Let’s return to the theme of game and movie characters and learn how to draw Lara Croft, the legendary tomb raider.

How to Draw Lara Croft: Introduction

Lara Croft is truly a legendary character. She was the first heroine of a full-fledged 3D adventure game that revolutionized the genre and introduced many mechanics that later became standard in other games of this kind. For those who didn’t know her from the games, she also gained widespread recognition through the movies starring Angelina Jolie.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw Lara Croft as she appeared in the early games of the series, wearing her classic outfit. However, you’re free to draw her in a different look – perhaps in the costume from the films or from the more recent games in the franchise.

You don’t have to stick to a plain white background like I did in my example. Instead, try placing her in a more complex setting. For instance, you could draw a pyramid behind the tomb raider or draw a jungle with tall trees and hanging vines.

You can also modify her appearance from the simplified, cartoonish version shown in this lesson. Try changing the proportions to be more realistic and adding shadows, highlights, and extra details to enhance the final drawing.

Lara Croft Drawing Tutorial

Materials

Pencil
Paper
Eraser
Coloring supplies

Time needed: 40 minutes

How to Draw Lara Croft

Draw the head and torso of Lara Croft.
First, create a rounded shape that should resemble an upside-down egg. Next, sketch a simple, rounded shape for the torso of the tomb rider. The torso should resemble a peanut or rounded hourglass. Since this is a cartoon-style Lara Croft drawing, the head will be larger in proportion to the body.
Add the tomb rider’s facial features.
Start the facial features by drawing the eyes of Lara Croft as two ovals or circles. Draw small curved lines above each eye for the eyebrows. Add a simple curved line between the eyes for the nose – it can be very small and subtle. Below the nose, draw a small upward curve for a smile.
Start sketching the tomb rider’s hair.
Now it’s time to give Lara her iconic hairstyle. Start by outlining the hairline near the top of her forehead with curved lines that form a pointed center part. Extend two thick strands of hair downward along both sides of her face. Then sketch the rest of the hair around the top and sides of her head.
Complete the hairstyle.
To draw the ponytail, start from the top back of her head and draw a small tie or loop. From there, sketch the ponytail flowing downward and to the side. Then, draw the ears of Lara Croft as two small curves at the sides of the head. Finish the step by drawing the straps around the shoulders.
Draw Lara Croft’s belt and legs.
Now, draw the belt across her waist – use straight or slightly curved horizontal lines to show it wrapping around her body. Add a small rectangular buckle in the center. From the bottom of the torso, draw two legs, using smooth, slightly curved lines, narrowing them a bit as you move down toward the feet.
Draw the arms and add the guns.
Sketch the arms of Lara Croft by creating simple shapes extending from the shoulders down to her waist level. Once the arms are in place, draw the hands as small, rounded shapes near the hips. Now add a pistol in each hand – draw them as small rectangles with slight detail for the handle and barrel.
Add clothing and holster details.
Now, add the thigh holsters – draw two straps wrapped around each upper leg. Then connect each strap to a small rectangular holster resting against the outside of the thighs. Add a few more straps or pouches on the legs for extra detail. Next, detail the guns, shorts and boots with simple lines.
Finalize the sketch.
Go over the entire Lara Croft drawing with darker, smoother lines to give it more finished look. Erase any unnecessary guidelines or overlapping sketch lines that are no longer needed. If needed, adjust the shapes, lined, and details slightly to improve the overall look of the sketch.
Color the drawing of Lara Croft.
Use dark brown for her hair and a lighter skin tone for the face, arms, and legs. Her classic outfit includes a teal blue tank top and dark brown shorts. Use gray for her utility belt and holsters. The guns should be black or dark gray. To color the boots of the tomb rider, use brown or dark gray.

Conclusion

So today, we sharpened our skills in drawing human figures, practiced creating well-known video game characters, and revisited one of the most iconic figures in gaming with this lesson on how to draw Lara Croft. As I mentioned at the beginning, this drawing tutorial was designed to be as simple and accessible as possible, especially for younger or less experienced artists.

If you found this lesson a bit too easy and want more of a challenge, try modifying the drawing. Start by adjusting some of the details – change the face shape and proportions to give it a more realistic look. You can make the head smaller in relation to the torso, add finer details inspired by the games or movies, and refine the facial features like the eyes for a more lifelike result. Adding shadows and highlights will also give your drawing more depth and realism.

You can also add an interesting background, as I mentioned earlier. To get ideas for that, feel free to visit my landscape category, where I show how to draw various settings that could work great behind Lara Croft – like temples, pyramids, or jungles.

And don’t forget: with the help of my simple step-by-step tutorials, you can learn to draw just about anything. For example, if you’re a fan of video games, try drawing Mario. Or if you love movies, you might enjoy drawing Indiana Jones. Feel free to leave comments, share this lesson with your friends and classmates, and follow me on social media, where I post unique and interesting content that will help you dive even deeper into the world of drawing.