How To Draw A Magic Staff

This tutorial shows how to draw a magic staff, an item that can be found or mentioned in fantasy themed shows, games and books.

The design of the staff in the example (see preview above) will be fairly simple to make it easier to draw. It will have a wooden shaft with a fairly basic gold head with a round (spherical) magic gem.

Start the tutorial in pencil and make light lines as you will need to erase a tiny part of the drawing in one of the steps. You can darken them later on with a black pen or marker.

Step 1 – Draw the Gem of the the Magic Staff

Begin by drawing the gem. Draw it as a circle but leave the end that goes towards the bottom of the staff open.

Step 2 – Draw the Head

Below the gem draw the head of the staff. Make it's shape similar to a rectangle with rounded corners but make the line that defines it's bottom slightly rounded as well.

Step 3 – Draw the Shaft

Going down form the head draw the long shaft. Make it wider towards the top and narrower towards the bottom. You can also deliberately make the lines that define it a little "wobbly" to help show that it's made of wood.

Step 4 – Draw the Prongs

To make the staff a little less pain you can draw some prongs (parts that help hold the gem in place) coming out of the head and gripping the gem. Add one in the middle and two on the sides as shown in the example. When adding the middle prong you can erase a tiny bit of the head in the middle.

Step 5 – Draw the Glow & Finish the Line Drawing

To show that the staff is magical you can add a glow emanating from the gem. Outline it with a series of curves similar in shape to something between the letters "U" and "V" that circle the gem. The combined shape of these should look like a start with a lot of ends. Also leave a few breaks in the outline (where the lines don't fully connect). This will make it appear lighter and more like an actual glow.

Step 6 – Color the Staff

To color the staff you can make it's the shaft brown (to again show that its wooden) and the head a yellow/orange/brown to show that it's gold.

In this case the gem will be blue and the glow a light yellow but these are optional as you can make the gem and the glow different colors. For examples if you want to draw a staff that casts fire magic you can make the gem red. If you want to show the staff casting an ice spell you can make the glow blue, etc… Also leave a little oval shaped highlight (light reflection) inside the gem to help show that it has a smooth and shiny surface.

Markers and colored pencils can both be a good option for this particular drawing.

Conclusion

The designs of magic staffs found in fantasy themed shows and games as well as described in books can vary. However, they often involve some sort of a wooden shaft and a magical gem. Taking these things into account this tutorial show one way to draw such an item. Hopefully you've found it helpful.

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