Fellow adventurers,

ws
from the shadows. Their cla
Their red eyes follow you The ir footst eps sha ke
walls.
scrape across dungeon sco rch ing
or sharp teeth and
the ground. And their raz are
dow n your spine. Monsters sure
breath send shivers
awesome, aren’t they?!
,
into countless beasts, fiends
During my travels I’ve run m the sm alle st cre epy -
s. Fro
creatures, and monstrositie
to the mo st gar gan tua n of giants. I’ve seen blind
crawly a
speak, mutated manticores,
beholders, slugs that can y bas ilis k. The y are
even a bab
pack of dire dragons, and
cuter than you thi nk!
g
eting new monsters is gettin
My favorite thing about me iat e how I
they really apprec
to draw them. Sometimes y jus t wa nt to
her times the
capture their likeness. Ot
ch. Either wa y, drawing monsters is an
eat me for lun .
y. You should give it a try
extremely rewarding activit
ce,
of planning, some patien
I promise with a little bit you ’ll be a
ned in the guide,
and the helpful tips contai
no time!
master monster drawer in
– Flik Silverpen
 How This Guide Works
This book is a step-by-step guide and source of encouragement for drawing
your own fantastical monsters.
You’ll be creating a monster from your imagination by constructing a block
figure (like a stick figure, but blockier), sketching its monstrous features, and
adding awesome details to bring it to life.
You don’t need any drawing experience, just follow the steps and you’ll be
amazed by all the magnificent monsters you can create.

Tools for Drawing Monsters

pencil and
To draw a fabulous monster you’ll only really need a
. I like to use an HB or 2H penci l to draw and a white
sheet of paper
cting mista kes. You can
vinyl eraser for making changes and corre
paper , or use what ever paper
draw on printer paper, sketchbook
you have on hand!
sketch you
If you want to finalize your monster beyond a pencil
draw ing. I like to use finelin er pens (Saku ra Micron or
can ink the
a solid unifo rm line and
Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens). They make
come in a bunch of different sizes.
of tools
While it’s not covered in this guide, you can use all sorts
Crayo ns, colore d penci ls, watercolor or
to color your monster.
s, even the comp uter! My favor ite way to color is
gouache paint
with Posca Paint Markers.

A Note About Scale

Your tools might need to change
depending on how large
you plan on drawing your monst
ers. If you are making
paper miniatures, your monster
drawings will only be a
couple inches tall at most. Using
larger tools like a thick
sharpie or paint marker might mak
e it difficult to get the
details you want at the smaller
size.
Conversely, if you are drawing a
monster on a
posterboard, using smaller-size
fineliner pen will take
forever! Use a bigger pen instead
.
 Step 1: Describe Your Monster
something straight from
Staring at a blank sheet of paper and attempting to draw
your imagination can be extremely intimidating.
res before drawing them.
That’s why I always make a list of the monster’s featu
s that make them different from
What kind of monster is it? And what are the thing
on a scrap sheet of paper.
a halfling or human? Write them out
muscle-bound arms and tiny
Is the monster short and scaly? They might have big
they have big bat wings?
feet with sharp toes. Are the covered in green fur? Do
more unique details you can
Maybe they have twelve horns and sixteen eyes! The
list, the easier it’ll be to draw your monster.
check out Mad Morvin’s
If you still need help thinking up a menacing monster
Guide to Making Monsters (FSG 20).

Step 2: Sketch a Block Figure

Now it’s time to start drawing your monster! But slow down, we aren’t going
to jump straight to a finalized illustration in one go. Using your pencil, start by
creating a “block figure.” It’s like drawing a stick figure, but with solid shapes
instead of lines. Think of this step like you are creating an armature for a sculpture,
a blank slate to build your monster on top of.
Using simple shapes like ovals, rectangles, and triangles (the blocks!) you’ll sketch
out the head, torso, and limbs of your monster.
You might divide a humanoid body into these blocks: head, neck, torso, upper arms,
lower arms, hands, upper legs, lower legs, feet. It helps to imagine the joints of
the monster as division lines between shapes. Don’t worry about how the shapes
connect anatomically though, it’s ok if they just run into each other and overlap.

2
 Make It Weird
Most of the examples in this guide
are humanoid block figures, but your
monster can be whatever kind of
creature you want! Have fun using
simple shapes to make weird and
unique block figures.

For this step it’s very important to keep your drawing REALLY simple. Don’t worry
about the monster’s face, fingers, toes, or any other details. Those come later.
Instead, think about these three aspects of your monster:

Shape
Follow the description of your monster.
What shape is their head? How thin or
thick are their limbs? If your monster
is big and strong the blocks should be
wider and thicker. If they are slender
give them a long neck and thinner limbs.

Proportion
How big is the head compared to the
body. How long are the arms and legs.
Are their hands and feet big or small?
You’re drawing a monster, so don’t
worry about giving them realistic
human proportions.

