How to Draw Smoke from Mortal Kombat

This drawing tutorial was created at the request of our readers. Its main character is Smoke, the mysterious gray ninja who later became a soulless cyborg assassin.

Smoke is one of the characters from the legendary Mortal Kombat series.

How to draw Smoke step by step

Step 1: Sketch Smoke’s figure guidelines

Begin with a stick figure made of lines and circles to establish the character’s position on the paper, proportions, and pose. We are drawing Smoke in his human form, so he has the proportions of an average athletic man. Remember these basic rules:

• The head is the basic unit for measuring the body vertically, and the average height of a standing man is about seven head lengths;
• The torso is about two head lengths tall;
• The legs are about three to four head lengths long, depending on the person’s height and build.

First, outline the head as an oval and add the vertical line of facial symmetry. Then use light, straight lines to sketch the body.

Step 2: Build the body volume

The human body is a complex structure, but it can be simplified into properly arranged geometric forms such as cylinders, rectangles, triangles, and spheres. First, draw the horizontal eye guideline. Sketch the neck below the head and form the torso as a rectangle that tapers downward. Mark the shoulders with circles, then construct the arms with cylinders. Draw the pelvis as a triangular shape and build the legs from large, modified cylinders. Smoke’s legs are powerful and muscular, so these forms should be sufficiently thick. Finish by sketching the hands and feet.

Step 3: Add the mask and vest

The silhouette is ready, so begin adding details from the head downward. Outline the hair blowing in the wind, add the frown, and draw the mask covering the entire lower part of the face, including the nose. Note that the vest contours should not follow the body too closely because the garment is fairly loose.

Step 4: Refine Smoke’s masked face

Draw Smoke’s face. Most of it is hidden beneath the mask, so convey the tension of his expression through the eyes. Use the horizontal guideline to position them, then add wrinkles around the eyes to strengthen the intense gaze. Refine the mask from the earlier construction, paying attention to the curved horizontal lines across Smoke’s cheeks.

Step 5: Detail the armored vest

Erase the extra guidelines from Smoke’s torso and refine all the plates of his vest. Pay attention to the anatomical structure of the garment. The plates follow the forms of the pectoral and abdominal muscles, but the vest should still look loose rather than tightly fitted to the body.

Step 6: Draw Smoke’s right arm in detail

Draw the right arm using the earlier guidelines. Form the large, rounded deltoid, then use several smooth lines to define the massive biceps. Outline the long glove extending above the elbow and add its patterns around the forearm and wrist. Finish by drawing the hand with straight fingers.

Step 7: Refine and complete the left arm

Now draw Smoke’s left arm. As before, define the rounded deltoid and refine the main contours of the upper arm. Continue with the forearm and hand, then erase the remaining construction lines.

Step 8: Draw Smoke’s right leg in detail

Draw the right leg and groin area. Erase the extra guidelines, refine the hanging lower edge of the vest, and add several wrinkles where the legs meet the torso. Then outline the leg and draw the armor covering the lower leg from the knee to the foot.

Step 9: Finish the fighter’s left leg

Repeat the same process on Smoke’s left leg. Draw the knee, the strapped greave, and the foot. The specialized shoe divides the front of the foot into two sections, creating a shape similar to the feet seen when drawing a Ninja Turtle.

In this tutorial, we showed you how to draw Smoke from MK. This drawing tutorial, like all our others, was prepared by the Drawingforall.net team. If you’d like to draw more Mortal Kombat ninjas, continue with drawing Scorpion. You can also try drawing Sub-Zero or drawing Reptile.

Before continuing, you can practice drawing a ninja to better understand the overall look of this kind of warrior. If you’d like to study the clothing in more detail, try drawing a samurai, since many of the costume elements share a similar design.