Artistic Exploration: Observational Drawing of Armor and Swordplay

Woman in Armor Pencil Drawing by Ralph Contreras

Finding Inspiration from Reference and Observational Drawing

There are so many great images and photo references on Pinterest for observational drawing exercises. I found a cool image of a woman in armor and her sword in a cool parry position and instantly wanted to draw/sketch her.

I had fun adding the details to this drawing with shadows and highlights. I really didn’t use much hatching or crosshatching, I used a lot of shading though. The armor was especially fun to draw with all the integrated metalwork on the shoulder and upper arm.

For an observational drawing exercise in my sketchbook, I’m really happy with how it came out. I can’t find the original images anymore or I would cite the source.