HOW TO DRAW

Faces Hands Animals Flowers Trees Cars and EVERYTHING!

Perspective drawing Composition roules

How To Draw Faces

So you think learning how to draw faces is difficult? Wrong! All faces are made up of simple shapes like anything else. Have a look at the article on using just five basic shapes to draw anything by clicking here. In the basic steps that follow, you'll be able to draw believable faces from any angle or position, in no time at all. When learning how to draw faces, you'll find that you can get the face to 'look right' from the start if you're aware of some standard measurements that apply to most people's faces. Once you realise this and practice using them, your sketches of faces will improve no end. Indeed, this is a vital first step if you want to move onto doing portraits. Remember, practice is everything when learning how to draw faces. Copy examples from photos, newspapers and magazines or of course, you can use the examples in this tutorial. Get as wide a range of sketches as you can of men, women, young adults, the elderly, children, racial and ethnic backgrounds and so on. Draw faces from as many different angles and lighting conditions as possible. It's surprising how the same face can look quite different in contrasting lighting conditions. However, one step at a time. Let's get used to drawing a 'general' face that has all the relevant bits in the right place! Oh yes. And one other point. The 'standard measurements' I've just mentioned are only a guideline, not an absolutely rigid formula that must be adhered to. So use them as a valuable tool. Don't become a slave to them!

How to Draw Faces - Stage 1

All we start with is a basic oval in Sketch A. Draw this in lightly and don't worry if it's not perfectly symmetrical. Few people have a head shape or features that are identical on both sides of their face. And here's the first standard measurement - I'll call these SM from now on to save space. The centre of the eyes are placed halfway down the oval - not about a third of the way as you may think. Also, the ears are attached to the head on line with the eyes. The bottom half of the oval can now be split in two again to fix the position of the tip of the nose. The remaining space below this is also divided in two and the imaginary line here positions the

mouth. Even though Sketch B shows this with the eyes & ears, nose and mouth only very simply defined, you can see how everything 'looks right' already.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 2

Now another couple of SM's to help you. In Sketch C, the distance between the centre of the eyes and the tip of the nose invariably works out an equal-sided (equilateral) triangle.

n fact many portrait artists start with this triangle to position the eyes and nose on the canvas or paper before even constructing the head shape. Now look closely at the dotted lines that drop down from the centre of the eyes. Notice that they meet the outer edges of the mouth.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 3

Moving onto the side view of the face, you can see that in Sketch D theoval shape is still there, except that it has been tilted slightly to the right, with one side, (the jaw area) being slightly flattened. In Sketch E another SM comes into play. People's ears tend to be further back on their head than may at first appear. So the distance from the outer edge of eye to the back of the ear is usually the same as the distance from the eye to the chin.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 4

Right, you now have the basic shape of your face from both the front and side views. Now comes my favorite bit when we make the head three-dimensional. Let's go back to the basic oval for a minute (Sketch F). The dotted lines are still there but the big difference is that they have been slightly rounded. Compare this to Sketch A to see what I mean. See what happens in Sketch F? Even though there are no features on the face, the dotted lines on a curve give the clear impression of a rounded solid object. In this case, it's a head, but it could be a ball, an egg, a cushion or whatever. Now add some basic features following the curved dotted lines as in Sketch G and suddenly, with no effort, you have a 3D head. It's that easy! Again, compare Sketch G to Sketch B. Remember, the features must follow the curved lines to achieve this effect.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 5

Now that we know how to draw faces that are three-dimensional, it's only a small step to learning how to move the position of the head, both from side to side and looking at it from above and below as well. In Sketch H I've made the dotted lines curve quite sharply upwards to the right of the head, whilst the dotted line for the centre line of the head is almost at the left hand edge. Now as soon as I put the basic features along these lines, they are automatically positioned with the face looking downwards and to the left. In Sketch I, I've done the opposite with the dotted lines so the face is now looking upwards to the right. The only extra mark I've added is a hint of the chin. The best way to really get to grips with this is to put your curved dotted lines in all sorts of positions on the head without at first trying to fix a facial position. Then add the features and see which way your face is looking. You'll soon get the hang of where the curves should go for any angle at which you want your face to be set.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 6

Having achieved a 3D effect we now know how to draw faces with the head at the correct angle. Now it's time to add some shadows and highlights to create the essential character of the face. If we go to the front-on face position as in Sketch J, you can see where some simple shadows have been created by 'hatching'. In this case, I've assumed the light is coming from the right, so most of the shadows are on the left side of the face.

Although all the shadows are important, I want you to note three areas in particular that do more than anything to suggest to the viewer that features are protruding from or set into the face. Firstly, the shadows immediately above both eyes - even the right eye which is getting some direct light - tells us that the eyes are recessed into the eye sockets. Second, look how the shape of the nose and the impression that it comes forward from the face, is defined by no more than the shadow on the left hand side and the flattened 'V' representing the nostrils, with a little more shadow underneath. Thirdly, Note that the bottom lip is not always drawn in full. It often looks better if its presence is suggested by a little shadow underneath. This shadow then immediately fades away and the highlight below it tells us that this is the front of the chin protruding slightly.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 7

Adding hair styles is very straightforward. You can be as creative as you like here, both for men and women. The examples in Sketch K give you some ideas.

How to Draw Faces - Stage 8

Finally, we bring the whole tutorial together to produce two 3D faces, complete with hair, shadows and highlights.

