How to Draw Conan the Barbarian

The age of the barbarians is long gone, but their image lives on in legends, books, movies, and games. Conan the Barbarian has had many different portrayals, but one of the most familiar is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s version from the classic films of the 1980s.

Here we will show you how to draw Conan the Barbarian in his classic appearance from the old movies starring this legendary actor.

Although we will follow the basic principles of drawing the male figure, it is very important here to make the musculature deliberately exaggerated.

How to draw Conan the Barbarian step by step

Step 1: Sketch Conan’s basic figure

In popular culture, barbarians are often portrayed as huge, fearless warriors. Start drawing Conan the Barbarian with his basic figure. Outline the head as an oval, then draw a straight line for the spine. Along this line, sketch the chest and pelvis using simple geometric shapes. Make the chest especially massive. Draw the arms and legs with simple lines, marking the main joints.

Step 2: Build the barbarian’s muscular body

In the previous step, the basic skeleton of Conan was outlined. Now give the figure more volume. First, draw two intersecting guidelines on the head to establish the placement of the facial features. Next, outline the wide torso, which narrows noticeably toward the waist. After that, outline the arms and legs using simple geometric forms, such as circles for the joints and cylinders for the limbs.

Step 3: Outline Conan’s distinctive details

The basic figure of Conan the Barbarian is ready, so begin adding the main details. First, sketch the facial features, the band around his forehead, and his long hair. Use the guidelines from the previous step. Next, move lower and outline the sword and the footwear. Use very light lines in this step as well.

Step 4: Draw Conan’s face and hair

Now draw the final details of Conan the Barbarian, starting with the face. Carefully draw the eyes, then add the nose and mouth. Use clear lines to outline the strong jaw and prominent cheekbones, to convey Schwarzenegger’s appearance. Next, draw the forehead band and long hair using slightly wavy lines.

Step 5: Draw the chest and abdominal muscles

Start with the neck, outlining the large muscles. Next, carefully draw the enormous pectoral muscles. Make the division between the chest muscles clear. Move lower and draw the abdominal muscles, separating them into distinct forms with short, slightly curved lines. Draw the amulet hanging around Conan’s neck.

Step 6: Refine the arms and sword

Use smooth, clear lines to carefully outline the deltoids, biceps, triceps, and forearm muscles. Make these muscle groups noticeably larger than those of an ordinary male figure. Pay attention to how the large forms overlap around the shoulders and elbows. Add the smaller lines separating the muscles, then refine the bracers and hands. After that, draw the two-handed sword with its long, straight blade and handle.

Step 7: Draw the muscular legs

Move lower and begin drawing Conan the Barbarian’s legs, which are even more massive than his arms. Make the thighs especially massive. In the same step, draw the loincloth and fur footwear, adding folds and uneven edges where necessary. Finally, erase all unnecessary construction lines.

Step 8: Add shadows with hatching

The drawing of Conan the Barbarian is almost complete. To make the figure more realistic and give the muscles greater volume, add shadows using hatching. First, determine the direction of the light source. Then apply closely spaced pencil strokes to the less illuminated areas of the body. Follow the curved forms of the muscles, using the shadows to separate the large muscles.

Here we showed you how to draw Conan the Barbarian in the classic style of the 1980s movies, which already involves a certain degree of realism, but you can make your drawing even more realistic.

First, you need to make the drawing more tonal by adding more halftones, shadows, and highlights. If you feel that you need a deeper understanding of the basics of the human figure and how to draw it correctly, study our articles on human anatomy for artists.

Alternatively, you can take a slightly different approach and draw Conan the Barbarian as he was depicted in the comics. Make the comic-book shadows more contrasting and slightly change the facial features and outlines of the muscles.