TEXT: Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
     In this tutorial, I will attempt to go over how to draw
  DBZ style bodies. I don't have much experience with
  drawing figures, though, so just bear with me. You
  should be able to use a lot of the stuff here for drawing
  the bodies of other styles of characters, too.
     I didn't make up these poses, I took them directly
  from other DBZ pictures, so you may recognize a few
  of the more common ones. ^_^
  If you have any questions, please email me.
  This page was created and is maintained by Julie
  Dillon.
  Redesigned by k-chan.
  All material is copyright by their respective owners.
  If you have any questions, comments, et cetera, please
  send them here.
  Arigatou gozaimasu!
  This site © 1998, 1999 by Julie Dillon. All rights
  reserved.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/db_bodies.html [3/7/2000 13:25:49]
  
  Step 1:
  We shall begin with a basic, Dragonball-ish pose, and
  then work our way up to more complicated poses. Start
  off with the head, torso, and waist. The head is the same
  shape as in my other DBZ tutorials, just a circle with the
  lower half of the face added. If you like, you can draw the
  face first. The only reason that I didn't draw the face first
  here is because I didn't want to retrace the face that many
  times. ^_^
  The torso is usually relatively large, and wider than the
  waist.
  As shown in this picture, the distance from the top of the
  head to the bottom of the neck is the same as the
  distance between the bottom of the neck and the bottom
  of the torso. Also, the distance from the center of the
  head to the edge of the head is about the same as the
  distance from the edge of the head to the tip of the
  shoulder. Hopefully that will help you get the proportions
  right. I usually add extremely basic muscle definition, just
  to get a more three-dimensional look and help with the placement of the other forms. Make
  sure you draw all this very lightly, because you'll be erasing it and drawing over it later.
  Step 2:
  Next, sketch in the basic shape of the arms and legs. Don't
  worry about the muscles or clothes yet, we'll add those later.
  Right now, just use sketchy ovals, circles, and cylinders to get
  the proportions. Use cylinders for the arms, ovals for the legs,
  and circles for the shoulders, joints and hands. This method
  may seem awkward at first, but it is a great help in determing
  the proper length and size of the various parts of the body.
  In this picture, the arms don't go straight down. The elbows are
  pulled back behind him, so that his forearms are level with his
  waist. Thus, the arms will not be drawn as long as if they were
  hanging limply at his side. Foreshortening the arms isn't all that
  difficult, if you think of them just as cylinders. Notice here that
  with both arms, the top part of the arm slants inward, since it is
  moving away from you. The lower part slants back out, since his
  fists are coming towards you. These angles are further
  exaggerated by the little arrows on the sides of his arms.
  DBZ legs tend to be short and stumpy and don't really taper
  down as much as other characters' legs. Just be careful not to
  make them too short, or they will look weird. ^_^
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose1.html (1 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:00]
  
  Step 3:
  Once the arms and legs are in place, you can begin drawing the
  details over your rough sketch, such as clothing, hair, and muscles.
  Folds in clothing can be difficult, but just try to see which way the
  cloth is being pulled. For example, his pants are very loose and
  baggy, so it bunches up around his knees and ankles; the folds
  curve inward and down towards his feet. The material of his belt is
  stretched around his waist, so the folds are more horizontal.
  The way Dragonball Z muscles are drawn reminds of a normally
  proportioned person with flesh-colored water balloons stuck to his
  arms. ^_~ The muscles are always very big and round, and are
  shaded to look like they protrude a great deal, like balloons. This is
  more prominent in Super Saiyajin characters. The point of this is
  that it might help you to think of the muscles as individual ellipsoids
  when drawing them. ^_^
  Step 4:
  Erase all the unncessary lines, leaving only the outline. Add
  the face and hands, as well as extra details on the muscles
  and clothes. Clean up your sketch as best as you can.
  Step 5:
  You may now color or shade your picture with a meduim of your
  choice. Make sure to make the muscles look very round, and make
  the shadows on the clothes very dark and contrasting.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose1.html (2 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:00]
  
