How to Draw Dragon Ball Z Characters

In this article, we will see how to draw a Dragon Ball Z character. In a previous article, I showed you how to draw Goku. In this one, we will see how to draw two other iconic characters from the series: Bulma and Piccolo.

REFERENCES FOR DRAGON BALL CHARACTERS

To start, choose a reference image that you like for the two characters.

For both, I chose an image with a neutral pose to start easily.

When you feel able to go further, you can practice more complex poses.

Let's start with Bulma.

DRAWING BULMA STEP BY STEP

To properly draw, you always have to start with a base. So we will draw the base of Bulma's body using a light pencil (H or HB) without pressing hard.

Start by drawing the head. DBZ characters generally have a fairly large skull and a triangular jaw.

Draw an oval-shaped skull base then make a downward-pointing triangle for the jaw.

Bulma has a rather thin neck and small shoulders.

She has her hands on her hips and her arms bent, so naturally, her shoulders rise slightly.

Her torso is rather short, stops at the waist, and is as height as the head.

To draw the arms, first draw a rectangle extending outwards from the body, then a second extending inwards from the body. For the hands, have them extend outwards.

Let's continue with the legs. Bulma, being in a easy position, has straight legs.

Draw a first rectangle for the thigh and then a second for the shin.

To make the feet, use simple triangles.

 

ADDING DETAILS TO BULMA'S DRAWING

With the base done, we can move on to the details: face, hair, and clothing.

Bulma's hairstyle is quite simple: she has a few strands of hair as bangs and a small braid.

She wears a bow in her hair but it is only partly visible as she is facing forward.

 

As clothing, she wears a simple, short-sleeved dress, with a waist pouch; a glove on her right hand, a pair of socks, and sneaker-type shoes.

 

For her face, she has the same facial style as the characters from DBZ, generally: large eyes, small nose, and small mouth.

To make the eyes, draw a horizontal line for the lower part of the eye, then close it with a large arc.

The nose is simply the tip of a triangle, while the mouth is a small triangle pointing downwards.

 

INKING THE BULMA DRAWING 

Now that the base is completely finished, you can move on to inking.

Be confident before moving on to ink (or black with the tablet) because it is the last step. If you want to change something, do it first.

Take the opportunity to add details such as strands of hair or folds in the clothes.

 

Well done, you have drawn Bulma!

For coloring, it is best to stick with the colours in the reference photo, but you can obviously let your desires run free and create your own color palette.

Feel free to change the facial expressions if you wish.

Now, we will move on to Piccolo …

DRAWING PICCOLO STEP BY STEP

Unlike Bulma, Piccolo is a character who is very muscular and has a different face.

Despite everything, the base of the head remains the same.

Draw an oval-shaped skull base then make a triangle pointing downward to create the jaw.

He has “elf” ears. To draw them, create an elongated triangle with acute angles, extending upwards.

 

The neck is not visible, nor are the shoulders, but you can easily guess that they are massive and muscular.

So we'll draw him with a fairly thick neck and broad shoulders.

He has his arms crossed over his chest, so you need to draw his shoulders curving inward.

To draw the arms, you will draw a first rectangle that slightly goes inward towards the body, and then a second one that will be perpendicular to the first. The hands are hidden so we will stop at the wrists.

 

Next, we move on to the legs. As already mentioned, Piccolo has small legs.

He poses facing forward, legs slightly apart.

Draw a first rectangle extending outwards from the body to form the thigh, then a second to form the shin, continuing in the same direction.

For the feet, make simple triangles viewed from three-quarters angle.

 

ADDING DETAILS TO PICCOLO'S DRAWING

Now that your base is done, we can move on to the details: face and clothing.

Piccolo has his skull covered by a turban. Draw bands wrapped around themself.

 

For clothing, the task is more complex than for Bulma.

He is wearing a tank top, loose pants with a cape and shoulder pads. In this pose, the top is not visible.

For the pants, draw them following the line of the legs.

To draw the shoulder pads, make them in the shape of rounded triangles, with the tip pointing outward.

 

To make the eyes, draw acute-angled triangles with the tip pointing inward.

The nose, as with Bulma, is simply a triangular tip; the mouth, a simple horizontal line.

 

INKING THE PICCOLO DRAWING

As in the case of Bulma and any other design, make sure your design is suitable for you before inking.

During this step, add the folds of the clothing, facial lines, skin features.

 

You have finished and learnt how to draw Bulma and Piccolo.

  

Do not forget the important steps in drawing: make a solid and precise base even if it is rough, add details when everything is finished. There's no point in bothering with details at the start of a drawing, especially if the proportions are wrong at the end.

Take the time to draw, be patient and meticulous, this is the key to success!

Illustrator and writer: Coralie