10 “How To Draw Superheroes” Books: Boost Your Drawing Superpowers!

So, you want to learn how to draw superheroes?

Awesome! Superheroes are fun for everybody! 🙂

Comics, animation, and live-action movies based on stories about superheroes, sidekicks, and their supervillain-y enemies are widely popular among all age groups around the world!

As art creators, making fan art for our favorite characters, as well as coming up with our own is #goals.

Lots of artists are involved directly in the creative process in Marvel, DC, and many other superhero comics/movie creating companies. Others create fan art and get inspired to make their own characters and draw their own comics.

Maybe you are among those who want to learn how to draw your own superheroes or recreate already existing ones. Maybe it’s someone that you know who’s really into this and would love to learn this skill.

We have prepared a list of books for adults and kids about drawing superheroes, which you can buy for yourself or as a gift.

1. How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema

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How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way

• Lee, Stan (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 192 Pages - 09/14/1984 (Publication Date) - Atria Books (Publisher)

$17.99 $10.79

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Marvel characters are probably the first thing that comes to mind when you’re thinking about superheroes. This book, created with the help and participation of the one and only Stan Lee, is meant to teach the reader a lot of things about the process of creating comics.

It’s an inside look at what you actually need to create good comics and graphic novels.

Drawing a superhero character is a huge part of creating a comic, and this 192-page book will be focusing on that a lot. It includes step by step instructions on how to draw epic characters – heroes and villains. It’s written in a very easy-to-understand language that would be great for both kids and adults.

As the title states, the book uses Marvel characters as primary examples while telling the reader all the basics about comic art. So if you are interested in Marvel specifically, it surely adds bonus points!

2. Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes

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Stan Lee's How to Draw Superheroes: From the Legendary Co-creator of the Avengers, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Iron Man

• Used Book in Good Condition
• Lee, Stan (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 224 Pages - 07/09/2013 (Publication Date) - Watson-Guptill (Publisher)

$24.99 $14.49

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This book isn’t only about drawing Marvel characters. It’s an entire history of superheroes and how these kinds of characters developed in art throughout history. This will surely teach you about the needs of the audience and what exactly creates a moving story and a well-written believable character.

The book has 224 pages total and is divided into several sections. They are dedicated to certain types of characters and the specific traits that will help you draw them. Stan Lee shares his own secrets for creating characters, and if he wasn’t a trustworthy person in this field, then who is?

Great both for kids and superhero-loving adults, as well as both beginners and more advanced artists, informative, and helpful – this is what this book is like. It references a lot of famous Marvel characters and will be very helpful for the reader, especially the one who is inspired by Marvel comics and characters the most.

3. How to Draw Batman, Superman, and Other DC Super Heroes and Villains by Aaron Sautter

How to Draw Batman, Superman, and Other DC Super Heroes and Villains

• Sautter, Aaron (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$14.95

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DC Comics are as well known as Marvel, and their characters are definitely loved worldwide as much as Marvel characters. (Let’s not get into passionate debates here, ok?)

This book is perfect for a beginner artist who’s head over heels for DC superheroes (or supervillains), especially the most famous ones.

Simple step by step instructions are perfect for someone new to art and eager to learn how to draw their favorite characters.

This book contains 144 pages and ensures hours of entertainment for a young reader. It also provides some background information about every single character that is presented, as well as drawing tips for educating and making the process easier.

Drawing and creating characters isn’t as hard as it may seem, and the book is here to help the reader understand that, along with referencing their favorite heroes.

By the way, my Free Random Character prompt generator includes the ability to generate random superpowers! It’s super cool and completely free to use. Check it out!

4. How to Draw Superheroes by Jace Brock

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Who is this book dedicated to? Actually, all of the superheroes, from both Marvel and DC universes. Why choose between the two worlds with really cool characters, when you can have both?

The book would be great for kids and beginner artists and will guide the reader through all the necessary drawing stages. From building the basic shape out of lines and circles to understanding how the bodies are positioned under the super-costumes in these insanely cool and epic superhero poses.

It’s not just for blindly copying the drawings, it will definitely help the reader understand more about drawing and learn it in an easy and fun way.

The step by step instructions are combined with the characters’ background information, so you don’t have to know them all, and might discover some new favorites.

The book has 67 pages total, which means lots of fun sketching and coloring time. It will make every young superhero fan extremely happy and promote joyful engagement in the process.

5. Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist by Christopher Hart

Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist: How to Draw the New Streamlined Look of Action-Adventure Comics!

• Hart, Christopher (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$19.95

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This book is perfect for someone who already has some basic knowledge about creating comic characters and wants to concentrate more on style.

It will assist you in making the drawing style suitable for drawing superheroes. In modern times the tendencies lean more towards the simplified, cartoonish designs, and that’s what this book is all about.

Drawing anatomy is not as hard as it seems, even in action and adventure comics, especially the more simplified anatomy that doesn’t require the academic style.

This book will teach you how to simplify drawings while keeping them looking good. Through text and illustrations, it’ll teach what to eliminate and what needs to stay, and how to create a modern streamlined look for your superheroes and villains.

