How to Draw Biggie Smalls

There are many legendary figures in the world of music, and rap in particular, and one of them is The Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls. In this tutorial, we will show you how to draw Biggie Smalls in one of his iconic looks.

We will use classical methods of figure drawing and follow the traditional drawing process, gradually building the rapper’s figure.

How to draw Biggie Smalls step by step

Step 1: Sketch Biggie Smalls’ figure

First, we need to work on the stickman of Biggie Smalls. We have the figure of a large, tall man with a wide chest. So, outline a round head and the spine. On this line, outline a wide, powerful chest and a wide pelvis. The chest and pelvis should already form Biggie’s large, massive silhouette before you add the volume of the limbs. Sketch out the arms and legs as you can see in our example.

Step 2: Add volume to the rapper’s figure

To draw The Notorious B.I.G. correctly, we must now add some volume to the stickman. First of all, sketch out his fairly large torso. After that, draw a neck that looks like a short cylinder. Next, outline Biggie Smalls’ fairly wide arms and legs. Construct them as large three-dimensional forms, gradually changing their thickness at the elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles. And don’t forget to draw two intersecting lines on the face. They will serve as guides for drawing the facial features of the rapper.

Step 3: Outline Biggie’s face and clothes

Now, outline the details of the face and hat. Next, outline the rapper’s clothing. You can see a wide jacket and loose pants. It is very important to keep the lines in the first steps very light so that you can erase them later. Use the body contours as a guide. Note that Biggie’s clothes should look very large. Draw the jacket outside the contours of the torso and let the pants hang more freely around the legs.

Step 4: Draw the rapper’s facial features

Starting from this step, we will work on the final contours of Biggie Smalls. Note that the final details of the drawing should be made with clear, dark lines. Carefully draw the eyes, nose, and tight lips of Christopher Wallace, making them look more detailed. Next, draw the eyebrows and some wrinkles. Finish the step by drawing the final contours of Biggie’s hat.

Step 5: Refine and detail the shirt and jacket

In this step, we will work on the details of Biggie Smalls’ clothing. Carefully draw the contours of the shirt, jacket, and tie. The lapels and front edges of the jacket should follow the broad volume of his chest rather than lie as flat symmetrical lines. Draw the folds with short lines, mainly where the fabric changes direction.

Step 6: Draw the rapper’s outer jacket

Now draw Biggie Smalls’ warm outer jacket over the rest of the clothes. Draw the collar and several longitudinal folds on the sleeves in detail. Erase the remaining guidelines from the torso of The Notorious B.I.G., checking the proportions and relationships of the upper body parts and details.

Step 7: Draw the loose pants and shoes

Erase the extra lines from Biggie Smalls’ pants. Draw creases on the loose pants and several folds in the fabric. Although the pants are very loose, their general direction should still correspond to the forms of the thighs and lower legs beneath them. Let the fabric gather more noticeably where the pant legs meet the shoes. Then draw Biggie’s shoes as three-dimensional forms and erase the remaining unnecessary guidelines.

Step 8: Add shadows to The Notorious B.I.G.

The Biggie Smalls drawing is almost complete, and we only need to add some shadows. Using light, wide hatching, add shadows to the areas where the light does not fall. Make the hatching denser beneath the layers of Biggie’s jacket, inside the deeper folds, and on the sides of the figure that turn away from the light. Let the strokes follow the large volumes of his torso and clothing.

During his career, Biggie Smalls appeared in many different looks, so the version from this tutorial is only one option for your drawing.

Find another photograph of the rapper and try drawing him in a different outfit. You can choose one of his colorful Coogi sweaters, a leather jacket, sunglasses, or one of the more formal suits he often wore.

You can also draw Biggie Smalls wearing the famous crown from his iconic 1997 portrait.

And since we started this small series with another legend of 1990s hip-hop, you can also draw 2Pac.