  Step 1:
  Now lets try a similar pose,
  except from a 3/4 view. I'm going
  to move a little faster this time.
  Draw the same head, torso, and
  waist as before, except now turn
  it a 3/4 angle. Use the center line
  that runs from the top of his head
  to the bottom of his waist to
  guide you. Notice that it should
  follow the contours of the forms
  rather than moving straight down
  in a straight curve. Also notice
  that the back is arched slightly
  (indicated by the red line). The
  same proportions as in the
  tutorial above should apply, but it
  will be harder to judge since the
  forms are at an angle.
  Step 2:
  Once the main body is
  positioned, draw in the arms and
  legs. Again, in this pose the elbows have been pulled back and are foreshortened. For the
  right arm, the upper section slants inward since it moves away from you, and the lower
  section slants outward since it moves towards you. For the left arm, both sections are
  moving away from you, so they both slant inward (make sure the lower half is at an angle
  from the top half, since his arm is bent, not straight. The legs in this picture are more
  tapered than in the last drawing, so make them a little thinner near the bottom (but not too
  thin).
  Step 3:
  Lightly draw the outlines of the
  clothing, hair, and any
  accesories (like the sword).
  Like other DBZ characters, his
  pants are very baggy and
  should gather around the
  ankles. His shirt is sort of tight
  and shouldn't look too baggy
  (in other words, don't have it
  hang down over the belt and
  bunch up too much), while his
  jacket is very thick (the
  material should look loose and
  bunch up around his joints).
  Step 4:
  Erase all unncessary lines and
  smooth out your final outline.
  Draw in his hands and face.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose2.html (1 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:10]
  
  Step 5:
  You can now take your finished picture and color or
  shade it however you choose. As always, I used Adobe
  Photoshop, but you can use whatever you want, as long
  it is shaded and has some depth to it. Notice that since
  the pants are so dark, you can hardly see the wrinkle
  lines that were drawn in earlier; instead, the highlights
  define the shape.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose2.html (2 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:10]
  
  Step 1:
  Our next pose is similar to the last
  one, but now one of the legs is
  foreshortened in addition to the
  arms, and the upper half of the left
  arm isn't visible at all since its
  hidden behind the torso. Start
  again with the head, torso and
  waist at a 3/4 view, but now tilt the
  forms so that it looks like he is
  leaning over. When a character
  leans over, you'll notice that the
  back of the ribcage is large
  enough that it begins to surround
  the head. There is a better
  example of this further on, but I'll
  get to that in a moment. For now,
  just take note that the neck isn't
  going to be as visible when the
  character is leaning foward, since
  the head blocks the lower part of
  the neck, and swell of the muscles
  on the back hide the upper part of
  the neck.
  Step 2:
  Next, draw the arms and legs. You will foreshorten the legs the exact same way as you did
  the arms; if the forms are moving away from you, slant them inward; if they are moving
  towards you, slant them outwards. Make the right leg a little short, since it is bent slightly
  forward towards you (look at the other pictures to see what I mean).
  Step 3:
  Now you can start adding the
  details, like the hair, clothing,
  muscles and hands. Since his
  legs are bent, there are going to
  be lot more folds on the pants.
  Just remember to draw the folds
  in the direction that the cloth is
  being pulled. If you look at the left
  leg, you'll see that the material is
  stretched across his knees, so
  there are horizontal folds near the
  waist.
  Step 4:
  Draw the face and the rest of the
  details, then erase all the
  unncessary lines and smooth over
  the finished outline.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose3.html (1 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:18]
  
  Step 5:
  You can now color or shade your picture.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose3.html (2 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:18]
  
  Step 1:
  This pose is similar to the others, as well,
  except the foreshortening and positioning
  are more complicated. Draw the head,
  torso, and waist as usual, except tilt the
  body more to the right. Notice how the
  waist is much smaller than the torso, and
  is located further to right; don't make it
  too far to the right, though, you don't
  want him to look too swishy. -_^
  Step 2:
  Draw in his arms and legs next, using
  just ovals and cylinders. Now, you will
  notice that since his right leg is bent
  back, the lower half of the leg is not
  visible. All you see of the lower half is his
  foot. Draw the right thigh as you would
  for any other figure, just don't include the
  lower half of the leg. For the left leg, make sure it is slanted to the right rather than going
  straight down, so it will look like he is starting to run rather than standing on one foot
  (unless you want to do a pose like that). ^_^
  The arms may be difficult, as well. The left arm is bent forward towards you, so the front
  half of the arm should cover up a great deal of the back half. Keep the arm up high and
  level with the center of the chest, becuase it is going to be holding a sword. The right arm is
  almost completely hidden behind the torso. Just make sure the hand isn't any lower than
  the hips.
  Step 3:
  Now, add the hair, muscles,
  clothing, sword, and hands. Use a
  straight edge or ruler if necessary
  to draw the sword straight and to
  make sure its at the proper angle.
  Make the muscles on the arms
  very round; make the ones closer
  to you overlap the ones further
  back to make them look more
  three dimensional. The shoulder
  muscles on both sides should be
  rather prominent. The shirt it
  relatively tight and shouldn't be
  drawn too baggy. The pants are
  tight around the waist, but loose
  around the legs, so draw most of
  the folds around the knees and
  ankles. Make his hair look like it is
  flowing back somewhat, so it looks more like he is in motion.
  Step 4:
  Erase all the lines you don't need, add the face, and smooth out your sketch. Retrace it
  onto a clean peice of paper if necessary.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose4.html (1 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:29]
  
