Step-by-Step How to Draw People Stylized

Drawing people is a LOT of fun, but it is also pretty difficult since we are such complex creatures! When drawing a human, one must have a simple understanding of anatomy, forms and a couple of tricks up their sleeve.

If you are just starting out with human anatomy or want to improve it – check out this blog post on how to get started with figure drawing.

In today’s tutorial, I will show you step-by-step how I draw stylized people process screenshots, a time-lapse video of the actual making of this piece (at the end of the article) and explain what I’m doing along the way.

By the end of this lesson, you will have a basic understanding of my personal process for stylizing people.

And hopefully, some tricks you will pick up 🙂

Feel free to share it with your friends on social media or Pin the images to your Pinterest boards in order to never lose them! 🙂

Let’s begin!

How To Draw Stylized Characters

Step 1: Reference image + Basic Sketch

First, you should go ahead and find an image of a relative, friend or someone you want to draw.

Keep in mind that if you are planning to sell this image afterward, you have to have permission from the person who owns it, or if you are posting it somewhere, you have to tag them 100%!

(most people love being drawn, but there are always exceptions)

If you are looking for FREE IMAGES that don’t need any attribution and you are overall just starting out with drawing, it will be good for you to check out this blog post first, “How To Art – 7 Beginner Steps to Improve Your Drawings” ( where you will find all the tips a beginner needs to start drawing as well as some awesome resources with beautiful photographs for free).

In this particular lesson, I’ll be using Photoshop and Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet – but you can use any materials you are comfortable with!

I like to begin with a very simple and rough sketch.

You can do it in any color you like.

I love using red or blue instead of black since it will help me later to look at the rough sketch and go over it with more defining black lines. (If you are using Photoshop, make sure to doodle on a new layer instead of your background since we will be deleting it afterward.)

You can try to match the original as much as possible, or you can exaggerate things as you see fit to make it as stylized and appealing as possible—it’s totally up to you.

Since my tutorial is on a stylized way of drawing humans – I go ahead and make sure that the shoulder and hip line’s angles are stronger and opposite to each other.

Helpful Resource:

👉 Join my Patreon and get access to a whole website with various art courses, tutorials, files, and step-by-step walkthroughs. Learn more at Learn.YourArtPath.com.

Step 2: Lineart

When I’m happy with the quick sketch and like the proportions, I lower the opacity on the sketch layer (so I can still see it, but it won’t mess with my line work).

Then I create a new layer in which I start going over my rough lines with a lot more definition fixing some things along the way.

If you want to learn more about the process image below, check out my digital painting tutorial process. Though it’s done in Procreate App, you can apply the same to Photoshop!

Step 3: Basic Colors

I think it’s important to establish your basic color scheme in the earliest stage of the coloring process because this will allow you to get the feel of the overall image right away and fix some colors if they don’t feel right!

I often get my inspiration from pre-made schemes (like the ones on the left), which you can easily find on Pinterest!

Step 4: Shadows

Add some dimension and life to your art by putting down blocks of shadows!

There is nothing complex about it. Just squint your eyes and see the basic big shapes.

We often paint shadows in the same color but darker, but to make your piece more interesting, you can always switch hues a little bit, too.

Also, don’t forget that shadows also have reflections from the background! In my case, some of the shadows can also have a little bit of pink in them.

Step 5: Highlights

It’s time for your art piece to get some shine!

Honestly, adding highlights is my favorite part because it is when the art piece finally comes to life! You don’t have to go too crazy, but a few highlights here and there (usually in the focal point of your art piece) will definitely help a lot!

I like to highlight the nose, lips, cheeks, chin, hair, and eyes (not in this particular artwork since they are closed, lol)!

Step 6: Fixing Colors in the “Camera Raw” Filter 

This last step is usually the finish line for my piece. After I sign the artwork I merge all of my working layers together.

Then, I open the “Camera Raw” Filter in Photoshop, where I go through many options and try my best to make my art piece pop!

Sometimes, after I click ‘ok,’ I go in and add a few minor details. But I try to avoid doing that since I like making my painting a little bit grainy. Adding stuff after really messes up the balance, to be honest.

Play around with everything, but don’t overdo it! Save up a few versions along the way and see which one you prefer.

I also like copying the merged layer a few times and then filtering them in different styles, so I can always go back to the one I like more 🙂

That’s all.

Here is the finished piece! I hope the tutorial wasn’t too confusing.

But if you have any questions, you can always comment below, and I’ll be more than happy to answer!

Or even create a new tutorial based on the topic of your question 🙂

Also, here is a video process of everything shown here, enjoy~ 🙂