How to Draw Wicked Skull Drawings or Vector Skulls in Illustrator

How to Draw Wicked Skull Drawings or Vector Skulls in Illustrator

Wicked skull drawings are quite a simple task at a glance, but once you start sketching, it probably looks different from your reference (you are using a reference, right?). Then it begins to go out of proportions, looks deformed and has no expression whatsoever. But this is OK, it is a part of the learning process – please do not let this get to you! I, myself have gone through this and every other artist has, as well.

This tutorial will show you how to draw evil skulls quickly, as well as learn a bit of anatomy along the way. So let’s draw some really evil and nasty skulls – the right way!

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References

First, we need to learn the anatomy of the skull and for that we need a few references, which I am sure you can find on Google images  – skull images from Google

Sketching

For wicked skull drawings, we start with simple geometrical shapes, just to block in the contour. Use only short, straight lines, do not draw curves yet. A sketch is supposed to be rough; you can adjust it quickly to correct any mistakes. In short terms, keep your roughs rough and your cleans clean.
Unlike regular human skulls, you can add expressions and alter its overall shape to become more aggressive.

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Wicked skull drawings - Skull Anatomy
Wicked skull drawings – Skull Anatomy
Wicked skull drawings - stage2
Step 3 image

Now that we have a pretty good idea of how to draw one let’s draw one in a perspective view.

Wicked skull drawings - stage4
step 5 image

Simple shading

Now that we have knowledge of the outline let’s make it pop out from the paper! In the sketch below, I’ve marked the 3D shape with a grid. Grab your pencil and paper and mark it on your sketch as well.

Wicked skull drawings - stage6

I’m asking you to do this because you have a good photographic memory (you’re an artist, right?) and drawing it yourself will turn the image you see on the screen into an elaborate process customized only for you. It becomes a dialogue between you and the paper and makes it easier to understand and memorize.

step 7 image

Outline

Now that we have a complete understanding of the shape, we can start adding polished details. Let’s begin with the outline and the sharp lines that define it. For that, we will use two pressure-sensitive brushes.

Wicked skull drawings - stage8 - Calligraphy brush options
step 9 - evil skull drawing easy

For the contour, we’ll use the thicker brush and for the inner details, a thinner brush. A strong outline makes it stand out, and it does not confuse the viewer, so outlining like this is a must.

how to draw a skull easy
step 11 image

Here’s a little trick to use for the outline: in the areas where you have a shadow, make the outline a bit stronger than the rest. Not only you can dispose of the shadow, but it will add more volume to the overall design.

step 12 image

Details

Grab the second brush we created and let’s start drawing, shall we? This is a very tricky part; we only want the outline to suggest the shape and not draw the entire contour. Keep in mind that the brain can make you see a defined shape even if there are just a few lines. In the image below, I’ve drawn a skull, and you can tell it’s a skull at first glance, even if it doesn’t have a high level of detail.

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how to draw 3d skull

So let’s apply this principle to our drawing.

Shading

This part is similar to the simple shading, but this time you have to pay attention to the line spacing and length. Start drawing the basic shadows, then just fill the white gaps with random, short strokes. That’s about it. One important aspect: Keep in mind the position of the light source. If you draw this for a garment print, the light source is not critical and you must sacrifice everything to the visual impact. A t-shirt will look cool if you manipulate the line spacing and thickness, not shading and lighting.

how to draw 3d skull
step 15 image
demon skull drawing easy- stage16
evil skulls drawings - step 17
drawing skulls easy- step 18
step 19

Extra details

The bone structure is not very smooth, especially if you draw something old and decayed. This enables you to add shaky lines, just to add a wee bit of texture, holes, cracks or tiny dents. It’s these details that make a huge difference; I recommend you do this for everything you draw from this point on. It is a personal touch and shows how much effort you’ve put into it.

step 20
how to draw skull - stage21

Saving

Select the full artwork and expand the strokes (Object > Expand Appearance…), then hit the “Merge” button in the Pathfinder window. Hit it one more time if you still have Stroke. This is a technical aspect you must do for a couple of reasons: when someone else wants to scale it, the strokes will not scale along unless you explicitly set them and the source file will have a smaller size.

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expanding appearance
step 23
how to draw a skull easy - stage 24

Done! Your easy to draw evil skull is ready!

evil skulls drawings

Download source

[download id=”183″]

Editor’s Note: This post on how to draw skulls was originally published in October 2011 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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About

I write articles, Photoshop and Illustrator tutorials and draw pretty stuff for Designious, Pixel77 and Vectorious. I also drink and spill industrial amounts of coffee.

15 Comments on “How to Draw Wicked Skull Drawings or Vector Skulls in Illustrator

  1. Awesome tutorial! Thanks Doink. I think I’ll give it a shot and produce a version with no hatch work and maybe more bold positive/negative contrast that could be used on a pumpkin carving for tonight!

  2. Hi there,

    I love the awesome tutorial! I would very much like to create such art, but my drawing skills are lacking that department. Is it possible to learn how to draw like that??

    Thanks!!!

    Q

    • there are a few youtube channels that explain quite well how to draw stuff. ProkoTV is one of them, check it out.

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