How to Draw a Cartoon Soldier

From Beetle Bailey to G.I. Joe, American cartoon soldiers have been around for decades. If you would like to learn how to draw these famous cartoon soldiers, practice drawing a cartoon soldier with our easy instructions first. Before you know it, you'll be drawing these popular cartoon soldiers on your own.

In this section, we'll show you how to draw the above cartoon soldier. You can draw this cartoon soldier freehand while looking at your computer monitor or print out this page to get a closer look at each step.

Follow the red lines in each illustration to learn exactly what to draw in that step. The lines drawn in previous steps are shown in gray. Here, we'll show you an illustration of each step and then give you a description of how to draw it.

1. Outline

Begin with a large, fat L-shaped body. Use two short lines to connect it to a potato-shaped head. Form the tree trunk with two lines. Outline the leaf-filled branches with long curved lines.

2. Arms and Legs

Connect an upside-down U-shape to a curved line with curled edges for the helmet. Form the tree limbs and roots with V-shapes and curved lines. For the arm, attach one side of a V-shape with outward curving edges to a U-shape lying underneath it.

Use two short lines for the wrist. Form the hand with a U-shape lying on its side. Draw curved lines and L-shapes for the legs. Add parallel lines for the ankles. Sketch ovals with slightly pointed ends for the feet.

3. Bird, Tree and Face

Use a V-shape, U-shapes, and a line for the eye, nose, mouth, chin, and ear. Draw curves and a rectangle for the neck, collar, and shoulder. Form the hand with U-shapes and curves.

Outline the pants and boots with a teardrop-shaped figure, two rectangles, V-shapes, and curves. Sketch the bird with rounded triangles, an oval, and curves. Attach U-shapes to form leaves.

4. Camouflage

Arrange short curved hairs. Use V-shapes and pointed ovals for the helmet's leaves. Draw one short line and two longer ones for the cheek and smile. Form a buttoned sleeve pocket with two U-shapes and a circle.

Button the cuff with an oval. Use oval fingernails. Detail the boots with curved tubes and lines. Shape the bird with an oval, Y-shape, U-shape, and V-shapes.

5. Shading and Details

Outline the eyelashes. Add thick, dark Z-shapes to show snoring. Use nearly parallel lines to partially darken the camouflage. Shade the soles, boots, waistband, and helmet with short lines.

Form the bird's eye with a tiny circle. Draw its wing, legs, and claws with short curved lines. Place curved lines in the helmet's leaves. Add long curved lines to the tree trunk and main limb.

Good Job! While your cartoon soldier catches some zzz's, let's continue to the next page to learn how to draw one of the world's most popular entertainers.

In the next section, learn how to draw a sad clown cartoon.