2022.07.13

【For Beginners & Intermediates】Become a Weaponsmith ~Equipment Edition~【Weapon Design】

What could be the most “important thing” in fantasy works?
First magic, second demons, … of course we need weapons!

They can be used to strike with physical force, or it can be used to perform magic.
There are also hybrid weapons made of magic.
What will be their attribute? Maybe a physical attack that deals magical damage…?

I’ll leave it up to each of you to decide, but once again I’ll show you how to draw weapons again!
In the equipment section, I’ll give you some practical tips on how to draw a character with a weapon!
In this article on equipment, I’ll give you some practical tips on how to draw a character with a weapon! The main focus of this article will be on posing before drawing and coloring.
This article is mainly about posing before line drawing and coloring, so you can use any size image and pen you like.

Index

1, Preparation

Please have a weapon visualized and ready, even if it’s just a vague one off your head.
Just a rough draft will do!
I think it would be more fun to draw if the characters are also prepared beforehand, don’t you think?

You can find more information on how to draw weapons and characters in my past articles, please check them out.

▼Previous Articles
[For Beginners] Let’s make our own child! Part 1 [Original Character]

【For Beginners】Become a Weaponsmith – Casting & Minting ～【Weapon Design】

2, Try creating a three-view drawing

If you want to draw a weapon freely, try drawing it three-dimensionally.
Draw it not only from the front, but also from the side and the back, so that you can easily visualize it as a three-dimensional object.
If it is symmetrical, draw only one side, and draw both sides if it is asymmetrical.

You may find hidden mistakes that you didn’t notice when you were only drawing the weapon’s front side…!

3, Try drawing weapons in poses easy to draw

There are a lot of people who can draw weapons and characters separately, but find it difficult to draw them well together.
I also have a hard time drawing every time I want to give a weapon to a character.

In such cases, I suggest you try copying and pasting the weapon you drew.
Instead of drawing a new weapon, you can use a draft that you drew in advance.
Use [Transform (Ctrl + T)] to adjust the angle and size of the pasted weapon.

This is the most basic method, but it is quite easy to use.

▼ How to use【Transform】
[For beginners] Overcoming distortion in illustrations! Points to draw a well-balanced picture [Smartphone version]

Once you get used to it, try angling it a little bit.
It’s a bit of work, but I think it will finish the illustration more naturally.
You can use a transform tool to narrow the width or shift the position to increase the 3D effect.
I recommend using [Lasso (L)] to set the range and [Move (V)] to shift it.

If you can do this, you can draw most of the poses, so just try to copy and paste and angle first!

4, Try drawing a simple weapon with an iron pipe

There are some poses that are quicker to redraw, such as the pose with the tip of the sword facing forward or the pose with the sword.
In order to draw a powerful pose, it is naturally more convenient to draw the weapon from various angles.
Let’s start with using an iron pipe as a weapon’s base, and gradually change its shape.

Pose the weapon as if it were held firmly in front of you.
The weapon has a handle, so mark it for easy reference.

The closer the weapon is to the front, the bigger it will appear, so make the tip of the iron pipe big!
It doesn’t matter if it’s a little too big, in fact, it might be just right!

Once the pipe is drawn, let’s draw the tsuba (handguard) part.
Just above the handle, attach the handguard in any shape you like.
If you like western style swords, draw a horizontal shape, if you like Japanese style katanas, draw a circular shape.

Lastly, make the pipe thin to make it look more like a sword.
By using this modified iron pipe as a base, it will be much easier to visualize!

5, Challenge yourself for the real one!

If you’ve made it this far, you’re ready for the real thing!
It may be difficult to start with a complex weapon, so I think it’s safe to start with a simple one.

First draw the tip of the sword, so you can get an idea of how it will look.

Then, just like the modified iron pipe, draw the front part larger and at an angle.
If you mark the same position on the weapon and the iron pipe before drafting, you can draw a more balanced picture!

Once you get used to it, you will be able to draw various poses for various weapons.
Try to figure out how each weapon looks from each angle, and draw the ideal pose using an iron pipe or a simple outline!

How was this tutorial?
I hope you were able to draw powerful looking characters posing with their favorite weapons.
When their weapons change, their fighting styles change, and if their fighting styles change, their poses change as well.
The ability to use all kinds of weapons, various kinds of tactics, they all depend on their opponents and battle situations.
It is only through training tirelessly everyday that they will bear fruit and eventually reach their mastery in martial arts.
What am I talking about? I hope you understand at the very least.
Anyway, enjoy your drawing!

And thanks for reading!