How to Draw Space Marines, Firenze Style Options

[Firenze]

Hey guys. This is my tutorial for the way to draw Space Marines in a quick and concise way. Feel free to use this tutorial in your own work, or even only glance at it and run away


BEFORE YOU START

Use a pencil for these stages if using paper. This allows you to rub out any mistakes. I used a painter program on my computer, so yours may turn out different if doing it traditionally. If using Photoshop or something like it, ignore this bit

Step 1

The first step I usually do is to start out with a quick wireframe of the pose you wish your Marine to be in. The wireframe should show the shoulders, waist and limbs. A quick head shape, with eye line and line down the face helps to show what direction the face is pointing.

The one here has the basics done, along with the head and a rough area block for where the hand will be. As you can see, the shoulders are very wide, and the head seems small for a human. This is because of the Marine's enhanced size, and will help you to build the armour around it.

Step 2

Next, we begin to muscle out the skeleton we just drew. The body will be very muscly, think body builder style. It helps us to understand the size of the armour plates that go over the top.

I have added the pectoral muscles and abdomen muscles, yet these are only because I like to see it all working.

Step 3

Next, we begin the armour. I started from the foreground backwards, as then you do not have much to rub out. The boltgun and arm, then chest, hips and legs before the shoulder pads. They should be a little larger than the muscled body below, as the armour adds about 3cm at least on top.

The shin greaves should widen a bit towards the bottom, as on the model. Leg armour can be quite large, so there is a bit of leeway. I've left the body visible slightly underneath to help.

Step 4

The helmet and backpack are next. The helmet is one of the hardest parts, so feel free to leave the marine bareheaded if you can draw the face The main part you want to get right is the faceplate and eye section. The brow of the helmet can be tricky to draw at certain angles, such as a 3/4 view from below like here. It takes a few tries, but perservere and it will come. The rest of the helmet is a little easier, just following the lines of the head underneath. The ear modules on the side are a little easier. Just draw a oval where the ear is and then build up the surrounding plate. The backpack is simple if thought in terms of a cylinder lain horizontal across a cuboid. By moving this around in your head to the desired position and adding the plate and exauhsts, you have a finished pack.


Step 5

Detailing on the drawing is down to the taste of the artist Add whatever you feel appropriate. Here I have added his Aquila, Tactical logo, squad number and company symbol, along with a small purity seal and equipment pack on his leg.

When drawing the Aquila, remember this: The chest plate curves, minimizing the amount you can see on the furthest part from the viewer. It also will not always be completely visible, so be prepared to draw the entire thing, then erase section hidden.

Finish

And you are finished. Ink in the outlines if you will, or colour and paint the final product. It is up to you.



Thank you for reading this tutorial. I'll love to see what you guys can do!

[The Normish]

I like it, very concise and easy to follow (apart from the coloring part, maybe you could do another tutorial on that?).
Realistic looking Space Marines certainly look good.

[Firenze]

I like it, very concise and easy to follow (apart from the coloring part, maybe you could do another tutorial on that?).
Realistic looking Space Marines certainly look good.

I'll see what I can do for colouring. I might be doing a terminator tutorial and armour variants. Thanks!

[Zeller]

The Normish says it all. I'm curious though. When I draw marines I begin with a peice of the armor, typically a powerfist, and draw a marine's armor from that in whatever pose. The poses tend not to be very dynamic due to me having trouble with angled figures. Would the wireframe-humanoid figure approach make the more dynamic poses easier to visualize and then draw?

I like the marine you've made.

This post has been edited by Zeller: Aug 1 2010, 12:43 AM

[Grey Mage]

Really cool Firenze.

Speaking of wich, hows the 13nth co artwork coming?

[Firenze]

@Zeller: It does, especially in fighting stances. I used to use your technique, but used this instead as it allows me to see what the marine would be like before fully drawing him out. It also means porportions are right, as starting with armour can get it a little wrong occasionally.

@Grey Mage: Its going good.

[The Normish]

Well, what I usually do is I start by sort of sketching out the figure. I don't do a stick figure. Then I start by drawing a piece of the armor on (usually a shoulder pad, then the helmet)and sort of fill out the sketch from there. I usually end up with something that while not really "proportional" or realistic, looks pretty darn good in my opinion. Although after looking at your Space Marine there, I feel like I draw the heads too big...

[Solid Zaku]

Ooooh. This is nice, I'll use it for when I draw anything SM related.