Want to learn how to draw Vegeta with a dark twist? In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z step by step, then turn the Saiyan prince into a vampire, from a blank canvas to the final highlights. The video above compresses a five hour process into 15 minutes. The 13 steps below break it down so you can follow along at your own pace, pause on any stage and build your own Vegeta drawing one layer at a time.
You don’t need to be an expert. If you can draw a circle and a straight line, you can finish this one.
What You Need
- A drawing program with layers (I use Photoshop, but Procreate, Clip Studio Paint or Krita all work)
- A pressure sensitive pen or tablet
- A sketch brush, a clean inking brush and a hard round brush for color
- If you draw on paper: a light pencil, an eraser and a fine liner pen for the lineart
What Makes Vegeta Such a Great Character
Vegeta is proof that a great character does not have to be the hero. He arrives as a ruthless villain, and his pride is his whole identity. He is the Prince of all Saiyans, and he believes he is destined to be the strongest warrior alive.
That pride is exactly what makes him so interesting. Vegeta is stubborn, sharp tongued and never satisfied, but he also works harder than almost anyone. Every setback becomes fuel. Every defeat becomes training. Watching him slowly grow from a cold conqueror into a fierce protector of his family is one of the best arcs in anime.
Then there is Goku. Vegeta would never admit it, but Goku is the engine behind almost everything he does. Each time Goku reaches a new level of power, Vegeta feels the need to reach it too. He trains harder, pushes past his limits and refuses to fall behind. He believes he is chasing the title of strongest fighter on his own terms, yet the target he keeps aiming at is always Goku.
That mix of arrogance, discipline and hidden admiration is why drawing Vegeta is so much fun. His scowl, his crossed arms and his sharp spiky hair all say the same thing: nobody is going to outwork him. A vampire redesign fits him perfectly, because a proud, cold prince already feels halfway to a creature of the night.
How to Draw Vegeta Step by Step
Step 1: Head Construction
Start your Vegeta sketch with a simple circle near the top third of the page. Draw a long vertical center line through the middle of the circle and keep going down the page. This line is your guide for the face, the neck, the chest and the crossed arms, so let it run almost to the bottom.
Add a small curve under the circle for the jaw and chin. Keep your pencil or brush light. Nothing here needs to be clean, because every line you draw now gets covered later.
How to draw Vegeta step 1, a circle and center line for head construction
Step 2: Sketch the Face
Vegeta’s face is all about attitude. Draw his brows as sharp, angled shapes that point down toward the center line. They should almost touch in the middle, which creates his famous scowl.
Place the eyes just under the brows and make them narrow, with small pupils looking forward. Add a short nose on the center line, then a smirk that pulls up on one side. Finish with a strong, angular jawline and the start of the neck and shoulders. Keep your lines loose so you can adjust the expression before moving on.
How to draw Vegeta step 2, face sketch with angled brows and smirk
Step 3: Draw the Spiky Hair
This is the step that makes your drawing read as Vegeta. Start with his sharp widow’s peak, a deep V shape that dips down to the forehead along the center line. Then add the ears on both sides of the head.
Now build the hair upward like a flame. Draw one tall center spike first, then add spikes on each side that get shorter and lean outward as they move away from the middle. Vary the length and angle of every spike so the hair looks powerful instead of uniform. A few smaller spikes near the ears and temples help frame the face. At this stage I also opened up the smirk to show his teeth.
Vegeta sketch step 3, tall swept back spiky hair and widow’s peak
Step 4: Crossed Arms and Body
Vegeta’s crossed arms are one of his most recognizable poses. Draw broad shoulders that are much wider than the head, then sketch a strong chest with a horizontal line across the pecs.
Build the arms from simple shapes first: round shapes for the shoulders, cylinders for the upper arms and long tapered shapes for the forearms. Overlap the forearms in front of the chest so one sits on top of the other. Don’t worry about fingers yet. Add a few guide lines at the bottom for the waist.
How to draw Vegeta step by step, step 4 crossed arms and body sketch
Step 5: Add the Armor Details
Now dress him in his Saiyan armor. Draw the shoulder straps rising up over each shoulder, then the curved chest plate that wraps around the torso. Add the center line down the armor and the bottom section of the chest plate.
Draw his gloves over the crossed forearms and sketch the fingers resting on the upper arms. Finish the bottom with the waist guard and belt. Keep the armor shapes clean and symmetrical, using your center line as a mirror. You may notice a few red marks near the ears in this image. That’s where I started planning the vampire design.
Drawing Vegeta step 5, Saiyan armor, gloves and waist guard
Step 6: Vampire Redesign
Create a new layer and switch to a bright color like red, so the new design stands out against your gray sketch. This is where Vegeta becomes a vampire.
- Stretch the ears into long, pointed elf-like tips.
- Add two fangs at the corners of the smirk, with a small drop of blood.
- Draw a spiked collar around the neck.
- Sketch a tall, dramatic cape collar that rises up behind his head and flares out past the shoulders.
Working on a separate layer lets you toggle the redesign on and off to compare it with the original pose, so you can see if the new pieces still feel like Vegeta.
