How to Draw a Basketball Player
Continuing with my theme of professions and sports, I want to show you how to draw a basketball player with a basketball in a simple style.
How to Draw a Basketball Player: Introduction
In this tutorial, I want to show you how to draw a basketball player. Basketball is a team sports game in which players throw the ball into a suspended net. This game is very popular. The game has a fast and exciting pace, so players need to have a good reaction speed and have great ball control. The growth of the players is important in this game. The fastest and tallest players have the greatest success.
In this lesson, a basketball player is presented in a cartoon form, and you can easily draw this athlete, even if you have no experience in drawing. This lesson consists of nine easy steps. In each step, you will draw simple elements.
In our picture, the basketball player is dressed in a comfortable sports uniform and holds the ball in one hand. For sportswear coloring, you can choose the recommended colors or use any other color.
Basketball Player Drawing Tutorial
Materials
- Pencil
- Paper
- Eraser
- Coloring supplies
Time needed: 40 minutes
How to Draw a Basketball Player
- Create base shapes for the figure.
To draw a basketball player correctly, sketch two simple shapes, one large rounded shape for the head and a taller, narrower oval for the body. I always tell my students to keep their pencil pressure light at this stage. When you sketch a figure, it’s easier to fix proportions if your lines aren’t too dark.
- Sketch the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Sketch two large round eyes on the face. Add small curved eyebrows above them, and draw a smiling mouth a bit below the midpoint of the face. Place the eyes slightly lower than you might expect so there’s enough room for the forehead and hairline later.
- Draw the basketball player’s ears and hairline.
Draw small curved ears on each side of the head, making sure they’re level with the eyes. Then, sketch a smooth line across the top to mark the hairline. Keep it simple for now, you can add more texture later if you want. It’s also a good time to check the overall head shape and symmetry.
- Draw the basketball player’s jersey and shorts.
Now, sketch the outline of the basketball jersey. Draw the armholes and add the neckline in a simple rounded shape. The jersey should extend down to the waist, where the shorts begin. Make clothing look like it’s worn by a person, not just flat shapes, adding slight curves to the edges of the jersey.
- Sketch the arms and hands.
On one side, sketch an arm bent upward at the elbow, with the hand pointing upward as if balancing a ball. Draw the other arm resting on the hip and add a small, simple hand with short fingers. Keep the arm slightly bent. Pay attention to the angles and ratio between the upper and lower arms.
- Illustrate the basketball player’s legs and sneakers.
Now, sketch the legs of the basketball player by drawing straight lines down from the shorts to the feet. Add basic sneaker shapes at the bottom. When you draw a standing figure, I recommend checking that both legs are the same length and the feet are similar in shape and size.
- Illustrate the basketball and jersey details.
On top of the raised finger, draw a basketball, that looks like perfect circle with curved lines inside to illustrate the panels. When you sketch a ball, try to make the lines follow its curve so it feels round rather than flat. Then, add a large number in the middle of the jersey.
- Make the outlines clean and bold.
Carefully outline the entire basketball player drawing with clean, dark lines. You can use slightly thicker lines for the outer edges and finer lines for the inner details like the facial features and jersey number. Move slowly and turn the paper as needed to keep your wrist comfortable, this helps produce smoother lines.
- Color the basketball player drawing.
Make the ball orange with black lines, the jersey and shorts in any color you like, and the sneakers in a matching or contrasting color. Skin tone and hair color can be customized as well. You can add gradients or shadows, if you want to make your drawing of a basketball player look more unique.
Simple Basketball Player Drawing Tutorial
This variation of the basketball player tutorial is even more simplified for easy drawing. The figure has a larger head in proportion to the body, short limbs, and minimal uniform details. The pose shows the player holding a basketball above the shoulder, and the steps follow a different sequence.
First, outline a large circle for the head and add a short neck underneath. Sketch a simple rectangular torso and shorts connected to the body. Shape the legs as straight rectangles with small shoes at the bottom. Draw one arm hanging at the side and the other bent upward to hold the ball. Add the hairline, eyes, and a small smile to the face.
Mark the sleeveless jersey shape and place a number in the center. For the basketball, draw a circle above the shoulder and divide it into panels with curved and straight lines. Go over the outline neatly, remove extra marks, and color the player’s uniform in bright tones, with the ball in orange.
Conclusion
This tutorial showed how to draw a basketball player in two very simple yet different styles. You can now customize the uniform colors or change the pose to make different versions of your player. For example, try illustrating a player in motion, dribbling the ball, or going for a shot.
If you enjoyed this lesson, you might like other sports character tutorials to build a collection. Share your finished basketball player, check out more drawing guides, and keep practicing to improve your figure and pose drawing skills.
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