Let's start with the two photos of the faces we'll be using. The view of the woman is from below and to the left whilst that of the man is above from the left.

You can see from the photos how the guidelines I've super-imposed confirm what I've said about things like the eyes being half-way down the head and the tip of the nose being halfway between the eyes and the chin, etc. From there, I've used the principles outlined earlier to create these two sketches. Although I think they're a reasonable likeness, they're only really a couple of practice sketches, designed to prove the theories I've mentioned actually work. Notice also how I've added shading to bring out the shapes of different parts of the face. The shadows under the nose, chin, around the eyes and the bottom lip are particularly important in creating the bone structure of the subject.

At the early stages of learning how to draw faces, don't beat yourself over the head if the exact likeness doesn't happen the first few times. It does take practice until bringing all these ideas together starts to become automatic. A bit like learning to drive a car or a honing a golf swing. Remember, a few quick sketches, each produced in a few minutes, will bring on your skills very quickly. You don't need to set a whole evening to one side. In fact, sketching faces like this is not much more than creative doodling. However, it's an excellent means of developing your style and drawing confidence in small, bite-sized chunks of time. If you've ever been stuck in a boring meeting (in my case, hundreds of them in my previous life) then the agenda papers and minutes are ideal to practice on! With a bit of effort, you can easily produce these faces (hopefully even better!) in not much more time than it takes you to read this article. So go on - have a go and surprise yourself!

How to Draw Hands the Easy Way

Learning how to draw hands presents a real barrier for many people. They seem to struggle with achieving the correct place to put the joints of a finger and the size of one finger compared to another. And where does the hand finish and the wrist really start ? By following this simple 'how to draw hands' tutorial, using basic shapes to get everything in the correct position and proportion, you'll find it's really quite straightforward. Look at the picture of these red & blue hand shapes.

It's merely the imprint of a child's hands which have been covered in paint then pressed down on paper. But see how it shows where the joints of the fingers are. And notice that there's some gaps in the images. This gives a clue to where the joints are and that some parts of the finger are fatter or thinner than others. Now let's move on to the first stage of drawing.

How To Draw Hands - Stage 1

Here, I've superimposed simple oblongs and a few small ovals over the photo to represent the main shapes. Everybody's hands are different - you can get short, fat hands or long slender hands. Some people have quite a difference in length of the middle finger compared to the others, giving almost a triangular shape to the hand, whilst many people have a much 'squarer' profile to the overall outline of the hand.

When learning how to draw hands, you'll soon realise there is as much variety of shape as there is in the size and shape of the human body .

How To Draw Hands - Stage 2

Moving onto stage 2 of how to draw hands I've now removed the photo and we're left with the basic shapes. Even though they're unsophisticated at this stage, there is an unmistakeable hand shape to work with.

How To Draw Hands - Stage 3

Now I've started the 'filling in' process and developed the more rounded shapes of the fingers and palms. Notice how the tip of the thumbs only reach about a third of the way up the fingers. Now, if you look at your palm, you'll see that each finger is divided more or less equally into three section between the knuckle and the tip. However if you look at the back of your hand, you'll see that the top section to the tip is actually quite a bit shorter than the bottom section nearest the knuckle. How so? The clue is obvious when you look at the side of your hand. You can clearly see the finger joints are hinged. For you to be able to close your fingers properly, taking the thickness of your finger into account, the distance between the joints on the inner part of the finger (on the palm of your hand) has to be shorter. Look at the sketches below to see what I mean. I've included three photos/sketches of the back of the hand to show the subtle diffrences, even though the actual drawing process is exactly the same

How To Draw Hands - Stage 4

Now we've added more detail to the front of the hands so they look more realistic. If you look at the lower completed sketch of the back of the hand, you'll see it's been produced in exactly the same way as the palm

The thing to remember when learning how to draw hands is that there are a thousand and one poses and gestures that they can take. Clenched fist, shaking hands with someone else, holding a pencil, pointing, front, back or side view and so on. With practice you can learn to draw hands that impart a great deal of character, not only of themselves, but more importantly about their owner... The beauty of this how to draw hands tutorial is that whenever you pick up a pencil, you automatically have the subject matter, right there in front of you. You can use your non-drawing hand to adopt a variety of poses, which you can copy for as long as you want. All of these can easily be copied from your own or a friend's hand. Incidentally, if you find it awkward to draw like this because you normally use your free hand to hold you paper, get into the habit of taping the edge down with masking tape or similar, to your work surface. I promise you, you'll get so much satisfaction from accurately drawing your hand in different gestures. All it takes is a little perseverance and practice. Go on! Try it. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve!

How To Draw Animals Section

Drawing tutorials on any subject are always in demand, but learning how to draw animals seems a particularly popular quest for vast numbers of artists of all abilities. Maybe it's our inherent love of animals - their innocence, freedom and general lack of human frailties. Or perhaps it's our desire to capture their grace and movement, maybe against a backcloth of their natural environment. Take the Kangaroo illustrated here, for instance. If you're new to learning how to draw animals, this might not be the subject you'd first think about though if you're in Australia, perhaps you would! Whatever, it just proves that following the simple steps in the articles, you can pick your choice of subject at will.. Perhaps you'd love to record a portrait of a much loved family pet. Yes, I know photos will record your favorite dog, cat or horse very accurately for decades, but a sketch of him that you've produced yourself... Now that is one you'll keep for the family album - better still, framed on the wall! How to Draw Animals Kangaroo 1 To make it even easier if you're new to sketching, all of these drawing articles use just a few basic shapes to get you started. As you can see from this photo of a kangaroo, these simpleshapes help to define the main parts of each animal. This helps you to quickly sketch a rough outline to get the proportions right before you attempt the detail. To cater for this interest in how to draw animals, I've put together a series of tutorials devoted to many specific creatures, including how to draw horses, cattle, dogs, cats and many others.