  Step 5:
  Shade or color your picture as you see fit. Hmm, this one
  turned out pretty good. ^_^
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose4.html (2 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:29]
  
  Step 1:
  Now, we will move on to examples of more
  exaggerated foreshortening. In this picture, the
  figure is leaning forward a great deal, looking
  like he's going to use some chi attack or
  something. Remember what I was saying before
  about the ribcage enveloping the head when the
  figure is tilted forward? Well, here is a better
  example of that. The head completely covers up
  the neck, and the head is almost completely
  surrounded by the torso. The chest muscles are
  hardly visible because of the angle, and some of
  the waist is hidden, as well.
  Step 2:
  Next, draw the arms and legs. Both arms stick straight out towards you, which can be a difficult angle to
  draw them at. Just remember to draw them shorter than normal, and to make them slant outwards. The
  left hand is straighter than the right, and slants outward more, because it's closer to you. The little arrows
  show you an exaggerated view of the movement of the arms.
  The legs are very far back behind the body. Thus, they will be drawn very short. They will slant inwards,
  since they are moving away from you. Only the top part of the left leg is visible, since the lower half is
  hidden. Keep the figure very compact; the arms and legs shouldn't be drawn too far out from the main
  body.
  Step 3:
  Now for the fun part, adding in all the details.
  ^_^ Draw the hair, muscles, hands, and
  clothes. The hands really aren't as difficult as
  they may seem at first. The palms are very
  large and circular, and the fingers are all short
  and curve inwards towards the center of the
  palm. The muscles are, as always, very large
  and water-balloonish (^_~) so make sure they
  look round and protrude and everything.
  Step 4:
  Erase all the extra lines and draw in the face.
  Smooth out your sketch, and add some extra
  definition to the muscles and clothing.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose5.html (1 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:38]
  
  Step 5:
  Color or shade your picture however you want.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose5.html (2 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:38]
  
  Step 1:
  Okay, this is the
  last pose. ^_^ The
  view is the most
  awkward, in my
  opinion, so I saved
  it for last. In this
  picture, the
  character is leaning
  so far forward that
  his torso blocks out
  most of the lower
  half of his body.
  The ribcage
  completely
  encircles his head
  now.
  Step 2:
  Now, add the arms, and the one leg that is visible. ^_^ Just assume that the other leg is
  pointed straight backwards. All you see of the left leg is the edge of the knee, so don't make
  it too long, it is not going to be sticking out from the body that far. The left arm curves away
  from you, so make sure it slants inward. The hand on the right arm should be almost as big
  as the head, since it is much closer to you than the head.
  Step 3:
  Add the major details, like the
  hair, clothes, and muscles.
  Step 4:
  Add the face, erase the
  unwanted lines, smooth out
  your sketch, and you are almost
  done. ^_^
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose6.html (1 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:47]
  
  Step 5:
  Color or shade your picture. Try to make the light
  source consistent; that is, have the light come
  from the same side so that the highlights and
  shadows seem more consistent. Well, that about
  wraps things up. Whew... That took longer that I
  thought it would. ^_^;
  That completes my section on Dragonball Z style bodies. I hope this was of some help to you.
  :) If this tutorial has helped you in any way, I'd love to see your finished work.
  Tips on Drawing Dragonball Z Style Bodies
  http://www.animeextreme.com/julie/pose6.html (2 of 2) [3/7/2000 13:26:47]
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Crafts/Design/Cartoons  Comics  Fantasy/How to Draw Manga/How to Draw Manga - Poses.pdf