How to Draw a Lego Man

Follow all the steps in this lesson to learn how to draw a Lego man, or Emmet from the famous LEGO universe.

There are many ways to draw a Lego minifigure, and we will show you the best and easiest one. A Lego character is drawn like a regular person, but with some important differences.

For example, a Lego minifigure’s head is larger than that of an average person, and the torso and legs have a more angular shape.

In addition, Lego characters have more blocky forms and far fewer details than realistic or even cartoon characters.

Once you learn how to draw a Lego minifigure, you’ll be able to draw virtually any character in this recognizable style.

How to draw a Lego man step by step

Step 1: Place the head and the torso

To draw a human figure or an anthropomorphic character, the first step is to outline the basic shapes. In this case, start by sketching the head and torso of the Lego minifigure. Use light, angular lines for these parts, leaving a small gap between them so you can add the neck later. The torso should be slightly larger than the head and widen toward the bottom.

Step 2: Draw the Lego man arms and legs

Now add the limbs, sketching them in exactly the same way – using very light, almost invisible lines. The arms of a Lego minifigure should look like slightly curved cylinders, while the legs should be drawn as large, angular shapes. Here you can give the arms and legs any pose you like.

Step 3: Add the eyes and smile

Now gradually start adding the facial details, trying not to use very dark or heavy lines yet. First, draw the eyes of the Lego man as two circles, then slightly below sketch a smile. After that, outline the hair as a single solid block. When drawing the face and hairstyle of a Lego minifigure, keep in mind that the goal is not realism, but a deliberately artificial, toy-like look.

Step 4: Draw the Lego hands and feet

Now begin adding the larger details so you can refine them later and achieve a finished look. Start with the torso by outlining the clothing. To give this part a more toy-like Lego appearance, don’t try to make the details three-dimensional. Instead, treat the clothing as a flat texture applied to the surface. After that, sketch the characteristic Lego hands and the feet.

Step 5: Refine the tit head and the face

Starting from this stage, gradually trace, refine, and add detail to your Lego man drawing. First, use smooth, clean, darker lines to outline the head and neck. Then outline the eyes and fill them in with black. Refine the mouth to give it a finished look and erase any unnecessary lines from the face.

Step 6: Trace and complete the Lego hairstyle

At this stage, finish the head by giving it a final look. First, use smooth and clean lines to outline the characteristic hairstyle, trying to keep it toy-like and non-realistic. Add a few lines to suggest the texture and overall shape of the hair. Remove all remaining construction lines from the head.

Step 7: Refine the clothing details

As mentioned earlier, clothing on Lego characters should not be three-dimensional, because in real toys it is essentially a texture or a printed decal. Trace and refine the shapes and add details to the clothing while keeping the forms flat. Outline the edges of the torso and erase all light, transparent, or unnecessary lines from this area of the body.

Step 8: Refine the toy arms and the hands

Now, using very smooth and clean lines, outline the arms, carefully erasing any remaining construction lines from the upper limbs. Trace the hands and remember that they should not look too realistic. The arms of a Lego minifigure should read as two simple C-shaped forms.

Step 9: Draw the Lego man legs in detail

Finish drawing the Lego man by outlining the legs. At this step, continue using smooth, clean lines to define and finalize the shapes. Try to maintain correct proportions between the legs and the rest of the Lego character. Take a moment to look over the entire composition, identify any inaccuracies, and correct them at this stage.

Step 10: Shade the Lego character

It’s time to give your Lego person drawing a finished look. As usual, there are several ways to do this. You can color the character, simply outline it with a liner, or add a classic light-and-shadow scheme. We chose the last option, since it’s a classic approach and has become traditional for our site. First, determine the light source, then smoothly and evenly apply shading in the necessary areas, adding the appropriate amount of midtones to create more volume.

This is a basic, fundamental method that allows you to draw a Lego character of almost any kind.

Using the same techniques, you can draw Lego Wolverine in exactly the same way, or depict any other character from comics, cartoons, or anime in this style.

The drawing of most toy figures is based on very similar principles. For example, in our Barbie drawing lesson, we showed a method that is quite close in both steps and overall approach.

In addition, you can dress the Lego character in any familiar outfit – for example, turn him into a doctor, builder, firefighter, police officer, or give him any other profession.

The background can also play an important role, adding a more interesting environment to the drawing. All of this is something you already understand and can easily apply in your own artwork.