How to Draw Flowers

If you want to learn how to draw flowers, just by following the easy steps below, you'll be able to produce believable flower sketches in almost no time at all. You'll be using a series of basic shapes to get the size and proportions of different types of flowers, with the photos below as the inspiration for your sketches. For more information on these shapes click on the link here to go to the relevant section. Flowers are a consistently popular subject for drawing and painting and no wonder. There are literally thousands of varieties across the world, growing wild and free or cultivated and nurtured by man (and woman!) in every size, shape and color imagineable. Look closely at any flower and at first, you see only a complex layering of petals - the ever-popular rose is a good example of this. Nevertheless, on closer inspection, most flower outlines can be easily represented by just a few basic shapes. It's just knowing where to start. So let's start here and go to Stage 1 of 'How to Draw Flowers'...

How To Draw Flowers - Stage 1

If you look closely at the photos at the top of the page, youll see seven different shapes of flower. To make this easier, I've reproduced them below overlaid with some basic shape which more or less encompasses the main outline.

See how we have the oval shape of the tulip (bottom right), the round shape of the daisy (top right) and the triangular shape to represent the 'trumpet ' outline of the foxglove (bottom left). Now let's look at the petals. Again the shape of the daisy is no more than a series of fairly regular, oval 'spokes'. On the other hand, the rose (bottom centre) has its petals wrapped around and around like a spiral. The tiger lily on the other hand has a combination of a triangle shape and ovals. Once we understand this, it's much easier to 'read' the shape of the flower and petals and you're well on the way to learning how to draw flowers quickly and effectively.

How To Draw Flowers - Stage 2

Stage 2 of learning how to draw flowers sees the photos removed and we're left with the basic shapes to use as building blocks for our image. Even though these are simple shapes, they already look'right' in terms of overall shape and proportion.

In the next stage, you're going to start filling in - in pencil -the more realistic shapes of petals. Don't draw your lines too hard at this point. Concentrate on getting the shapes right first. I've actually done my lines in ink at this point because it makes it easier for you to see what I'm on about. But for now stick to pencil. You'll find that if you use light lines, you'll get much more of a feel of delicate petals, which is the effect you're trying to achieve.

How To Draw Flowers - Stage 3

Now you'll start to feel you're really getting somewhere. In this stage of learning how to draw flowers, we're concentrating on inking in a fairly accurate outline of each flower, going over our pencilled outline.

However, don't, at this stage, worry about putting in details such as shadows and veins. That comes next. How To Draw Flowers - Stage 4 In this final stage, we can now come to the part which brings everything to life - the shadows, the lights and darks and the delicate folds and curves of each petal. Take your time over this but don't overdo it. Think all the time about the delicacy and lightness of a flower and try to replicate this in your work.

Of course you might say 'what about those flowers that have very narrow, spiky petals or the many varieties of Dahlia, with their round, ball-like profile? Well if you look at any flower, you'll see that each of the shapes we've drawn here can be adapted slightly to cover pretty well any variety you can think of! With a little practice, you should be able to create an authentic image of any type of flower you want - whether it be a single stem or an entire bouquet! Leves also conform to the same general patterns - broad and oval, long and slim or quite rounded, like a Geranium for example. However, if you look at any leaf, you'll soon learn to associate a shape with it that will enable you to draw it without any problem.

How to Draw Roses

Learning how to draw roses, one of the most popular flowers anywhere in the world, can seem daunting at first sight. When you look at all the intricate ways in which the petals appear to curl and fold around each other, you wonder where to start. However, once you realise how the basic structure of a rose is formed, it suddenly becomes easier to understand. Even moreso, when you realize that anything you draw can be formed with just five basic shapes which you can find in the article.

Before roses actually open out, each petal is wrapped around the one below like a spiral. A really good way to understand and see this is to peel a tomato as you would peel an apple. If you can keep the peel in one long piece, then roll it up, you'll find it makes a perfect impression of a rose that hasn't yet fully bloomed! Keep this spiral effect in mind when you're drawing and it may help. Anyone in the catering trade will know this trick. As an aside from drawing, it's a really neat way to embellish a salad... However, enough of the food. We're here to draw. Let's move on to Stage 1 of this how to draw roses tutorial.

How To Draw Roses - Stage 1

f we look at the two photos, you'll see one is of a rose that's still to open, whilst one is of a beautiful peach color in full bloom.

In my usual style, I've superimposed guide lines over the pictures to show that despite the intricacy of the petals, they're really only basic shapes to point you in the right direction. These should also make sure the sizes are in proportion as well.

How To Draw Roses - Stage 2

In Stage 2 of How to Draw Roses, we can see that by taking away the the pictures, we're left with basic shapes that provide a sort of 'scaffolding'.

