How to Draw Brass Knuckles

Brass knuckles, a symbol of hardcore fistfight tactics, enhance subcultural themes and artwork---such as tattoo flash. The basic shape is simple to achieve with pencil; the difficulty lies in maintaining a uniform shape. When drawing brass knuckles, use of a ruler helps you continue consistent line work. Once you achieve the basic form, you can add decorative details---such as engraved plates---and experiment with rougher edges. Viewing photos of brass knuckles will help you understand the elements of lighting and dimension while showing you shape variations.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Ruler

Instructions

1. 

   Draw an arc of four equally sized circles with 1/8 inch of space between each circle. The far left and far right circles should sit slightly lower than the two center circles.

2. 

   Sketch a three-pointed crown beneath the arc of circles. Aim the middle point of the crown between the two center circles, the left point between the two left circles, and the right point between the two right circles.

3. 

   Follow the basic shape around the arc of circles to draw the outer edge of the brass knuckles. Curve it inward when between two circles to provide definition. Maintain the 1/8-inch gap between the circles and outer edge.

4. 

   Curl the outer edge outward on both sides of the crown by drawing a backwards "C" on the left, a regular "C" on the right.

5. 

   Draw a line between the lower points of each "C" to sketch in the bottom edge of the brass knuckles.

6. 

   Add dimension by sketching a thin crescent from the left to upper portion of each inner circle, an outline around the top of the crown, and in the arc of each "C."

Tips & Warnings

• Trace around a circular object---such as a spice container lid---to draw uniform circles. Draw lines between the outer edge and dimension lines to increase appearance of shading. To shade the main body, smudge the lines with your fingertip to darken areas. If coloring with colored pencils, use multiple shades of yellow and blend them together with a white colored pencil. You can adjust margin measurements to fit the size of your drawing. The 1/8 inch margin works when drawing on a standard 9-by-11-inch piece of sketching paper.