If you're aiming to become a good artist, an integral step is becoming skilled at drawing the human form. The placement of muscles, or musculature, is vital, whether you're drawing a comic book character or a realistic sketch.
Muscles are a type of contractile tissue, meaning they can contract or get smaller in order to produce movement. Muscles allow us to walk, run, talk, eat, pick things up - every movement we make is thanks to our muscles.
This drawing guide pictures a heavily muscled figure to help you get a good idea of where the muscles are and how they fit together. Can you identify major muscle groups, such as the biceps, abs, pectoral muscles, or calves? These visible muscles are known as skeletal muscles because they are supported by bones.
Scroll down for a downloadable PDF of this tutorial.
You can use this drawing guide as a blank slate to draw your favorite character or create your own. You could draw a real-life bodybuilder, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or a famous wrestler. Or, you could draw cartoon superheroes and villains, like Superman, the Hulk, and Doomsday.
Would you like to draw a cartoon muscle man? This easy, step-by-step cartoon drawing guide is here to show you how. All you will need is a pen, pencil, or marker and a sheet of paper.
If you liked this tutorial, see also the following drawing guides: Person Running, Woman's Face, and Body Outline.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Drawing Muscles
1. Begin by drawing two overlapping curved lines to enclose an irregular shape. The top of the shape should be larger than the bottom. Then, draw a line across the shape. This form's the figure's head. You can use our people drawing guides to fill in the details of the face.
2. Use a series of curved lines to draw the muscles of the neck, shoulders, and upper arm - the sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, and deltoid.
3. Use overlapping curved lines to draw the muscles of the upper and lower arm - the triceps brachii, biceps brachii, and brachioradialis.
4. Use curved lines to sketch the sides of the hand, thumb, and fingers.
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5. Draw curved lines across the shoulders, outlining the top of the pectoral muscle, pectoralis major. Outline the pecs themselves using "C" shaped lines. Then, use a long, curved line to outline the torso and pelvis.
6. Use curved lines to outline the muscles of the remaining arm and to sketch the palm and fingers of the clenched fist.
7. Sketch the muscles of the leg using overlapping curved lines. The muscles of the upper leg include the gracilis, sartorius, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. Note the curvature of the knee, and the muscles of the lower leg - the gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis anterior. Conclude the leg with an outline of the foot and toes.
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8. Use overlapping curved lines to outline the upper leg, lower leg, foot, and toes of the remaining side.
9. Detail the muscles of the torso. Draw a line down the center of the torso and cross it with curved lines. This distinguishes the rectus abdominis muscles, commonly known as abs. Draw a few curved lines just under the armpit. Ribs could be showing, but the latisimus dorsi muscles are also present in this location.
Turn your muscled figure into a full-fledged cartoon character with the help of our people drawing guides. There, you'll find all the parts you'll need to put your character together, including eyes, ears, noses, mouths, hair, and hands. Then, head over to our objects drawing guides, where you can dress your muscle man with shoes, robes, hats, hoodies, jeans, boxing gloves, glasses, headphones, jewelry, weapons, and more.
Scroll down for a downloadable PDF of this tutorial.
The Complete Muscles Drawing Tutorial in One Image
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