How to Draw a Knight

The steps in this realistic tutorial will show you how to draw a knight in the armor of an early medieval warrior, holding a flag and a sword.

The construction of the knight will be fully based on the fundamental principles of drawing a person, but with characteristic elements such as armor, clothing, and equipment.

While drawing, it is important to remember the proportions of the human body regardless of the clothing, as well as the three-dimensional nature of the forms.

How to draw a knight step by step

Step 1: Sketch the warrior’s skeleton

At first, let’s sketch the skeleton of the knight. Draw the outline of the head using an oval. Right below the head, draw the spine, which should equal two head heights. Sketch the shoulder guidelines. The width of the shoulders should equal approximately two head widths. Then draw the guidelines of the arms of the knight. Sketch the guidelines of the legs, keeping in mind that the height of the legs should be approximately equal to the height of the spine.

Step 2: Add volume to the knight’s upper body

At this step, begin adding volume to the knight. Sketch the helmet on the knight’s head. Using a large cylinder, draw the outlines of the torso. Draw the arms, each consisting of two equal cylinders. Sketch the hands as simple forms. Using a long straight line, draw the spear in the knight’s right hand. Try to work on the left and right sides at the same time in order to avoid proportional distortions.

Step 3: Draw the pelvis and legs of the knight

Sketch the triangular pelvis. Using simple cylinders, draw the legs and indicate the knees of the knight. Note that the thigh and the shin should be approximately the same length. Draw the outlines of the feet. The main shapes of the knight are now ready.

Step 4: Sketch the clothing and equipment

Gradually begin dressing the figure with clothing and armor. Using curved lines, draw the outlines of the cape, then add several folds to it. Sketch the cloth worn over the armor. Draw the belt and sword of the knight. We now have the basic silhouette of the knight, and from the next step we will begin adding details.

Step 5: Draw the eye openings on the helmet

Start with the head and, slightly above the central line, draw two eye slits in the form of horizontally elongated rectangles. Fill them with a solid black color. Then draw the horizontal plates surrounding the eye slits, along with the vertical plate running down the center of the face.

Step 6: Refine the medieval warrior’s helmet

Using cleaner and more defined lines, trace the outlines of the helmet, giving it a more accurate shape. Pay close attention to proportion and symmetry. Then, in the lower part, draw the breathing holes that help the knight breathe while wearing the helmet. Erase the guidelines from the head.

Step 7: Refine the knight’s cape and brooch

Under the chin, at the point where the cape connects, draw the outline of a large pin or brooch. Then, extending outward from it in different directions, draw the folds while keeping the principles of drapery drawing in mind. Give the cape covering the shoulders a cleaner appearance and erase the construction lines in this area.

Step 8: Refine the warrior’s arm and spear

Trace the outline of the knight’s arm holding the spear. Detail the hand, keeping in mind that it is covered with chain mail and therefore resembles a mitten in shape. Then, using two clean perfectly parallel lines, form the spear shaft and draw the spearhead at the top.

Step 9: Detail the knight’s chest area

Trace and refine the outlines of the clothing covering the torso and add folds. These folds should flow from the belt toward the arm holding the spear, reflecting the stretching of the fabric along that direction. Then draw patterns or insignias on the shoulder and chest. This can be a cross, a dragon, or any other emblem you want to depict.

Step 10: Refine the lower clothing and cape

Continuing the clothing covering the torso, trace and refine the lower part hanging beneath the belt. Add vertical folds that follow the natural movement of the fabric. Then trace the outlines of the cape and erase the remaining construction lines from this area.

Step 11: Complete the medieval warrior’s legs

Complete the main forms of the knight’s figure by drawing the legs in detail. Trace the outlines sketched earlier and add straps around the knee area. These straps hold the chain mail tighter in this area and help during movement. Also add straps at the connection between the feet and the lower legs.

Step 12: Draw the knight flag and emblem

Outline the contours of the flag at the top of the spear, trying to convey movement in the wind. Then add folds so the fabric looks more convincing. After that, draw an emblem, which can be absolutely any design you choose.

Step 13: Draw shadows on the knight helmet

So, the knight is almost ready, and from this step begin adding shadows and final touches. Using vertical strokes, draw the shadows on the knight’s helmet. First, indicate the darkest shadowed areas while trying to emphasize the cylindrical form of the helmet. Then, using lighter strokes, create the transitions from the shadowed areas to the illuminated parts.

Step 14: Draw the chain mail on the knight

Continuing with the final details, begin drawing the chain mail on the arms and legs of the medieval warrior. First, draw very closely spaced lines on the arms and legs, following the form. Then add intersecting lines to create the characteristic texture. Also add shadows to the arms using light hatching.

Step 15: Complete the legs of the warrior

Now add shadows to the legs, starting with the darkest areas. First, depict the cast shadows on the upper sections. Then add shadows and light highlights, placing them vertically and following the form of the legs.

Step 16: Shade the knight’s clothing

Let’s work on the shadows on the clothing. This step may seem difficult, but it actually is not. First, determine the source of the light. As you can see, the light comes from the upper right side. After that, add shadows to the areas where the light does not reach. First outline the shapes of the shadows, then fill these areas with dense hatching.

Step 17: Draw the cast shadow beneath the knight

Add a cast shadow onto the surface beneath the knight to give the warrior an even stronger sense of volume. Check the proportions of the entire drawing and correct any mistakes if necessary. Also review the tonal relationships so the composition looks convincing.

Practicing knight drawing skills

In this tutorial, you learned how to draw a knight wearing armor and equipment characteristic of roughly the 10th–11th centuries.

However, knighthood as a warrior tradition existed from the 9th to the 16th century, and over those centuries it underwent many different changes.

Equipment evolved, chain mail covered larger areas of the body, and plate armor gradually protected more and more of the figure, eventually replacing other variations almost entirely. The appearance of helmets, capes, shields, and other equipment also changed.

All of this forms a very interesting world that can be studied and drawn for a very long time. But the most important thing is to understand the different periods of knighthood and their characteristic appearance.

And of course, the best way to achieve this is through practice. Draw knights from different eras using the steps from this tutorial while trying to capture their characteristic features and details. Use our examples or references from your favorite works for this practice.

You can also try adding an environment and depicting the knight within a full scene. Remember the fundamental principles of visual art that we discuss in our basic drawing course in order to accurately and correctly combine all the elements into a single composition.

Next, try moving further and drawing a more dynamic knight figure. This is slightly more difficult, but also more interesting, since it introduces stronger perspective distortions, more complex form transitions, folds, and other details. For example, try drawing a knight in a combat stance or fighting another warrior.

Such detailed and multifaceted practice will help you strongly reinforce the skill of drawing knights and become more confident in depicting them in the future.

For a broader and more detailed understanding of drawing warriors from different eras, also be sure to try our samurai drawing tutorial, where we showed how to recreate another iconic figure from history and popular culture.