Sketch these shapes lightly in pencil until you're happy with the overall proportions.

How To Draw Roses - Stage 4

In this next stage, I've inked in the final shapes, once I'm happy with the look of the flowers. Some of the spiral has been stretched a little here and there and the triangles have been slightly rounded off to indicate where the petals have started to curl over.

How To Draw Roses - Final Stage

The final part of this article sees the addition of some light pen marks to indicate shadow areas and give some 'body' to the roses.

Note how they've been drawn on the larger rose in the direction that the petals actually grow to suggest the veins and undulations. Have a close look at a petal on a real rose and you'll see what I mean.

How To Draw Trees

Learning how to draw trees is a lot easier than you may think... Many budding artists of all ages are put off because they've only previously managed a 'lollipop' that they remember producing when they were at school. And yet, a lollipop isn't a million miles away from many real trees in full summer foliage. You just need to know where to 'tweak' your sketch to make your lollipop look the part. So if you think you couldn't draw the tree below - or even better? Well read on . he good thing about learning how to draw trees is that unlike a portrait, where the features have to be in the right place for the face to look right, if you put a branch in the wrong place on a tree, it still looks like a tree. This tutorial gets you started using basic, familiar shapes you've seen a hundred times. But until now, I bet you never thought it would teach you how to draw trees ! Add a couple of simple techniques that I promise anyone can manage, and you'll be drawing believable, realistic trees with confidence in no time. All you will need to start with is a pencil, an eraser and a few pieces of scrap paper or a pad. However, before we actually put pencil to paper, let's have a closer look at the photo below..

Notice first that the top (black) pencil has a long point on it. I've achieved this with a craft knife. Pencil sharpeners are OK but you can't get the tip of the pencil like this with them. The tip of the yellow pencil has been done with a pencil sharpener. This will soon wear down as you sketch and you'll be constantly stopping to re-sharpen it. The long point on the black pencil means that I can make a broader, more confident line, achieving the full thickness of many of the lower branches, in one go. Also, when I come to shade in larger areas, I can do this much more quickly and effectively holding the pencil this way. Look at the three marks I've made - all with this same point. The widest one is achieved just by holding the pencil with the point flat to the paper, like a pastel stick. This is perfect for sweeping in the thicker, lower branches in one go. As I reach the uppermost twigs, I can start to use more of the point to get the finer lines needed here. Incidentally, the photo also shows a putty eraser. These can be pulled and stretched to a fine point or edge to take out just a small area of pencil if you want - ideal for lifting out highlights! They're also less likely to damage the surface of your paper than a cheaper general purpose eraser.

How To Draw Trees - Step 1

Right, Let's get going...! Look at Sketch 1 on the right. Ever played cards? Almost certainly. Look at this sketch of the Ace of Clubs. What do you see - a perfect starting point for learning how to draw trees! As you become more experienced, you'll see all sorts of shapes that you will realise can simplify or inspire you to draw and paint all sorts of things. Learning how to draw trees is no different. In this case the Ace of Clubs represents a rounded, deciduous tree, but what could be simpler than a long, thin triangle or upturned popcorn cone to give you the basis of a fir tree? The Ace of Clubs is quite simply three circles and a triangle for the base.

How to Draw Trees - Step 2

In sketch 2, I've stretched this out so the circles are all different sizes and the base is a bit more elongated. The circles don't even have to be perfectly round - in fact it's better if they're not. See them as a simple framework as a simple way to get you started sketching trees. Already a believable tree is starting to take shape. I've drawn these lines a bit heavier than you should, so they show up on the web page. You should draw them in a bit lighter than this and gradually get heavier as the final tree shape

develops. Don't worry if your guidelines aren't perfect - remember, they are just that - a guide - and some of them will be rubbed out shortly anyway. Also, don't concern yourself about producing specific species of tree just yet - we can look at that when you've built up your confidence with this

How to Draw Trees - Step 3

Now look at Sketch 3. I've started to draw branches from the main trunk. They're quite thick at first but gradually taper as they reach the edges of the tree. Notice how I've kept these lines quite raggedy to represent the random way trees grow. One thing I don't want to do is make them appear too even. That wouldn't be how nature intended! When you're first learning how to draw trees a useful tip is to ensure that as one branch diverges from the trunk, the next usually diverges a bit further up. It's very rare that two branches split exactly opposite each other from the main branch. If you just want learn how to draw trees in winter, then you can start shading in the branches at this point. Remember to pick the direction the sun is coming from and stick to it!

How to Draw Trees - Step 4

A frequent problem when students are sketching trees is that they have the light coming from different directions... They put shadows on opposite sides of branches at different points and it looks all wrong. The sunny side will be the lightest - in this case the left hand side. The opposite side of the branches and trunk will be in shadow ...

However, a summer tree covered in leaves needs a little more work. As in Sketch 4, I've lightly scribbled an outline round the edge of the tree. I've also rubbed out some, but not all, of the branches. The ones left are those you can see through the leaves. When I teach students how to draw trees I always emphasise how important it is to create a threedimensional effect and also show the 'openness' of the tree. Putting in some branches here and there gives the impression of them twisting in and out of view as they spread to the outer edges of the tree. Remember, a tree is not a flat object... It has branches coming towards and going away from you as well as the ones you see either side and in the centre as well. I've drawn some light outlines around these remaining branches just to remind you that these are your 'sky holes'. Once you've a little more experience you won't need to bother with this.

