How to Draw Michael Jackson
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by DAS Team in Figure, Tutorials
In this tutorial, I’m going to show you guys how to draw the King of Pop like never before. It has been done in Photoshop CS2 but can be done generally in any version of Photoshop you have. This tutorial however is targeted towards digital artists who have some sort of experience in drawing.
You first create a new file in Photoshop with a big dimensions. The reason for that is because we are going to want to zoom in and apply a lot of detail, so creating the file with big dimensions and high resolution will help us a lot.
Before you apply ANY stroke on the canvas, first you must create a new layer and name it MJ for example. The reason for us to create this layer is to allow us to be very flexible with what we draw. You will realize that half way through we might change the size or move the drawing around and that can only be done when our drawing is on a separate layer than the background. Now, start by a brush size of 11, draw the outline of MJ’s face as follows:
After you have done, start applying the sunglasses. The sunglasses are a great way to start because it acts as an axis to the face on which you will base everything below it. You will realize that i added a simple shade of grey on the face as a base color to start on. This will allow me to stress on darker and lighter shades later to provide better contrast.
Start applying detail on the nose. Half of the nose is in light and the other half is in shade, but what we are going to mainly focus on is the half that is in the shade. This is the side which will bring up the nose and will make it stand out.
We slowly start to add detail bit by bit. You will realize that the progress of the drawing starts from top to bottom, where every piece brings space for the one after it to be created. The mouth is wide and is a bit mono-colored, with exception to the right side. At the right side of the mouth, there is strong contrast done by applying a darker stroke. this emphasizes the opening of the mouth and what gives this whole mouth the realism behind it.
When applying detail, you can’t stay zoomed in for a long while because you have to see how the detail is being done with relation to the whole body. Zoom out and start applying thicker darker strokes to outline the body and the arms.
The hands is what i consider may be the toughest part of the whole piece. As we have done with the face, apply a grey base color on which you will add the light and the dark parts later on. You won’t see much detail at first, but keep adding light and dark strokes in the relevant places and step by step you will find that the hands are beginning to appear. Note: You must ALWAYS zoom out after doing every finger to see the size relation with the rest of the body. You will sometimes find a finger that it is too big or too small, and the only way you will realize that is by zooming in and out to see how it connects with the face and the body.
At the top part of the arms, there is the classic Michael Jackson Band. First you will apply a base grey color, that you will go over with horizontal lines twice. Once with a very light grey color and once with a more darker grey. Do it randomly and make sure to fill in the blanks. After you have applied the lines twice, with a white color, create random dots. Don’t add too much dots, but only little enough to be noticeable. These dots should give the effect that the band is shining and glittering. Note: When you create the horizontal lines, make sure to use a small brush size (From 3 to 4).
This is the easiest part of the whole artwork which is the jacket. Just applying random shades of grey and with a big smudge tool blend it all together. Be very patient and think about the motion of the jacket. Do not smudge horizontally or vertically, but rather in a more diagonal direction.
Never forget to add final touches to the hair. The hair needs a lot of patience. Choose a very small brush size (Brush size 3) and start creating many black strokes in the hair. Do the strokes in the hair direction (meaning no vertical or horizontal strokes). After you have done so, choose the smudge tool with size two and go over these strokes. The smudge tool will help make the hair look more flowing and less cluttered.
This is what you should finally have as your final piece. This artwork needs a lot of patience but its very worth it. Check the video to see a more detailed step by step of how this was done. I hope you guys found this helpful and please leave a comment below. Thank you.
