How to Draw a Humanoid Robot - Lesson 1: A Front View

This step-by-step lesson teaches you how to draw a male humanoid robot, viewed from the front. Our example demonstrates a process that you can adapt to create your own imaginative version.

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Preparation 1: Researching the Subject

Research Images

It will greatly help your artwork if you research and gather some images to inspire your ideas for your drawing. You can access many suitable examples by using online image searches using keywords such as 'humanoid', 'cyborg', 'android', 'robots' or combinations of these. Our research images were created using the AI image generator on Freepik.

Also check out Engineered Arts who are at the forefront of developing humanoid robots.

Preparation 2: Study the Proportions of a Head from the Front

The Proportions of a Head - Front View

As we are going to draw a humanoid robot from the front, the first thing to consider is the proportions of the head from that viewpoint.

If we take the simplified approach outlined in our sketch above, the face is divided horizontally into quarters, and vertically into fifths. This basic grid structure will help you to position and balance the features of the face.
Fig.1: We can see that the eyes are roughly halfway down the head.
Fig.2: The width of the eye is usually the same as the distance between the eyes, while the width of the nose is slightly wider.
Fig.2: The length of the nose loosely fits in the quarter below the eyes.
Fig.2: The ears are more or less level with the eyebrows and the bottom of the nose.
Fig.3: If you draw a line from the central point between the eyebrows through the edge of the nose, this will give you a reasonable width for the mouth which is situated in the upper half of the lower quarter of the head.

By following these basic guidelines, you should be able to construct a recognisable male head.

Preparation 3: Technique for Drawing Wires

Drawing the internal components of a humanoid robot may require the inclusion of entangled wiring. This can be complicated, but the following technique should help you master any difficulties you encounter.

Fig.1: Always start drawing overlapping wires as if they are transparent, focusing on their shape and direction and ignoring which one sits in front or behind another.
Fig.2: When you have established the shape and direction of the wires, you can then start to address the organisation of the space the occupy (red sections).
Fig.3: The technique we use is to erase the crossover lines of the wire that you want underneath. This will create the illusion of one wire overlapping the other.

Fig.4: Once you start to differentiate the wires by adding color, you can see their interwoven effect more clearly.

Step 1 - Draw the Outline of the Robot's Head and Shoulders

We begin by drawing the outline of a head and shoulders.

Try to keep the face as symmetrical as possible and omit the hair as it may over complicate your drawing in the later stages.

As this is a male figure, you can emphasise the muscularity of the neck and shoulders but, once again, try to keep these symmetrical.

To assist you with this part of the drawing, please refer to our notes above on the proportions of a head.

Step 2 - Remove Sections from the Robot

Next, we remove sections from the robot to create the space to display its internal components.

In our drawing we have added a thickness to the 'skin' of the robot to give it a more 3-dimensional appearance. However, if you think that this creates too much difficulty, just remove some flat cut-out sections from the figure which can work equally as well.
You now have an empty form or shape that you can fill with mechanical, electrical, or digital components of your own creation, to illustrate the internal components of the android.

Step 3 - Start to Draw the Internal Components of the Robot

Once you have established the cutaway sections, you can begin to draw the internal components of the robot.

Start with just a few components that you can use as a foundation to build upon.
These parts could be real or invented. They could be analogue or digital, clockwork or electronic, or an imaginative mixture of all.
Try to let them to suggest a relationship to the human form. For example, we have used a digital clock/calculator to simulate the computational skills of the brain.
A pulsing oscilloscope represents the beating of its heart. It is encased in flexible conduits which will carry the wires that power its functions, much like the veins and arteries that conduct our lifeblood.
The throat, which funnels food to our stomach to generate our energy, is represented by a cluster of tubes that carry fuel to feed the robot's mechanisms.

Step 4 - Complete the Internal Components of the Head

The next stage is to sketch the internal components of the head.

When you are working on a complicated drawing you can be overwhelmed by the amount of detail. Consequently, it is easier to focus on smaller areas and gradually build up the drawing section by section.
At this stage we have concentrated on building up areas of overlapping wires in each of the cut-out sections of the head. (See notes on technique at the top of the page).
We have also added a circuit board inside the head. This helps with the composition of shapes as its circular form echoes the design of the clock/calculator, while the horizontal/vertical pattern of its printed circuits provides a pleasant counterpoint to the assortment of curves surrounding it.

Step 5 - Complete the Internal Components of the Body

This step concludes the drawing of the robot by finishing the internal components of the body.

To strengthen the framework of the robot we have added two metal shoulder supports, which we pierced with holes to channel the direction of wires as they move down the body.
They add a strong horizontal element to counterbalance the vertical flow of the wiring.
We also increased the number of wires to heighten the realism of the image.

Step 6 - Adding a Background

Once you have completed the drawing of your robot, you should add a background.

Your background could be a flat color, or inside a laboratory, or the landscape of an alien planet, or simply any appropriate setting or scene you can imagine.
For our example we have used an enlarged detail of a circuit board.
This was chosen for its relevance to the subject and for its rigid geometric pattern which contrasts with the fluid lines of the image. The thickness of the lines in the background tend to overwhelm the figure but this can rectified when we come to apply color at the next stage.

Step 7 - Coloring the Background

With the drawing of our background complete we start to add color.

When we begin to draw an image, we usually start with the nearest part of the subject and work towards the background.
When we start to color an image, the opposite applies. It is best to start with the background and work towards the nearest part of the image, as this gives you the best opportunity to color over any slip-ups.
In our example we have used a deep blue which naturally rests in the background. It also establishes a key color to relate to as you build up the colors in the rest of the image.
To enhance its effect, we have illuminated some of the circuits with bright colors which act as lights to suggest an active power source.

Step 8 - Coloring the Robot

With the colors of the background complete, we begin to color the robot itself.

Again, we start with the background of the internal components.
We have painted this black which visually links to the black outlines of the drawing and the pattern in the background.
It also ensures a strong contrast to make the details of its internal components stand out.

Step 9 - Coloring the Internal Components

Next we color the internal components of the robot.

When you color an image don't make your color choice completely random. Try to exercise some visual judgement and choose those colors that strengthen the impact of the image. There can be various reasons for your choice of color such as harmony, contrast, mood, symbolism and realism.
We have used a pale lilac, rather than a more realistic silver-grey, for the metallic shoulder bars as it is more in harmony with the background color.
The pastel green wire conduits have enough blue in their mixture to link with the key color of the background but are still bright enough to 'pop' in the foreground.
The green of the circuit board in the head was chosen for its realism as it is the traditional color of these boards.
The colors of oscilloscope heart and calculator brain were also chosen as recognisable colors for those devices.
For the wiring, we have used primary and secondary colors for their visual energy. These vibrant colors also create a visual link to the lights in background and help form an overall unity in the image.

Step 10 - Coloring the Robot's Skin

Finally, we come to the surface of the skin.

As this is an imaginary image, the skin can be any color you think will work. However, we have chosen a natural skin color as its warm hue and luminosity contrast with both the background and the internal components of the humanoid robot.
We have also added a small amount of shading to boost the solidity of its form.

Next: How to Draw a Humanoid Robot - Side View