How to Draw Trees - Step 5

Sketch 5 is where the real fun starts in learning how to draw trees. You're now about to switch on the sunlight by adding shadows and putting back in some highlights. Remember, even more than with the winter tree, to decide which direction your sunlight is coming from. As well as the main shadows being on the opposite side of the tree, it will be dark around the sky holes where you can see branches. These visible branches will almost always be in silhouette and quite dark, as will the shadow on the ground. There are many ways you can draw leaves. However, for a tree this size, the one thing you don't want is to draw each individual leaf! Apart from driving you slowly mad, it would look very forced and unreal. Instead, you're aiming for an impression of leaves and the lights and darks in the tree.

Try letting your pencil dance over the tree in a demented scribble. This, with a little practice, can create an excellent representation of leaves. Dark areas can be filled in to create lights and darks next to each other. Or you could shade in most areas as with the Ace of Clubs in sketch 1, then lift out highlights with an eraser. The sketches below show these ideas in more detail.

When you add your shadow on the ground on the opposite side from the sunlight, put a smaller area of shadow on the ground on the sunlit side as these branches would still cast some shadows. Notice that I've also taken out the bottom line where the trunk meets the ground... Look at the examples in the sketch of the trunks (above) for comparison and see how the right hand drawing makes the trunk 'grow' right out of the ground and not sit on top of it. Remember also when you learn how to draw trees, to draw your boughs and branches from the base upwards i.e. as the tree would 'grow'. Make sure each branch in your sky holes appears to come from a logical point on the trunk below. The eye will then happily 'fill in' the branch's position behind the leaf clusters even though you haven't actually drawn it. Now have a look out of your window or find a photo of a real tree and try copying it. Simplification is the key! You're looking for a basic outline to begin with and you don't want to copy every leaf - just the main leaf clusters. These tend to be either rounded balls or flat, as in the case of evergreens. The bottom half of the visible part of the trunk should be lit up with sunlight on one side, with the other side in increasing shadow. Look at Sketch 5. The trunk area immediately below the bottom leaf clusters will usually all be in shadow as very little light will be able to reach, whatever the position of the sun.To Sum Up... Finally, as with many art techniques, learning how to draw trees is often easier to do than to describe... Hopefully, this tutorial has given you a few pointers to give you the confidence to get going.

How to Draw A Car in Four Easy Steps

Learning how to draw a car can be confusing for the newcomer. Actually it's not difficult to achieve if you're shown what to do. For example, if you click on the link to 'How to Draw' at the bottom of this article you'll find a tutorial on the Aston Martin DB5, James Bond's famous sports car that first appeared in 'Goldfinger' back in 1964. However, if you want to learn to draw a car which is a much older 'classic', you'll notice they're constructed like a series of boxes. In fact if you click on the link on the next line, you can get to the Section on using just five basic shapes to draw anything you want - including cars, of course! This makes it much easier to start to get a good likeness early on always a great confidence booster, even for the experienced artist! Look at the photo here of the classic Ford Model T which is going to be the subject of this 'how to draw a car' tutorial. This is arguably the most famous of the old-time cars. It was certainly the first mass-produced car, with over 15 million models being built world-wide between 1908 and 1927. Even today, over 100,000 models still exist around the world. Apparently, during the planning stages of his original masterpiece, Henry Ford saw the wreck of a French car after a race in Florida and noticed it was built from a much lighter and more durable alloy - vanadium steel - than he proposed using. He quickly incorporated this into his designs and stole a march on his major rivals. For several years, the only vehicles using this high-quality alloy were luxury French cars and the Ford Model T... Henry Ford's oft-quoted comment "You can have any color as long as it's black" related to the Model T, although only in later years. Right, enough of the history lesson. Let's look at how to draw a car! -

How to Draw A Car - Stage 1

Look at Stage 1 of 'How to Draw a Car'. See how the simple box shape forms the basis of the whole vehicle. I've done this in black pen so you can see the lines easier.

I suggest you use an HB pencil which is dark enough to see but will erase easily.

Use this and other blocks as 'scaffolding' to develop your drawing. Get this box shape in roughly the correct proportions and you can be confident your finished version is going to be pretty well spot on. If you want to print this image to use it to trace the outline, feel free. I suggest you enlarge it slightly on your printer if possible, then scribble pencil on the reverse (a bit like carbon paper) and lightly trace it onto your drawing paper. Remember, your going to erase many of these construction lines as you progress. By the way, if you're a beginner, tracing an image isn't 'cheating' as some might say. If it helps you at first to understand that much quicker and more thoroughly how to draw a car - or anything else for that matter - then go for it!

How to Draw A Car - Stage 2

Now I've started to put in some detail. As you can see, it's still only blocks - even the wheels are still square! However, it's starting to look like an old car already. Incidentally, notice how far forwards the nearside front 'wheel' is (actually the oblong furthest to the right in the sketch!).

This will make this three-quarter view 'look right' when we come to add all the details.

How to Draw A Car - Stage 3

This is where you start to see how a Ford Model T is emerging. Start rounding off the relevant parts such as the wheels and headlamps. Notice that the angle you are working at means the wheels aren't round, but oval. Keep within the oblongs you've drawn and observe carefully the shape of the wheels I've drawn. A series of quick light lines will look better and actually give some 'movement' to the wheels. If you do get it wrong, rub out and go over that section again. As you become more confident you'll notice that your drawing speeds up and the lines you produce will look more professional.

