Constructing this predator requires patience during the setup phase. Keep your hand loose and use light pencil sketching techniques with a standard 2H or HB graphite pencil so guidelines erase cleanly later.
Step 1: The Anchor Circles
Sketch two distinct circles on your paper. Make the left circle slightly smaller, this will become the cranium. Place a larger, broader oval to the right and slightly lower to represent the ribcage. Leave an open gap between them roughly equal to half a head length; this space accommodates the thick muscular neck.
Step 2: Establishing the Spinal Axis
Connect the cranium to the ribcage with an arched line that sweeps across the back and tapers out into a long, thick tail. Keep this line close to horizontal, with a gentle dip between the shoulders and the hips. Underneath, mirror the motion by drawing a line from the chest through the belly, ensuring the torso retains a barrel-chested volume.
Step 3: Blocking the Hind Legs
Draw a large, backward-canted oval over the rear of the torso to establish the upper thigh muscle. Theropods were built for stamina and short bursts of acceleration; their thighs were massive. From the lower end of this oval, angle a cylinder forward for the shin, then drop a vertical segment down to the foot. Add three forward-facing toes tipped with curved dinosaur claws and hind legs anchored firmly to the ground plane.
Step 4: Mapping the Jaw and Tiny Forelimbs
Draft a blunt, wedge-shaped snout projecting forward from the cranial circle. Drop the lower jaw at a slight angle to give the predator an open, threatening posture. Right behind the chest, attach the famously reduced forelimb: an upper arm shorter than the snout, a tiny forearm, and exactly two functional claws. Never give your subject three fingers; that mistake instantly turns your sketch into an Allosaurus.
Step 5: Refining Contours and Jaw Details
Switch to a 2B pencil for contour line sketching. Trace along the exterior boundary of your construction lines to create a solid silhouette. Outline the T-Rex jaw and sharp teeth, remembering that theropod dentition was uneven. These animals shed and replaced teeth continuously throughout life, meaning long, banana-shaped daggers sat directly adjacent to shorter, newly erupted ones. Draw the fleshy gums covering the bases rather than floating teeth directly in empty air.
Step 6: Cleaning the Guide Lines
Take a kneaded eraser and lift away the initial geometric framework. What remains is a clean, anatomically sound foundation ready for skin rendering and volumetric lighting.
