How to Draw Cars on a Street

Drawing cars on a street is a relatively simple process, as long as you're willing to follow a methodical process. Establishing a sense of perspective and scale is critical to the success of your drawing; it wouldn't make much sense to draw a car that's as big as a building. Try to set aside some time in a quiet place, with a visual model or reference image of the type of car you'd like to draw, so that you can concentrate on the project. It's easier to duplicate a photo of a car on a street, but you could also draw cars into an imaginary street or even combine a car photo with a photo of a different street.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil Paper High-quality eraser Reference image

Instructions

1. Rough in the lines of the street and any major structures along it, drawing very lightly. This will help to establish scale and visual perspective. As you draw, sketch a car-sized box in place for every vehicle you'd like to draw on the street. It's okay if lines cross and overlay each other at this point; you're just drawing them for visual reference.

2. Divide each box you drew for a vehicle into six equal parts by drawing two vertical lines and one horizontal line. Draw the same lines on your reference image if possible.

3. Sketch in the rough shape of each vehicle, using the grid you drew as a reference to get the scaling right. Start with the front or rear bumper, whichever will be closest in the finished image, and add the basic line of the fenders, hood and windshield. Focus on using simple, geometric lines and shapes to capture the general shape and proportions of the car you want to draw.

4. Draw in more basic shapes until you've got the entire vehicle outlined. Refer back to your reference model frequently. Note how the angle the vehicle is photographed from might make one headlight look smaller than the other, or hide certain parts of the vehicle from view. Duplicate these details in your drawing, still sketching lightly. It's still okay to layer lines one on top of the other at this point.

5. Revise your drawing, darkening lines that help to bring out the general shape of the car and erasing construction lines that are no longer needed. Sketch in every detail that you can find in the reference image: trim pieces, head lights, windows and any interior features that are visible through the windows. Continue to focus on using basic lines to bring out the shape of the car---just draw what you see in your reference image.

6. Shade in your car drawing, again using the reference image to help. Look at the reference image and ask yourself which parts of it are darker or shadowed, them mimic the effect with your pencil. It's okay if you're not exact; just get as close as you can.

7. Make a final comparison between your model image and car drawing, then erase any grid lines that are remaining and any other construction lines that don't belong in the finished image. Continue on to draw any other vehicles on the street by following the same steps.

Tips & Warnings

• It helps immensely if your visual reference or model image is taken from the same perspective or position as you want to draw the vehicle in. If you're using a three-dimensional model as a reference, try taking a photograph of it so that you can draw grid lines on the photo for the sake of reference.