One of the foundations of figure drawing is understanding muscle form, which we will cover in this guide on how to draw a muscular man.

how to draw a muscular man featured image

In this tutorial, I will show you how to draw a muscular man. Surely you have seen a similar character in cartoons or in magazines. You will enjoy drawing this character, and the next drawing lesson will be interesting and useful for you.

In the picture, you see a handsome young man. He is fashionably dressed, has a stylish hairstyle. The figure of a young man is slim and fit. The upper part of the body is noticeably larger and you can see the pumped-up muscles of the arms, shoulders, and chest.

A healthy body, strong muscles are always beautiful. In addition, a beautiful athletic figure well raises a person’s self-esteem. You see that a person is happy to demonstrate his excellent sports form.

If you think this guide is too complicated, then you need not worry. You can easily draw a muscular person because the lesson is designed specifically for beginners. Consistently follow all the drawing steps, carefully draw all the necessary lines, use the hints, and you will have an excellent result.

Materials

Pencil
Paper
Eraser
Coloring supplies

Time needed: 30 minutes

How to Draw a Muscular Man

Sketch the head and muscular chest.
To set up the muscular body, start with two simple shapes: a circle or oval for the head and a larger shape underneath for the torso. Keep the torso wide at the top to convey broad shoulders, then narrow at the waist. In cartoons, muscles are best shown through bold, clear shapes rather than small details, so make the torso large and solid. You can exaggerate the shoulders even more for a very strong look.
Add the simple facial features.
After drawing the head shape, it’s time to give the character an expression. Sketch two eyes about halfway down the oval. After that, draw the nose below the eyes and a straight or slightly curved line for the mouth. Place the ears at the sides of the head, keeping them aligned with the eyes. Then, draw the eyebrows above the eyes.
Sketch the hair and beard shapes.
Add a simple but charismatic hairstyle, like swept hair or a spiky top, and then draw the beard or jawline that frames the face. Cartoon beards don’t need many details, just a solid outline that makes the face look firm and masculine. If you want variation, try a clean-shaven look for a younger muscular man or a thick beard for a rugged one. You can also keep the hairstyle shorter.
Draw the shoulder and chest muscles.
Muscles are built from big, rounded shapes, so now draw the chest and shoulders. From the neck, sketch broad, curved lines outward to show powerful shoulders. Keep the chest rounded and full, since in cartoons and simple illustrations the pecs are often shown as one bold curve rather than two separate muscles. Add a short line across the torso to illustrate where the chest ends and the abs begin. Also, sketch the belt below.
Draw then muscular arms.
Now illustrate the arms, one of the key features of muscular man drawings. Extend lines from the shoulders to draw bent arms. Use rounded lines to create the bulging shape of the biceps and triceps. Keep the forearms slightly narrower but still strong. You could draw one arm flexed while the other hangs relaxed, or both arms straight down.
Illustrate the clenched fists.
Continue by finishing the arms with clenched fists raised above the shoulders. Sketch the fists as simple blocky shapes with a few lines to convey knuckles and thumb placement. You can also add muscle definition by placing small curved lines inside the arms to show separation between the biceps, triceps, and forearms.
Sketch the strong legs and shoes.
Many people skip leg day and don’t train their legs, but we are not like them, so let’s make the lower body as strong as the upper body. Draw the pants that taper toward the ankles but define the wide thighs. You can make the pants looser, like sweatpants. After that, draw the shoes as rounded shapes at the bottom.
Erase unnecessary body outlines.
Now it’s time to clean up the drawing and make it neat. To make it, erase the original construction shapes such as the parts of the head oval, the unnecessary parts of the torso outline, and any overlapping guidelines on the arms, chest, or pants.
Color skin and clothes.
The last step is coloring, which helps finalize the drawing and the person a more believable look. Use a skin tone of any shade for the arms and face. Color the beard and hair in a darker or lighter shade, such as brown, yellow, or black, or change it if you want a different character style. Shade the pants in blue, gray, or any color you like. Shoes also can be darker or lighter than the pants.

How to Draw an Easy Muscular Man

To draw this cartoon muscular man, draw the hair first using large, curved lines grouped into sections. Then add the face outline and a simple neck. Next, create the broad chest shape with wide shoulders and a narrow waist.

After that, draw the arms – one flexed to show the bicep and the other resting on the waist. Continue by outlining the legs with short, simple shapes and add the shoes.

Place in the facial details and draw the glasses, nose, and mouth. Once the outline is ready, finish the drawing by adding color: bright hair, dark shirt, and bold shades will make the cartoon style look more complete.