How to Draw a Disney Character

  

No matter how many there are, Disney characters all share one common trait, the Disney touch. While the male characters are varied and different, the female characters, on the other hand, look very much alike. That's what I'm going to show you in this article. If you can create the base of a character, you can draw them all.

 

As an example, I will use two characters from the Disney universe from totally opposite worlds, but who are very much alike.

Melody from The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea and Eilonwy (or Eloise, depending on the version you saw) from The Black Cauldron.

Put like that, they seem to have nothing in common. Melody has round features while Eilonwy has sharper features, and yet I'm going to show you how with the same base you can draw both girls.

 

At the end of the article, I will show you that you can also draw Elsa using the same base, just the outline (an article How to Draw the Snow Queen will show you how to draw her in detail).

 

 

 

 

 

DRAWING THE BASE OF A FEMALE DISNEY CHARACTER

 

 

Let's start with our base. I drew a body in a classic pose, standing, arms apart and hands closed so they can hold the dress in "princess" mode. Also check out how to draw a woman's body, an article from our blog, which might interest you!

 

 

 

 

I created a child base since both characters are about 12/13 years old.

 

 

We are going to start by drawing Melody.

 

 

 

 

DISNEY DRAWING: MELODY FROM THE LITTLE MERMAID 2

 

 

 

 

 

Start by laying down the base of the face, you should do it with good round cheeks to show the childlike aspect. Then draw the ear.

 

 

 

For the hair, since Melody is Ariel's daughter (The Little Mermaid), she needs to have the same fringe. So, a side parting, a rounded fringe, and add a ponytail that goes over the shoulder.

 

 

 

We'll do the face last, so we'll move on to the dress.

The dress has a square neckline and puff sleeves at the shoulders.

Add a belt at the waist and a bow at the back.

 

 

 

For the bottom of the dress, you will draw it flared.

Make the top of the dress flow towards the hands. For the bottom, draw it in a half circle and add pleats.

   

 

 

 

 

 

For the face, start by drawing the eyes and nose, as they are usually the easiest to place.

 

 

 

 

Then make the mouth, with a pretty princess smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you are, you know how to draw Melody!

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISNEY DRAWING: EILONWY FROM THE BLACK CAULDRON

 

To make Eilonwy you will keep the same base and face (eyes, nose, and mouth). You will see that with the same base and identical face, you can create a different character.

 

 

 

 

Eilonwy has a more angular face. So you are going to redo the same kind of face as for Melody but with marked angles.

Her bangs are short and parted in the middle.

She has two thick strands on each side that hide her ears.

 

 

 

 

 

She has long, loose hair, so extend it downward to the level of her buttocks. She also wears a headband that slightly lifts her hair on top of her head.

Consider doing a few strands that go to the sides, if you do the hair in one block it will give a plastic "gel pot" effect that's not natural.

 

 

 

 

 

Eilonwy's outfit consists of two elements: A puff-sleeve bodice and a long skirt.

Let's start with the bustier. Draw puff sleeves that start from the shoulders and stop at the wrists with an "elastic" that tightens the sleeve.

 

Contrary to Melody, Eilonwy has a double round neckline bodice.

Start at the top of the sleeves and then join the other sleeve by making a half-circle.

The bottom of the bustier ends in a point, then make two vertical lines that separate the bustier into two.

 

 

 

 

For the skirt, like Melody, we will have it being held in her hands.

Start at the bottom of the bustier then join the hand.

Below the hand, we will make the first fold, do the same on the other side and finish off the dress in a slightly rounded manner.

Draw two lines starting from the middle of the bodice and flare them out towards the sides to form a triangle in the middle of the skirt.

Add a few lines to make the folds.

For her shoes, she wears simple ballet flats.

Draw a line from the beginning of the ankle to the middle of the foot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the face, we'll go with the same one as Melody.

There are only two small differences between the two princesses:

Melody's nose is rounded at the tip while Eilonwy's is pointed.

Melody's eyebrows are thick, Eilonwy's are thin.

 

 

Here, with the same body and face base, you've drawn two completely different princesses!

 

 

 

 

 

BONUS DISNEY DRAWING: ELSA FROM FROZEN

 

As I mentioned earlier, here is another example:

 

 

 

 

Here is Elsa, the Snow Queen.

 

It's your turn, draw different Disney characters, and why not create your own characters with Disney traits! :)

 

 

 

 

Illustrator and writer: Coralie