Pose
If it’s your first time drawing this monster,
keep the pose simple. Standing and from
the front. If you’re a little more confident,
this is the step where you can figure out
how the monster is standing, crouching,
flying, etc.

Don’t be afraid to erase and change things. This stage is all about planning and
creating a good foundation for your monster. Once you have a block figure you’re
happy with, move on to step 3.

3
 Step 3: Defining the Monster’s Shape
Now let’s give the outline of your block figure just a little more detail. You’re going
the
to turn those blocks into arms, legs, hands, and feet! This step is about creating
outline of your monster .
of
For the arms and legs you’ll need to decide how defined the muscles and joints
your monster will be. Here are a few examples:

Simple Muscly
Noodle
Line breaks at joints. Round Bulbous and bulging.
No defined joints or
muscle definition. shoulders and knees (when bent).

Sharp Boney Gross

Straight lines only. Bones. Wavy and bumpy.

4
 Hands
You can draw hands and claws as simp
ly or as complicated as you like.

for hands though. This can

Sometimes you might want to draw a different pose
ing exam ples and draw it on a scrap
be tricky, but if you pick one of the follow
it line by line, you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
sheet of paper, deconstructing

5
 Feet
Feet can be simple, detailed, or as monstrous as you like.

Wings and Tails

g style to how you
a tail, try to match the drawin
If your monster has wings or mp les are all just
’t be intimidated. These exa
defined the arms and legs. Don straight lines. It’s ok to era se and try again
com bin atio ns of cur ved and
simple
right the first few times.
if your drawing doesn’t look

6
 Step 4: Adding Monstrous Features
contain examples of eyes, noses,
Now comes the really fun part! The following pages
res. Pick the feature that feels
mouths, ears, hair, and other monster facial featu
right on top of your defined block figure.
right for your monster and redraw them
Each example is made out of
Don’t be intimidated by drawing the different features.
squiggly. Take your time and
a few simple lines. Some straight, some curved, some
ing on a single feature at a time
break down the example feature into steps. By focus
you won’t get overwhelmed with the drawing.

ing:
When adding the facial features think about the follow

Placement
Where do the eyes, nose, mouth, and
ears go on the head? You’re drawing a
monster, and that means they could have
eyes underneath their mouth. Their ears
could be on the top of their head and
they might not even have a nose.

Scale
Does your monster have huge ears
and a tiny nose? Have fun changing
the size of the examples to make your
monster’s features really stand out.

Spacing
How far apart are the eyes? Where is the
nose in relation to the mouth? Adjusting
how spaced out the features are can
really change your monster’s look.

7
 Eyes
Play with the shape and angle of the eyes and pupils.

Eyebrows
ster’s expression.
Angle the eyebrows to change your mon

Noses
Boop.

Ears
Ears usually line up with the eyes and mouth, but on monsters that isn’t always true.

8
 Mouths
Change the shape of your monster’s mouth to show how they feel.

Hair
Pick a simple shape and repeat it around the head.

Horns
They grow out of the head. Sometimes the base can be covered by hair.

9
 Step 5: Add the Final Details
Your monster is looking great, but it’s missing something extremely important:
Clothes! Or at least some fur or scales. Pick from the following examples (or create
your own!) and sketch them right on top of your monster.

10
 More Details
Monsters can have fur, scales, or feathers.
Their skin might be slimey, rocky, or
made of crystals or fire. Adding extra text
ure detail to your monster can help
show what they are really made of.

11
 Step 6: Finalizing the Monster
ster! At this point you could call
You’ve drawn an awesome looking mon
to take a few more steps to clean up the
it finished, but you might want
illustration.
pencil drawing. Gently erase the
Use a pen to ink to carefully trace over your
and you’ll have an amazing looking
pencil lines when you’ve finished inking
black and white monster drawing!
with crayons, colored pencils, markers
You can also add color to your monster
to life with crazy color combinations.
or paint. Have fun bringing your monster
Take a photo or scan the drawing
into your computer. Import it into
our VTT of choice, format it for a
paper miniature, or share your
creation online!
Well done. You’ve just drawn
an amazing monster!

Find more helpful guides at patreon

.com/jpcoovert
Flik Silverpen’s Guide to Drawing Monsters (FSG 21)
by JP Coovert © 2023
First Printing November 2023

Thank You
Jacie. Scott. Brandon, Kyle, and Bryce.
And all the patrons that helped make Drawing Mons
ters real.
Explore videos at youtube.com/jpcoovert and artwo
rk at jpcoovert.com
 Bonus! Make a Monster
Paper Miniature
• Use a ruler to measure out this template
onto a sheet of thick paper. For bigger
monsters, increase the width from one
to two inches.

• Use steps 1 through 5 to draw your

monster in this section of the template.
You can even draw the back side of the
monster on this section.

• Cut along the outside edge of the template.

• Score and fold along the horizontal lines.

• Slap some glue on the back side of the

paper, then fold and stick it all together!