| Okay, looking at the other tutorials, I think you've got a pretty good idea of how to draw shapes by now. If you look at this little sketch, you'll see that all the shapes overlap, and although I started with the head first, then progressed to the body and then limbs, you can begin anywhere you like really. You can see that the big circle at the top is going to become her head, the wonky oval below it, her body, the strange loop, her dress turn up. The shapes are all easy to draw, and it doesn't matter how scruffy you are at this stage, as long as you work lightly in pencil. Don't forget the little cross hair lines on the head which make it look spherical. It makes it easier to draw on the muzzle later if you put them in. | ![]() |
| Now you've drawn the basic shapes, you can start adding in the vague main details such as her fringe, eyes, muzzle, ears and spines. Note how they all fit on around the structure of the head. I always start on the there, because that's the thing most people see first, after all. Also have a look at the faint line near the ears. You're going to need that for her aliceband. Remember, nothing too definate, which means no pressing hard with the pencil. :-) | ![]() |
| Next comes some key detail, again mainly on the face. See how my drawing style works yet? Just keep building on what you've got. You can fill out the arms now from the bony little sticks they were before, and also the legs. Make sure you put in all the lines, even if they won't be visible in the final picture. It makes it look more natural if lines connect in the right places, like on her dress. The blob hands now fill out with fingers, you add a couple of minor details on the dress, the outline of the eyes, and the eyelids. If you look at yourself in the mirror, you'll see that your lids are not entirely flat, which is why you put little fold lines at the bottom of them. As for the lashes, I tend to work it the older the (female) character is, the more lashes they get. [Some manga works a little like this too.] Amy is really a little kid, so I'd normally give her two, but I decided on three for this one. | ![]() |
| See how it's coming on? Now the funny-shaped oval becomes a much more believable dress, the boots are taking shape, the aliceband gets a (slightly!) heavier line, and you fill in the inner ears. There are many different ways of doing the ears, from the flat Sonic Adventure style to my more 3D version. | ![]() |
| Now all you need to do is rub out the guidelines, and fill in the little last details. These are her tail, which just pokes out beneath her dress, the creases on her boot about where the ankle meets the foot, and the final eye shading. Again, there are lots of different ways you can do eyes. That's it. You're done with the pencil version now. Not too hard, was it? Onto the inking ... | ![]() |
| Whoo! The finished inked result. All you have to do for inking is to go over the lines you need to keep. If it's just a drawing with no background, a neat thing to do is go round the outer facing lines a little more, so that it gives it a bolder look. Again, note the eyes. That's just the way I do them: lines starting closer together at the top and thinning as they go down. It's not a particularly usual way, but every artist has their own style. :-) | ![]() |
| Now - colour! I don't pretend to be a great computer colourist or anything, and this was rather hastily slapped on, but at least it gives you an idea of the colours. What a sweet little dancing diva hedgehog she is. ^.^ | ![]() |
Tutorial © Pip the Bat. Because she made it. :-) Created for NetRaptor.org.