add up.
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