You know that feeling when you open Ellie’s journal in Part II and just stare at the charcoal smudges for five minutes? It’s heavy. Honestly, a Last of Us drawing isn't just "game art" or a collectible fluff piece designed to pad out a menu. It’s the connective tissue of the entire franchise.
Naughty Dog used these sketches to bridge the gap between a hardened killer and a girl who never got to be a kid. Think back to the first game. Joel is a brick wall. But through Ellie's eyes—and her constant need to document the world—we see the cracks in that wall.
The Raw Power of a Last of Us Drawing in Ellie’s Journal
Most players sprint through the Seattle environments, focused on finding 9mm rounds or duct tape. They’re missing the point. If you stop and look at a Last of Us drawing inside Ellie’s diary, you’re looking at her mental state in real-time.
It’s messy. It’s visceral.
The sketches of Dina are soft. They have these light, wandering lines that feel intimate. Contrast that with the way she draws the Seraphites or the WLF soldiers. The pencil strokes become jagged. Aggressive. You can almost feel her digging the lead into the paper. It’s a visual representation of her losing her humanity.
Artists like Claire Hummel and the team at Naughty Dog didn’t just make "pretty" pictures. They made character studies. They had to ask: how would a nineteen-year-old girl who has seen her friends die express grief without saying a word?
The answer is in the hatching. It’s in the way she leaves faces unfinished when she’s traumatized.
Why the Joel Sketches Hit Different
There is one specific Last of Us drawing that basically ruins everyone who plays the game. You know the one. It’s the attempt she makes to draw Joel after the prologue of Part II.
Early on, she can’t get his eyes right. She scribbles them out.
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It’s a psychological detail that most games wouldn't bother with. It represents her PTSD—her inability to remember him clearly without the trauma of his death clouding the memory. When she finally completes a portrait of him sitting on the porch with his guitar, it’s not just an unlockable asset. It’s a narrative beat.
The community has taken this and run with it. If you browse platforms like ArtStation or Instagram, you’ll see thousands of fans trying to replicate that specific "journal style." It’s become its own sub-genre of fan art. People aren't just drawing the characters; they are trying to draw as the characters.
Technical Breakdown: How to Replicate the Aesthetic
If you're trying to create your own Last of Us drawing, you have to stop trying to be perfect. Perfect is the enemy of the TLOU vibe.
The game’s art direction is built on "the beauty in the decay."
- Use graphite or charcoal. Avoid digital brushes that look too clean. You want grit.
- Focus on "lost edges." This is a concept where the shadow of an object melts into the background. It creates that moody, oppressive atmosphere the games are known for.
- Add environmental storytelling. Don't just draw Joel. Draw Joel with a background that looks like nature is reclaiming a Starbucks. That contrast between the mundane and the post-apocalyptic is the secret sauce.
I’ve seen artists use actual coffee stains on paper to get that weathered, survived-the-apocalypse look. It works. It feels authentic.
The Impact on the Gaming Industry’s Art Direction
Before 2013, "game art" was often about being as shiny and high-fidelity as possible. The Last of Us changed that. It pushed a "found art" aesthetic.
When we talk about a Last of Us drawing, we’re talking about a shift toward diegetic UI. That’s just a fancy way of saying "stuff that exists within the world." Instead of a sterile menu showing your stats, you have a physical book.
This influenced games like Red Dead Redemption 2, where Arthur Morgan keeps a similar journal. It’s a way to ground the player. It makes the protagonist feel like a person with an interior life, rather than just a vessel for the player's inputs.
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Common Misconceptions About the Concept Art
A lot of people think the concept art you unlock in the "Extras" menu is the same thing as the in-game drawings. It's not.
The concept art—done by legends like Hidetoshi Shimodaira or Shaddy Safadi—is about scale and lighting. It’s meant to tell the developers what the world should feel like. The Last of Us drawing found in the journals is about what the character thinks.
One is for the builders; the other is for the soul.
Moving Beyond the Paper: Fan Art and Tattoos
The "Ellie Tattoo" is technically a Last of Us drawing that has moved from the screen to thousands of human bodies. It was designed by Natalie Hall, a real-world tattoo artist.
The moth and the ferns.
It’s funny, because the moth is drawn to the light—a metaphor for Ellie’s obsession with revenge, even if it kills her. People get this etched into their skin forever. That’s the level of impact we’re talking about here. It’s a visual language that resonates because it’s rooted in something real: the desire to leave a mark in a world that’s trying to erase you.
How to Get Started with Your Own TLOU-Style Art
You don't need a $2,000 Wacom tablet for this. In fact, it’s better if you don't use one.
Grab a cheap sketchbook. Find a 4B or 6B pencil—something soft and dark. Go outside and find something broken. A cracked sidewalk. A rusted fence. A dead tree.
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Draw it, but don't use an eraser. If you make a mistake, draw over it. That layering creates the "lived-in" texture.
When you do a Last of Us drawing, you're trying to capture a moment before it disappears. Use quick, gestural lines. If you're drawing a character, focus on the eyes first. In the Naughty Dog universe, the eyes carry all the weight. Everything else can be a smudge, but the eyes have to be haunting.
Essential Practices for Authenticity
- Limit your palette. Stick to blacks, whites, and sepia tones.
- Incorporate text. Ellie’s drawings are always surrounded by her thoughts. Write fragments of conversation or lyrics. It adds a layer of "found footage" realism.
- Reference real world decay. Look at photos of Pripyat or abandoned malls in the Rust Belt. Nature doesn't just grow over buildings; it tears them apart. Your art should reflect that violence.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Style
The biggest mistake is making it too "cool."
The world of The Last of Us is miserable. It’s beautiful, sure, but it’s exhausted. A Last of Us drawing should feel tired. It shouldn't look like a superhero poster. It should look like something someone drew by a flickering flashlight while listening for the click-click-click of an Infected in the hallway.
If it looks like it belongs on a cereal box, you’ve failed. If it looks like it belongs in a museum of lost things, you’re on the right track.
The legacy of these drawings is that they reminded us that even at the end of the world, humans will still want to create. We want to be seen. We want to remember the faces of the people we’ve lost. That’s why we keep sketching Joel. That’s why we keep obsessing over every line in that digital journal.
Actionable Next Steps for Artists and Fans
- Study the "The Art of The Last of Us" books. They are published by Dark Horse and contain the actual high-res scans of the production work. Seeing the brushstrokes up close is an education in itself.
- Experiment with Mixed Media. Don't just use pencils. Try using ink washes or even literal dirt rubbed into the paper to create depth.
- Focus on Storytelling over Anatomy. It doesn't matter if the arm looks a little weird if the feeling of the piece is right. Ellie isn't a trained artist; she's a survivor. Embrace the "amateur" look to gain emotional authenticity.
- Check out the "Photo Mode" community. People use the in-game photo mode to create "digital paintings" that serve as perfect references for traditional drawing. Use the "Noir" or "Sepia" filters to see the values clearly before you start your sketch.
Ultimately, the best way to understand a Last of Us drawing is to make one. Pick up a pencil. Think about something you’d miss if the world ended tomorrow. Draw that. Don't worry about the lines being straight. Just make them count.
Expert Insight: When analyzing the journal entries in The Last of Us Part II, pay attention to the dates. The evolution of the drawing style correlates directly with the timeline of Ellie's mental health decline. The more "finished" a drawing looks, the more grounded she felt in that moment. The more chaotic and abstract, the closer she was to her breaking point. This is a deliberate narrative choice by the Naughty Dog art department to use visuals as a secondary script.