It’s not easy to draw the face of one of the world’s greatest basketball players, Lebron James. With his athletic build, chiseled jawline, and soaring success in the world of basketball, it’s no wonder why people want to replicate his likeness! If you’ve dreamed of drawing King James, we’ve got you covered with our step-by-step guide to drawing the King.
The first step to drawing Lebron is to start with the basics. You’ll need a large piece of paper, plenty of graphite pencils, pens and erasers. This will act as your canvas, so be sure to pick the best material for your portrait. After that, lightly sketch out the general shape of the face. Once you have a rough outline, time to add more detail. Start with the eyes. Lebron typically has a bold, intense gaze, with deep set eyes, so be sure to capture that look. After that, move down to the nose and mouth area. Lebron has a distinctive nose and jawline, so take your time and try to capture that detail. When you’re finished with the face, it’s time to move onto the neck and shoulders. Here, you want to focus on bringing out the muscular, athletic structure of Lebron’s body. You may need to use a ruler to get sharper, more defined lines.
When you’ve drawn the contours of the neck and shoulders, you can start adding details like a shirt, shoes and facial hair. While these are entirely up to you, they always help build a more complete picture and story. When you’re done, erase all remnants of pencil lines, and begin to fill in the dark shading. This is your chance to use subtle shadings to capture the light and shadows of the face, neck and body. Make sure to get your pencils graded properly before starting this step. You can also add color to your drawing, if that’s your preference. When you’re happy with the final product, set it aside to let it dry. Once dry, you can admire your drawing and be proud of your masterpiece.
But drawing Lebron isn’t just about the final product. It’s about the process. Achieving a quality drawing involves a great deal of trial and error. As you attempt more and more portraits, you’ll start to notice little details you’ve never seen before – like how the eyebrows are shaped, how the lips look when Lebron laughs or how his hair falls on different sides of his face. With each drawing you complete, you will start to hone your skills, and become better and better. This journey is just as crucial as getting to the end result.
The most important thing when it comes to drawing Lebron is to be creative, have fun and be confident in your abilities. It takes time and practice to master the techniques, but with dedication and hard work, you can have your own Lebron James masterpiece to hang up on the wall! So get your pencils ready and start sketching away!
Section 1: Practice Making Shapes
When you’re starting out, it’s important to practice making the basic geometric shapes of a face. Going over the shape of especially important features, such as Lebron’s trademark nose, chin and jawline, is essential. This will help you in the future when you start adding the detail layers to your drawing. As you practice sketching these shapes, be sure to always have a reference picture of Lebron alongside you as a guideline.
Section 2: Proportion and Perspective
As any artist knows, proportions and perspective are an important part of any drawing. When it comes to drawing King James, there’s no exception. Get into the details – down to the eyebrows and look into the eyes. Make sure the ears are in the right spot, the hair is accurately swept back, the nostrils are the proper size and dimension. Setting the perspective properly in each element will create a realistic drawing.
Section 3: Textures and Shading
Once you have Lebron’s features down, it’s time to bring your sketch to life with texture and shading. The best way to do this is to start with the basics. Begin by adding shading near his lips, neck and shoulders, and start to define the contours of his face and body. Then, gradually layer in subtle shadings of light and dark, to bring depth to your drawing. Finally, to add texture, use a cross-hatching technique, adding tiny pencil strokes on top of each other for a more realistic texture.
Section 4: Finishing Touches
After spending a lot of time drawing the face and body of Lebron James, you’ll want to finish it off with some clothing and accessories. You can keep it simple and realistic with a standard NBA jersey, or go more creative and add more unique items like a gold chain, hat and shoes. This is entirely up to you and depends solely on your individual style. Once you have all that in place, it’s time to see the final product. Step back and appreciate your artwork. Congratulate yourself for all the hard work and dedication that went into creating this masterpiece!
