Ever wanted to draw Star Wars characters and vehicles just like the professional comic book artists? In this step-by-step series, Star Wars artists and illustrators show you how to draw some of the most beloved characters in the saga.
As Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller has been trained by the Dark Lord of the Sith to hunt down the last of the galaxy's Jedi. Vader has spent years personally training the Apprentice in the ways of the Sith in secret. As he grew stronger in the ways of the Force, Vader began testing the Apprentice by sending him on secret missions. Vader assigned his apprentice the codename "Starkiller," and provided him with an advanced prototype starship, the Rogue Shadow, to aid in his missions. With these early trials complete, the Apprentice is now ready to embark on his most dangerous missions yet: the hunt for rogue Jedi -- in the new LucasArts game The Force Unleashed.
Star Wars illustrator Grant Gould explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw Starkiller from the LucasArts gameThe Force Unleashed. Steps 1-5 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.
Step One:
It's best to start with basic shapes. Draw a simple framework using ovals, boxes, and lines to signify the character's pose and body parts. Circles can show where the elbows and hands will be, and a curved line can represent the waistline. Be sure to draw this step with very light pencil strokes. You don't want to start using dark lines until you get to the final step.
Step Two:
Now that you have Starkiller's framework in place, you can start creating more solid body shapes. Give him an angled jaw line, and flesh out the arms and hands a bit more. Draw a line across his chest to help show placement of his shoulder armor, and feel free to lightly sketch in a few belt lines, as well as the edges of the cloth that hangs down from his abdomen. At this stage, we're still building the basic shapes to serve as guidelines for the next few steps, so keep your lines light and loose.
Step Three:
Ready to add details? It's best to focus on each area separately, so start with Starkiller's head. Give him some ears, as well as the essential facial features: nose, mouth, eyes, etc. There's no need to draw more than a few lines here. At this point we're marking where everything needs to be, and then later we can come back and flesh it out to our heart's content. Give him a hairline and some cheekbone lines. This is also a good time to draw his armor, which basically swoops over his shoulders and chest.
Step Four:
Next up draw his hands and arms. Starkiller has some pretty ragged, torn-up sleeves, and chunks of cloth that are wrapped around his arms, so it gives you some liberty to be as clean or as messy as you like in terms of detail here. He's also got a tattoo on his left arm that you can have peeking through some of the ripped-off portions of his sleeve. Hands and fingers can be difficult to draw, so try posing your own hands and using them for reference if you like.
Step Five:
You're almost finished! Next draw his belts and waist area. Starkiller has a ton of belts, and -- much like his arms -- you have a lot of freedom in how detailed or simplistic you want to get with drawing this particular area. Make sure he has at least three or four belts though. At this point you should also create his lightsaber. Use a ruler to lightly pencil a straight line from his hand to up and past his head (as shown in the example), because you don't want a crooked lightsaber. You can draw the blade with wavy lines or straight lines -- different artists draw lightsabers in their own ways, so feel free to give it your own style!
Step Six:
Now that Starkiller is pretty well fleshed out, it's time to create your final drawing, and you can do this using darker pencil lines or a pen. Simply go over your lines and pick and choose what you think should be in the final illustration. Add more details here, too, such as more lines on his face, folds or shadows in his outfit, or even some pencil shading or marker coloring. However you want to finish your Starkiller picture is completely up to you!
Learn more about Starkiller and other characters in the new LucasArts game The Force Unleashed here.
See all our drawing tutorials in the Star Wars Drawing Archive
