How to Draw Dragon Ball Z Characters


How to Draw Dragon Ball Z Characters
How to Draw Dragon Ball Z Characters

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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.

Bulma image from Dragon Ball ZPiccolo Dragon Ball image

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.

base of bulma's head from dragon ball z

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.

drawing of Bulma's bust from Dragon Ball Z

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.

Bulma's arms drawing from Dragon Ball Z

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.

 Bulma's legs

 

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.

 drawing Bulma's hair from Dragon Ball Z

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.

Bulma's clothes  

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.

 drawing of bulma's face from dragon ball z

 

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.

 Inking for the Bulma drawing from Dragon Ball Z

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.

 Piccolo's head drawing from Dragon Ball Z

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.

drawing of Piccolo's bust from Dragon Ball Z

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.

 Piccolo's Arms Drawing from Dragon Ball Z

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.

 drawing of piccolo's legs from dragon ball z


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.

 Piccolo's turban drawing from Dragon Ball Z

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.

 Piccolo's Dragon Ball Z clothing drawing

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.

 drawing of piccolo's face from dragon ball z


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.

 Inking of Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z

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

 Piccolo and Bulma final drawing from dragon ball z  

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


by Liam

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