This article will describe a simple process that I use to draw action scenes.

Action scenes can be very challenging because, well, there’s a lot of “action” taking place. I don’t necessarily like drawing action scenes because it is a very time consuming process. But sometimes it is required because the storyline demands it from time to time. So what I try to do is find an image that conveys an appropriate level of action as it pertains to the storyline but at the same time I try to keep it as simple as possible. The process outlined below is very similar to the process described in the other articles.

Finding a Subject

First you’re going to want to define what type of action scene it is that you want to draw. Once upon a time I wrote a short story involving a young lady who was having a nightmare. In her nightmare she was tied to a tree in the middle of a snowstorm and a pack of rabid, snarling reindeer were circling her. The only thing keeping them from her was a ring of fire. It was only a matter off time before the snow doused the fire and the wild reindeer would have their way with her. Trees, snowstorm, fangs, fire and fear. A lot to deal with. I scratched something out on a piece of paper and I scoured the internet for something that I could use as a reference. I never found the image that I wanted so I abandoned the idea of incorporating a drawing and just went with descriptive text instead. So be careful when you set out to find your subject.

Here are a couple of pictures I drew recently that are fairly simple but they convey the level of action that I was looking for to support the story I was writing.

Preparing the Subject

Drawing action scenes, especially complex action scenes, requires that you pay a great deal of attention to detail. I suggest that you begin by framing the original image (the subject) so that the area is contained within a 4X6 area. Your blank paper will be framed in the same manner. You then want to place a clear plastic grid over the original image (see picture below). You want to use the same grid lines on your blank paper. You can use a ruler and draw the grid lines on the blank piece of paper. What I’ve done is I used Powerpoint and turned on view gridlines the added light blue grid lines and saved it as a jpeg and then printed a master which I use to make as many copies as I need. I have small 4×6 and a larger 8×10 grid. I also print the grids on clear overhead projection transparencies to use as my overlays.  You can download  these grids in Using Grids.

Drawing the Picture

Take your time here. Work on one section at a time. Cover sections that you are not working on. Use a ruler or an index card or even a yellow sticky to measure where shapes and lines begin and end within the section that you are working on. Look for negative spaces – they are usually the easiest parts to draw. Go with the flow. Feel free to erase. Check your progress against the original often. Last thing you want to do here is to finish and realize that something went wrong and you have to start all over. I’d also recommend that before you start you use a lightbox or a window with light shining through to draw a few reference points.  See the negative space in the picture below:

Editing and Coloring

Chances are when you finish drawing your action scene there are going to be some areas that don’t seem right no matter how many times you try to get it right. The only thing that will take care of that is repeated practice. But if you’re drawing for a storyboard or for a webcomic consider living with your imperfect results for now. Consider simplifying the drawing into a very cartoonish image that may not match the artistic level of many of your other drawings but until you get much better through practice there is little that you can do about it.