How to Draw A Car - Stage 4

Having got the outline to your satisfaction, now you can add the lights, darks and all the details that really make it look like a Ford Model T. A good way to bring out highlights in this drawing is to lightly shade all the bodywork with your pencil. Now take your rubber - a putty rubber which you can mould to a point is ideal - and lift out highlights from the grey bodywork.

Notice how the hatching (shading) on the bonnet, seats and roof help to illustrate the shape and angle of the panels. Decide which side your sunlight is coming from and maintain that consistency when you emphasise the highlights. Now add your darkest darks in the wheel arches, under the car and the interior, etc. Add some shadow where the wheels touch the ground as well. This always helps and object to 'sit down' on the ground. And with a bit of luck, a little practice and perseverance, there you have it! A 1926 Ford Model T, straight out of Detroit!

How to Draw Cars in Four Easy Steps

Learning how to draw cars to re-create the look of a particular model may appear at first to be a step too far for the newcomer to drawing. Not so. Follow the four simple steps below and you'll soon be drawing any make and model you want. If you're not sure, click on the link on the next line to find out how just using five simple shapes can be used to draw anything. On the other hand, people may want to learn to draw a car without it being a specific model. Either way, all you need to do is to put some basic shapes together to make it look realistic. Older cars from the twenties and thirties tended to be a more boxlike shape than their modern counterparts. However, the bits like headlamps and mudguards that used to be bolted onto the box made them a little more complex to finish off. Look in the links at the end for the article on older cars where I'll be using the Model Ford T as the subject. However in this tutorial, we'll learn to draw probably the most famous 'film' car ever - James Bond's silver Aston Martin DB5 from the 1964 film 'Goldfinger'. The film buffs amongst you will know it also made a re-appearance following year in Thunderball. Don't worry, we're just going to draw the car, not the multitude of gadgets it came with, including machine guns, ejector seats and revolving number plates, etc! It was bought at auction for around $275,000 in 1986 - think what that would be worth 20 years on ...! Sadly, after being widely exhibited, the car was stolen from its secure storage in an aircraft hangar in 1997. In true Bond tradition, the thieves cut through alarms, locks and a barbed wire security fence and without alerting security guards, managed to spirit the DB5 away into the night. To the best of my knowledge it has never been recovered.

How to Draw Cars - Stage 1

As you can see, learning how to draw cars -even sleek ones like this - still starts with some basic oblong shapes. The top box will become the windscreen and interior and the vertical lines on the right hand side of the sketch are to mark the position of the wheels.

I've done these in black pen so you can see the lines easier. I suggest you use an HB pencil which is dark enough to see but will erase easily. If you want to print this image to use it to trace the outline, feel free. I suggest you enlarge it slightly on your printer if possible, then scribble pencil on the reverse (a bit like carbon paper) and lightly trace it onto your drawing paper. Remember, you're going to erase many of these construction lines as you progress. By the way, if you're a beginner, tracing an image isn't 'cheating' as some might say. If it helps you at first to understand that much quicker and more thoroughly how to draw cars - or anything else for that matter - then go for it!

How to Draw Cars - Stage 2

Now I've started to put in some detail. As you can see, it's still only blocks, with a few triangles even the wheels are still square! However, it's starting to look like a car already...

How to Draw Cars - Stage 3

This is where you start to believe you really are learning how to draw cars! Start rounding off the relevant parts of the bodywork. Draw lightly at first. Try drawing faster and lighter than you'd expect. A slow heavy line will look labored and probably go wrong anyway.

A series of quick light lines will look better and actually give some 'movement' to the picture. If you do get it wrong, rub out and go over that section again. As you become more confident you'll notice that your drawing speeds up and the lines you produce will look more professional.

How to Draw Cars - Stage 4

Having got the outline to your personal satisfaction, now you can add the lights, darks and all the details that really make it look like a DB5.

A good way to bring out highlights in this drawing is to lightly shade all the bodywork with your pencil. Now take your rubber - a putty rubber which you can mould to a point is ideal - and lift out highlights from the grey bodywork. You can use this technique to give the car its subtle curves. Decide which side your sunlight is coming from and maintain that consistency when you emphasise the highlights. Now add your darkest darks in the wheel arches, under the car and the interior, etc. And there you have it. The original 'Bond' car developed quite quickly and easily from a few square blocks. 'Hope you enjoyed it!

Learn to Draw Whatever You Want

You want to learn to draw but don't know where to start? Well look no further! This tutorial will show you that just by using a few simple shapes that anyone can manage, you can learn to draw literally anything you want to, with increasing confidence and enjoyment. Every object you look at around you - a house, animal, a face, boat, mountain, tree and so on can easily be constructed by using one or a combination of just five basic shapes. All you need is a square, circle, triangle, oblong and oval - just like these below :-

Now read on to see how easy it is to learn to draw using these shapes to start you off ...

