First sketch out the basic shape and outline of the Terran. Use several reference images to get the pose you want. I chose a basic front view pose for this tutorial. Use your pencil only lightly here, and use simple shapes to get the form you want on your page. Dont worry about the details yet, and dont bother erasing what you may think are mistakes, at this stage, as these are construction lines and you can work over them.

STEP 2.

Now start to place in more solid lines. These lines are going to be the outline, and are now defining the Marines body and armour. Try to draw these lines in bold strokes. The red shows how the lines are emphasised. The shoulders are an important feature, as are the legs, so make sure they are drawn carefully. I have started to add in the marine’s face, but if you are not confident with drawing faces, you can just draw the visor closed. Work over your construction lines.

STEP 3.

Once you have drawn all the lines of the armour, you can begin to add in other line details. Define the joints in the armour and the lines that connect the metal. Remember, you can draw your marine to look as close to the game ones as you would like, but you can add your own designs in, feel free to change small details to make your drawing more personal and unique. When you have all the defining lines down, erase the construction lines. You can now begin the shading. Start by finding where the darkest areas will be and use a dark pencil, like a 3B to shade in these parts. The red shows some areas that will be very dark. Think of where the light would not be able to reach, like under the arms and around the leg joints.

STEP 4.

Continue to shade in the dark areas. Also, start to do lighter shading on other area, blending them out from darker to lighter. Drawings look best when the have a range of shades, from very dark to very light, it gives them depth, so keep this in mind. You can use your finger to blend your shading, but I would suggest using Tortilion or some tissue paper rolled up into a slight stub, this will give very smooth effects, hiding the strokes made by the pencil in your shading. If you did not draw the face, just shade the visor dark from the bottom, and lighter towards the top, just as you would shade a ball.

STEP 5.

Attention to detail really pays off in the end, don’t be afraid to spend as much time on getting the shading right, just take your time. Continue to darken the shading in certain areas. Also, place in some highlights, using an eraser, and this will give a shiny effect to the armour and make it stand out from the darker parts. Some of the detail lines may fade as you blend and shade, so go over them again, remember to keep your pencil sharp for lines. When you are done, don’t forget to place in a shadow below and sign and date your work! It may take a while to rub out all the smudges around your drawing, but once its all done, you can be proud of what you have made, drawing is meant to be enjoyable, so enjoy the process of making something and be pleased with your end result!