How to Draw 2Pac

Finished 2Pac drawing with bandana, tattoos, baggy pants, and hatched shadows.

To draw celebrities convincingly, you first need to know how to depict the human figure and accurately convey facial features. In this tutorial, we will show you how to draw Tupac Shakur in one of his most famous looks and show you how to make the rapper resemble his real-life appearance.

We will dress the musician in clothing characteristic of his style and draw his tattoos exactly as they appeared in real life.

How to draw 2Pac step by step

Step 1: Sketch 2Pac’s basic figure

We will draw Tupac Shakur’s figure according to the general rules of a human drawing. From an anatomical point of view, we have a slim male figure standing in a frontal pose. The body height is approximately equal to 7–8 head lengths. The chest should be slightly wider than the pelvis. First, sketch the head, then draw the line of the spine and indicate the rib cage and pelvis along it. Use simple lines to indicate the arms and legs.

Sketching 2Pac’s basic figure with head, chest, pelvis, arms, and legs.

Step 2: Add volume to Tupac’s figure

Sketch out the shape of 2Pac’s torso, which narrows slightly at the waist. Outline a triangular pelvis as shown in our picture. After that, sketch out the arms and legs using simple geometric shapes. Pay attention to how the cylindrical forms of the arms and legs connect at the joints. Recall that in the first steps we should use very light lines.

Adding facial guidelines and volume to 2Pac’s torso, arms, legs, hands, and feet.

Step 3: Sketch the bandana and baggy clothing

Let’s now add some details to the rapper’s figure. Let’s start with the head, outlining the bandana, eyes, nose, and mouth. Also sketch out the cigarette and ears. Then move lower and sketch out 2Pac’s chain, baggy pants, and belt.

Sketching 2Pac’s bandana, facial features, cigarette, chain, and baggy pants.

Step 4: Draw Tupac Shakur’s face

Now let’s start drawing the details of Tupac Shakur’s appearance. Starting with the head, carefully draw the closed eyes, nose, and mouth. After that, carefully draw the contours of the jaw, beard, ears, and bandana. Pay attention to the bandana because its straight and folded edges help describe the shape and tilt of the head. Draw the cigarette at the corner of the mouth and use a few loose curved lines for the smoke rising beside the face. Take the eraser and gently erase all unnecessary guidelines from the head.

Refining 2Pac’s face, bandana, cigarette, beard, and rising smoke.

Step 5: Draw the torso muscles

Continuing down from the jaw, draw the neck and shoulders, then define the trapezius muscles. A little lower, draw the clavicles and well-defined pectoral muscles. Draw the latissimus dorsi and abdominal muscles. Do not outline every muscle with equally dark lines. Some anatomical forms are better indicated with shorter and lighter contours. Try to keep the anatomy of the torso muscles in mind when drawing this part.

Drawing 2Pac’s chest, abdominal muscles, necklace, and torso contours.

Step 6: Draw the muscular arms and fists

Outline the large deltoid muscles, and a little lower draw the biceps, triceps, and forearm muscles. Follow the cylindrical construction from the second step as you shape these muscles, rather than drawing each one as a separate element. Draw the hands clenched into fists and erase all the guidelines.

Refining 2Pac’s muscular arms, forearms, and clenched fists.

Step 7: Draw the baggy pants and sneakers

Draw the outer contours of the pants and erase the guidelines from the first three steps. The baggy pants should be wide. Notice how the loose fabric creates a very different silhouette from the relatively narrow construction of the legs underneath. After that, draw the folds as short, flowing lines. In our drawing, many of them appear around the crotch, knees, and lower legs, where the loose fabric bends, hangs, and gathers above the sneakers.

Drawing 2Pac’s baggy pants, belt, folds, pockets, and sneakers.

Step 8: Add the tattoos and shadows

In order to draw the shadows correctly, first imagine where the light comes from. Next, taking this into account, carefully sketch the outlines of the shadows and fill them with hatching. On 2Pac’s uncovered torso and arms, place the strokes according to the anatomical forms so that the hatching emphasizes the muscles. For darker shadows, add another layer of hatching, and for lighter shadows, use less dense hatching. Also add 2Pac’s characteristic tattoos across the torso and arms, keeping them visually separate from the hatching.

Adding tattoos and hatched shadows to 2Pac’s torso, arms, and pants.

If you are a big fan of Tupac Shakur’s work, then you may have noticed that we drew him using one of his most famous photos as a reference.

Practice your skills by drawing this great rapper from different photos and still frames from videos. When doing this, pay particular attention to the features that make him recognizable, such as the shape of the face, bandana, beard, tattoos, and characteristic slim but muscular build.