Learn to Draw Whatever You Want - Step 1

The beauty of this method of learning how to draw is that you choose the shape or shapes. You might see a drawing of a flower starting off as an oval. Someone else learning how to draw could see the same flower as a circle. It doesn't matter. It's what works for you that's important. On a piece of scrap paper, lightly and quickly sketch these shapes a few times. Allow yourself only about 5 or 10 seconds at most to sketch each shape. Do different sizes and proportions of each one. The shapes don't have to be exact. You are only using them as guidelines so your circles can be less than perfect, your squares not quite square. Just concentrate on doing them quickly and lightly. You may need to go over the circle two or three times before it looks right to you. Fine! After a little practice you'll be amazed at how confident your later efforts will be compared to your first attempts. Let these basic shapes be your slave not your master! Don't forget that oblongs and ovals can be longer or fatter than those shown, whilst triangles can be stretched in several directions. But how do you learn to draw more complex objects? Easy. Break them down into several of the basic shapes. Draw these in lightly at first to get the general outline of what you want. Below I've created a bird from a few triangles, ovals and circles. You can see it's just a rough little sketch and I've made no attempt to tidy the image up or otherwise 'sanitise' for the web page. I want you to see that all these practice sketches are less than perfect because that's what they are practice! It's tempting for me to clean up these lines - maybe even go over them in ink and get rid of all the unwanted marks so it looks somehow more 'professional' to the viewer. However, I hope that by seeing my 'warts'n all' sketches it'll inspire you to learn to draw. Trust me, it's OK to have all those little smudges and roughly drawn guidelines to start with. I promise you'll get better and more confident the more you practice.

Then you can think about producing a tidier, more refined image. As it should be. However, by doing these rough practice sketches without constraints, you'll learn to draw the finished piece so much better. That's how you learn! What using these basic shapes does is show you at once if you've got the overall proportions correct. If you're not happy, it's a simple process to adjust the size and outline of one or more of the shapes until it looks right. What often happens is that people who are trying to learn how to draw spend loads of time laboriously drawing part of the object in minute detail. Then they find that it becomes progressively less like what they intended so frustration and fatigue sets in. A typical problem is that they're going OK then realise that they've not allowed enough room for the completed image to fit on their paper. They don't want to start again, so they try and 'manipulate' the rest of the picture into the remaining space on the paper. It never works ... Been there, done that! Loads! The only way to avoid this is to get your broad shapes down on the paper to start with so you know everything fits! Getting the main shapes down quickly also means you save time and retain your enthusiasm as you see what you're drawing start to look like how you imagine it should do. The whole thing including the more detailed bird sketch below took me about two minutes - but then I've had a bit of practice! You could easily do this in under ten minutes. In fact, set yourself a time limit. You'll be amazed how your drawing improves under pressure! The clock ticking away forces you to avoid fiddling and trying to get things absolutely perfect. (Perfection rarely happens anyway). Instead, the brain instinctively picks out the important lines that give you the broad shape. Try it. It's a great way to learn to draw - and quick too...!

Learn to Draw Whatever You Want - Step 2

Next we have a simple wine bottle and glass. If you look carefully at the lines on the basic 'construction' sketch, you'll just be able to see some which were initially drawn in the wrong place.

I've partially erased them but left enough to show how easy it is to adjust the image this way 'till you're satisfied with it. Notice that the bottom half of the circle used for the rounded top section of the bottle has been discarded in the developed drawing. Also note that it is quite easy to round off the flat base of the bottle in the final drawing as well as the bottle label helping to promote a rounder, more 3D effect. By the way, don't throw these first efforts away when you've finished them. In the tutorial on how to draw solid, three-dimensional objects, you'll learn to use these examples incorporating light and shade. At this stage, I'm keeping things simple for you, to build your confidence in getting familiar objects looking right. You'll therefore be able to progress very easily from sketching a flat simple, framework and learn to draw great-looking three-dimensional items that really come to life with highlights and shadows! Right! Let's move on to a subject many students avoid at all costs! People doing learn to draw courses invariably panic when first asked to do a sketch of an animal - especially a four-legged one! The head ends up as big as the body - which has been drawn too small anyway and they can never get all four legs the same length or width. Oh yes! And they can't fit them in anyway because they've drawn the body too close to the bottom of the paper ... Or, having drawn in detail one bit of the animal to a standard they're happy with, they then rub out the rest and then try to marry up the new bits up with what's left. Result - disaster, frustration and a lot of wasted time and effort.

How To Draw Anything You Want -Step 3

Let's take the slightly complex outline of a cow using the basic shapes ... Yet see how it already looks in proportion with just the basic shapes. All we have used is an oblong and a series of triangles, which give the cow its distinctive squat, angular appearance.

It's now not too difficult to round off some of these construction lines to create a more realistic beast as below.

Why does this happen? It's because you learn to draw it armed with the confidence that you've got the basic shape right at the outset. And look how easy it is to draw the head in a different position, just by moving some triangles around!

Summary
Now, having practised these simple exercises, don't worry if it takes several attempts before you start to get it right. That's quite normal. However, you'll learn to draw in a different way now. More and more, you'll see subjects as one or more simple shapes instead of a jumble of lines and colors that put you off before you start. Look at the two images below. This is painting I did a while back of a typical English village cricket scene. Now if you're starting to learn to draw, where would you begin on the outlines for this? Never mind having to paint it as well! a

Well, using the system I've just gone through, it's a lot easier than you might think. In the second image I've marked in red some basic shapes that replicate some of the elements in the picture. I haven't marked everything otherwise it would get too confusing. You can see that they're not a perfect match but they don't need to be - they're a guideline, not a straitjacket! Notice how you can have triangular clouds and square trees if you want... and oblong lakes! You choose the shapes...

