How to Draw Judge Dredd

Judge Dredd is a fairly well-known character. Some know him from the comics and others from the movies. In this tutorial, we want to show you how to draw Judge Dredd from the original comics, with his characteristic proportions and costume elements.

The same methods, however, are also fully suitable for drawing this comic-book character from the movies, with some adjustments to his build.

How to draw Judge Dredd step by step

Step 1: Sketch Judge Dredd’s figure

Our figure drawing tutorials usually begin with a stick figure, and this one is no exception. Start with the head, then draw the spine line and mark the chest and pelvis along it. Sketch the arms and legs with simple lines. Draw the legs slightly apart. Try not to press too hard on the pencil.

Step 2: Build up Dredd’s body shapes

Sketch two simple guidelines on Judge Dredd’s face to draw the facial details. Next, outline the neck and torso, which widens at the shoulders and tapers at the waist. Sketch the arms and legs with simple geometric shapes and very light lines. Use cylindrical forms for the limbs and small ovals for the knees. Then sketch the hands and feet.

Step 3: Outline the helmet and uniform

Add Dredd’s basic details. Start with the head and sketch the helmet and mouth. Outline the visor across the eyes and the helmet’s lower edges beside the cheeks. Then move down to the body and outline the uniform. Add the large shoulder pads above the arms, then mark the belt, elbow pads, and knee pads. Sketch the tall boots around the lower legs. All lines in the first three steps should be very light.

Step 4: Define the helmet and jaw

Take a darker pencil or a marker and carefully draw the helmet’s contours. Trace the angular border around the visor and its pointed section above the nose. Next, draw the mouth and jaw. Use a downturned line for Dredd’s mouth. Add the helmet details and some facial wrinkles. Draw the small shield on the forehead and divide it with vertical lines. Erase the unnecessary pencil guidelines from the face.

Step 5: Detail the shoulder pads and torso

The shoulder pads have many intricate lines. On the left side of the drawing, outline the eagle decoration and divide its wing into rows of feathers. Draw a thick border and several curved bands on the opposite shoulder pad. Then move on to the torso and carefully refine its outlines. Add the shield-shaped badge and its chain, followed by a few short fabric folds across the uniform.

Step 6: Refine the arms and gloves

Now, draw the hands in detail by outlining the palms and fingers. Start with lighter lines, then use darker, more confident ones. Add the rectangular details along this glove and the small panel on the opposite forearm. Draw closely spaced divisions across the elbow pads. Erase the unnecessary guidelines from the arms.

Step 7: Finish the belt and legs

Carefully draw the belt with its pouches and large central emblem. Add pointed flaps and small fasteners to the pouches. Next, outline the legs along the shapes of the muscles and joints. Draw the knee pads and large boots. Divide each knee pad into separate plates. Add the attachments along the sides of the boots and the raised sections over the toes. Remove all remaining guidelines from the drawing.

Step 8: Shade Judge Dredd with hatching

The drawing is almost complete; only the shadows remain. First, determine the light source. Then use dense hatching to shade the areas that receive less light. Comics usually use more contrasting shadows, with a clear separation between lit and unlit areas, but we chose a softer shading scheme.

In the movie adaptations, Judge Dredd has surprisingly authentic details, especially in the first film from the mid-1990s.

As we said above, you can use the same techniques to draw other versions of Judge Dredd as well. Keep a reference and our tutorial in front of you and repeat the steps, changing the elements according to the reference.