How to Draw Superman’s Face

Superman is perhaps the most popular superhero in the world. In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw Superman’s face and convey his powerful facial features and characteristic hairstyle.

Over the many decades of the character’s existence, artists have depicted Superman’s face in different ways, but his main features have remained largely unchanged. Here we will show you how to convey these features in your drawing.

How to draw Superman’s face step by step

Step 1: Outline the face and neck

First, depict the contours of the face and neck. The face is similar in shape to a vertical oval with a fairly flat upper part. After that, outline the contours of the neck. In this case, we are drawing a physically developed man with a powerful muscular neck, so make it almost as wide as the head.

Step 2: Add the facial guidelines

This will be a very simple but important step. Depict two intersecting lines that will serve as guides for the facial features in the following stages. The vertical line should run exactly through the middle of the face and divide it into two equal parts. After that, draw a horizontal guideline for the eyes. Place it approximately through the middle of the head. Use very light lines because they will be erased later.

Step 3: Mark the eyes and ears

At this stage, outline the facial features. First, depict the eyes using the horizontal guideline from the previous step. After that, draw the ears on both sides of the head. The upper edges of the ears should be approximately level with the eyebrows, while the lower edges should be around the level of the base of the nose.

Step 4: Shape the square jaw

Let’s make the hero look more impressive and masculine by drawing a large superhero jaw. To do this, depict two obtuse angles connecting the sides of the face with the chin. Also in this step, draw the inner contours and details of the Man of Steel’s ears.

Step 5: Draw Superman’s eyes in detail

We already have the outlines of the main facial features, so now we can begin refining them. In this step, depict the pupils and eyebrows with clearer lines. Pay special attention to the position of the pupils. Superman’s gaze and the overall mood of the drawing depend greatly on where they are placed.

Step 6: Refine the nose and mouth

Now draw the wings of the nose and the outlines of the tightly closed lips. Do not make the lips too full, keep the facial features characteristic of this version of Superman. Add the contours of the nose and a few short lines around the mouth. Do not forget to depict the subtle nasolabial folds.

Step 7: Draw Superman’s hairstyle and ears

Erase all the extra guidelines from Superman’s face. After that, depict the hairstyle with clear and smooth contours. You can arrange the strands somewhat differently if you want, but keep the characteristic overall shape. Draw the individual hair lines in the direction from the roots toward the tips. Draw the ears in detail and erase the remaining guidelines from the superhero’s face.

Step 8: Add the final shadows

To make Superman’s face look more realistic and dimensional, we need to work with shadows. Add dark areas along the hairline and leave highlights on the upper strands of hair. As you can see, not a single strand is shaded completely. Place the main shadows on one side of Clark’s face and neck, leaving a narrow light area between the facial contour and the shadow so that it does not look like a beard.

To learn more about drawing the human face, be sure to visit our portrait drawing tutorial, where we explain the most important aspects in greater detail.

The universal principles from this step-by-step tutorial form the basis for constructing both realistic faces and comic book characters.

If you want to depict the Man of Steel at full height, visit our tutorial on how to draw Superman.