You can of course copy these pictures I've done or pick up a magazine or have a look at any photo. Better still look at some object around you - anything at all. Decide which of the basic shapes would best fit it. By doing this you're starting a process that will really help you learn to draw - that of observation. The more you practise this the more your brain will store up these images for you to pull out and sketch in the future. So go on. Get your pencil and paper and start right now!

Master Perspective Drawing First Time!

Many people who learn to draw and paint think perspective drawing involves lots of technical skill and hours of practice. Yet it's not as complicated as you may think. If you understand that drawing anything involves just five basic shapes then perspective drawing is only a means of stretching these shapes a slightly different way. Follow the simple steps in this tutorial to get the basics right and you'll be producing correctly proportioned drawings and paintings in no time at all. The main point you need to remember is that things appear smaller the further they are away. Learn Perspective Drawing in this tutorialHowever, if you have two identical items, such as lamp posts on the railway platform in the picture (above-right) for instance, you know they are in reality the same size, even though the nearer one looks bigger...

Equally, a house wall viewed from the front is normally the same height at both ends. If it wasn't it would look pretty unusual and the roof would probably slide off one end! Yet when we draw it as a 'perspective drawing', ie in a three-dimensional way, the far end slopes away from us and we accept this as quite normal. Why? Because we're seeing it 'in perspective'. And that's all a perspective drawing is. It's how you see things which will always be a little bit different from me or anyone else.Perspective Drawing - Stage 1 Look at the two sketches of the four different figures below. In the first, imagine they are all looking directly at spot on the brick wall on the left directly in line with the height of their eyes from the ground. Imagine also that they're so focussed on this one brick that they can't see anything else either side or above or below it. I've shaded the 4 bricks in the wall that each one is looking at. They're all different because each figure is at a different height so they're seeing different things. Each sees a different brick.

In the next sketch they are all looking at the same brick. But what has happened?

They all see the same brick from a different angle, so it will appear to each of them to be a slightly different shape. In one case a figure is looking down at the brick, another one is looking straight at it, whilst the other two are looking up at it. If you're not sure about this, think of watching a ball game or a game of soccer from the back of the top tier of the stands. Then watch the same game from pitchside. You get a totally different view - or..... perspective!

Perspective Drawing - Stage 2

Now let's look at the three sketches of a house. Each one is slightly different. We're looking at it from a different angle so the first is the proverbial worm's eye view. The second has your eye level set on the centre of the house, as if you were standing up. However as your eye level moves to the top of the house in the third view you are looking down as if you were at an upper window opposite.

In the three sketches, it's as if you're on an extendable ladder as you see the same building from three different points. Yet all we've done is adjusted your EYE LEVEL. So HOW DO we adjust it? Dead easy! The two points on either side of the building where all the construction lines meet are called the Vanishing Points (VP) - a theoretical point where all these lines join up and 'vanish'. Now here's the simple but clever bit... Draw the horizontal lines of your building, ie: the roofline, the top of the door and top and bottom of the windows on these construction lines. Put them in heavier than the construction lines as in the sketches. Then draw the sides of the building, door and windows vertically. You'll find you have the whole house as a perfect perspective drawing! This is one exercise where I'd really encourage you to use a ruler, 'till you get the hang of it. There can be as many of these lines as you need. You decide. The important thing is that all the thick lines should be on the feint construction lines, or the perspective drawing will look wrong. And make sure they all start from the same Vanishing Points, like mine.

Perspective Drawing - Stage 3

Now look at the examples below. All it is is a couple of large 'S' shapes that merge on the horizon line. Notice the more you show of the road (or the deeper your 'S' is), it suggests you are some way above it. On the other hand, in the lower sketch, the 'S' (road) is much more compressed.

The actual space between the foreground and the horizon is in reality much narrower than the first sketch.

See what happens... Your view is automatically lowered and you appear to be standing at ground level. To emphasise the point, have a look at the figure in each sketch. They're both the same size, but in the lower one, he stands way above the horizon line, further reinforcing the lower viewpoint. Try this yourself. All you need to make the road are the two large 'S' shapes, gradually coming together on the horizon. You don't need to bother with the hills. I've put them in to emphasise the distance.Remember, the more you flatten the 'S' shapes, the lower the view of your perspective drawing... Of course this could be a river instead of a road. Or the lines could be straighter and be a pattern on a table cloth. You would draw the tablecloth or a carpet using exactly the same principles of foreshortening and perspective drawing.

Perspective Drawing - Stage 4

In the two final sketches I've drawn a line of bottles on a shelf. All the same principles apply by sticking to the perspective drawing guidelines in the first sketch to ensure all the bottles are the same height and in line. However in the final sketch notice how I've deliberately drawn several of the bottles above or below the guidelines and a couple with different shapes. What has happened? The bottles appear to have grown, shrunk or moved forward or backwards on the shelf. Yet all I've done to achieve this is to use the guidelines ... or for some of the bottles, by not using them... if you see what I mean!

I hope this introduction to simple perspective will take some of the fear and mystery out of it. Sure, it takes a little practice and perseverance, but once the penny drops, you're perspective drawing will come on in leaps and bounds. Remember, good observation is the key. Look carefully and draw what you see. Not what you think ought to be there!

Composition roules