160 pages will keep you occupied for a long time. It’s suitable for both young and adult artists and superhero fans. It will definitely help with perfecting the style and achieving more in the field of action comics.

6. The Complete Guide to Figure Drawing for Comics and Graphic Novels by Dan Cooney

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The Complete Guide to Figure Drawing for Comics and Graphic Novels

• Cooney, Dan (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$24.99 $4.44

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This book is basically a comprehensive self-teaching course on drawing people for graphic novels and comics. And, of course, superheroes are a big part of these comics’ storylines and can easily be the main characters as well.

The reader will be guided through the process of drawing human figures and telling a story with their poses, facial expressions, and more.

The book also offers advice on creating the background, clothes, and costumes for the superheroes (and regular characters too), and writing engaging dialogue to stick the story together. It features a lot of illustrations, concept arts, and examples for those who prefer not only text but visual learning as well.

It will be good for teenagers and adults, and the readers’ level of artistic skills doesn’t matter – it would be equally helpful for anyone. Its 192 pages will explain not only the “how” but also the “why” of the drawing process of comic characters, which is very helpful for those who want to create their own characters.

7. Draw With Jazza – Creating Characters: Fun and Easy Guide to Drawing Cartoons and Comics by Josiah Brooks

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Draw With Jazza - Creating Characters: Fun and Easy Guide to Drawing Cartoons and Comics

• Brooks, Josiah (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$24.99 $16.89

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If you’re keeping up with the art community on YouTube, you may be familiar with this book’s author’s name or nickname. However, it’s not some plain money-making merchandise from a YouTube celebrity. It’s a really useful book about character creating process for cartoonists and comic artists written by a professional.

You will learn the process of character creation, and how to take your idea from concept art to a fully developed superhero.

How do concept artists never run out of ideas? What’s the brainstorming process? How do you create a non-trivial backstory for a character? This book helps you answer these questions and more, as well as unleash your inner comic artist.

The skill level doesn’t matter, and this book would be great for adult superhero fans and kids alike. 144 pages of good advice and useful techniques, written in an easy-to-understand engaging manner, would be an absolute dream come true for those who want to draw superheroes.

8. Boys’ Guide to Drawing by Aaron Sautter

The Boys' Guide to Drawing Aliens, Warriors, Robots, and Other Cool Stuff

• Sautter, Aaron (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$23.31

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Fear not, girls, girls’ parents, young and grownup ladies! Despite its name, this book is perfectly suitable for female readers too, as long as they enjoy this kind of thing. It’s time to give up on the stereotypes and let everyone know that ladies can draw amazing superheroes as well.

This book doesn’t revolve specifically around human superheroes, but who says that a monster or an alien can’t be a superhero? (The world’s most famous superhero, Superman, is actually an alien, not a human “man”).

Among the 144 pages and over 65 projects offered in this book, the reader will surely find characters that will resonate with them the most.

The book is in the format of a step by step guide on how to build and draw certain pictures, with not too much theoretical information. It would be best for children, young teenagers, or adults with a beginner skill level.

But no matter the level, the drawings would surely turn out amazing, because everything that features superheroes is cool.

9. Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy: The Ultimate Reference for Comic Book Artists by Christopher Hart

Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy: The Ultimate Reference for Comic Book Artists

• Hart, Christopher (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$19.95

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This book is a perfect choice for those who want to be into a more detailed style and anatomy that is believed to be “classical” for superhero action comics. Huge muscles that are underlined by dark shadows, exaggerated and dramatic action poses, and many other things that are associated with classic comic books.

Its 144 pages are full of drawing instructions combined with illustrations and the coolest examples and references, black-and-white and full color. The characters referenced in the book are quite diverse in their race and gender, contrasting with the way the comic industry used to be in more “conservative” times.

The information in this book is suitable for people who already have some understanding of how to draw anatomy. That means it would be best for teenage and adult readers who already have some drawing skills.

Aside from drawing tips and theory, the reader will also learn about how comic book business works, which would be very useful for aspiring professional artists.

10. Draw Comic Book Action by Lee Garbett

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Draw Comic Book Action

• Garbett, Lee (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

$19.99 $11.99

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Drawing superheroes is not only about static unnatural poses. Superhero stories are very much concentrated on action, movements, fight scenes, and impressive skills of the characters – and that’s what draws our attention towards them. So if one wants to draw superheroes, they need to learn how to draw action as well.

This book has 128 pages and describes the techniques for drawing dynamic action scenes, shows a lot of examples and, of course, provides exercises and references. It would be a good knowledge source for those who already know a thing or two about human anatomy for artists. Therefore, it’s ideal for superhero-loving teenagers and adults with some drawing experience.

It will definitely increase the reader’s skills and teach them how to stop drawing superheroes just standing with capes behind their back and make them really cool in action. This will inspire the reader and help create coherent stories that may result in full comic books or animation.

As you can see, there’s plenty of books on drawing superheroes for people of all ages and artistic skills. There’s a lot to choose from, and no superhero lover would be disappointed by any of these books.

Creating a well-written and nicely drawn character may even help a lot of people and inspire them to make their own art. So grab one of the books, catch the good vibe, and create!

Some artists carry their love to superheroes through their entire lives and make it their career! Maybe you are one of them?