Vegeta drawing step 6, vampire redesign sketch with fangs, pointed ears and cape
Step 7: Clean Lineart
Lower the opacity of your sketch layers and create a new layer for the lineart. Trace over your sketch with smooth, confident strokes. Try to draw each line in one motion instead of many short, scratchy strokes.
While you ink, add the final details: the round ring on the collar, the shoulder pads, the full cape and the folds in the gloves. I used a dark brown line instead of pure black, which keeps the lines crisp but softer next to the colors. I also colored the eyes red and added the blood drip here so the vampire look is clear even before the flat colors. When you finish, turn off the sketch layers.
How to draw Vegeta step 7, clean lineart of vampire Vegeta
Step 8: Flat Colors
Create a color layer under your lineart. Fill the skin with a pale, icy blue. This cold skin tone instantly tells the viewer he’s not human anymore. Fill the eyes with red and color the armor a bold red.
Keep the hair white for now. Leaving it uncolored makes it easier to judge the other colors first. I also added small cross earrings in this step for an extra gothic touch.
Vegeta drawing step 8, flat colors with pale blue skin and red armor
Step 9: Cape and Armor Colors
Color the outside of the cape a dark navy and the inside lining a deep, dark red. Fill the chest plate with teal, then color the gloves dark navy to match the cape. Make the collar spikes a dark gray and add darker red trim to the armor edges and waist guard.
These dark, cool colors make the bright red armor and pale skin pop, which is exactly what you want in a vampire design.
Drawing Dragon Ball Z Vegeta step 9, navy cape, teal chest plate and dark gloves
Step 10: Hair Color
Change the white hair to a pale, creamy blonde. This one choice brings the whole piece together. It nods to Vegeta’s Super Saiyan form, but the soft, washed out tone feels colder and more undead than a bright gold would. Make the eyebrows the same pale blonde so they match.
How to draw Vegeta step 10, pale blonde Super Saiyan hair color
Step 11: Background and First Shading
Add a new layer behind everything and fill it with a deep red gradient, brighter at the top and darker at the bottom. The red background matches the vampire theme and makes the blue skin stand out.
Then start shading the face. Create a new layer above your flat colors and set it to Multiply (or clip it to the color layer). Use a darker blue to place shadows under the brows, along the side of the face, under the nose and beneath the chin.
Vegeta drawing step 11, red gradient background and first face shading
Step 12: Hair and Cape Shading
Now deepen the shadows across the rest of the drawing. Add shading to the inside of each hair spike, the folds of the cape, the gloves, the collar spikes and the curves of the armor.
Pick one light direction and stay consistent. In this piece the light comes from the front, so the shadows fall on the edges and undersides of each shape. This is the step that makes your Vegeta drawing feel three dimensional.
How to draw Vegeta step 12, shading on the hair, cape, gloves and armor
Step 13: Final Highlights
Finish with small, sharp highlights. Add thin white or light lines along the edges of the cape, the shoulder pads and the armor. Put a few shiny streaks on the gloves so they look like leather, and add touches of light on the face, the collar ring and the spikes.
Use highlights sparingly. A few bright spots in the right places look much better than covering the whole drawing. Step back, zoom out and your vampire Vegeta is done.
Final Vegeta drawing as a vampire, Dragon Ball Z fan art
Quick Tips for Your Vegeta Drawing
- Work on separate layers for sketch, redesign, lineart, color, shading and highlights. It makes fixing mistakes easy.
- Build the pose from simple shapes before adding details. Circles and cylinders first, armor and fingers later.
- Use a darker line color than your colors so the lineart stays crisp. Dark brown is softer than black.
- Exaggerate the hair. Cool Vegeta drawings always push the spikes taller and sharper than you think they need to be.
- Keep the scowl. Whatever version of Vegeta you draw, his angled brows and smirk are what make him recognizable.
- Flip your canvas horizontally now and then. It shows you mistakes in the symmetry of the face and armor right away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Vegeta hard to draw? Not if you break him down into steps. The hair and the crossed arms look complicated, but they are just simple shapes stacked together. Start with the circle and center line and the rest falls into place.
How do I make my Vegeta sketch look more like him? Focus on three things: the deep widow’s peak, the angled brows that almost meet in the middle and the tall center hair spike. Get those right and anyone will recognize him.
Can I use this tutorial to draw normal Vegeta? Yes. Follow steps 1 through 5, then skip the vampire redesign in step 6. Color his armor white and yellow, his suit blue and his hair black (or gold for Super Saiyan), and you’ll have classic Dragon Ball Z Vegeta fan art.
Can I draw this on paper? Yes. Sketch lightly with pencil, ink with a fine liner, erase the pencil, then color with markers or colored pencils. Plan the vampire details lightly before inking, since you won’t have layers.
If you liked this Vegeta drawing you may also like this Goku drawing as a vampire.
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Fan Art Disclaimer: This artwork is fan art. Vegeta and Dragon Ball are the property of their respective owners, including Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Shueisha. This drawing is not for sale, nor is it being sold.