How to Draw a Bed

The Dream, by Frida Kahlo (1940).

When it comes to drawing a bed, angles are extremely important. Using an image as a guide, like "The Dream" by Frida Kahlo, is useful in the breakdown of shapes and lines. Kahlo's four-poster bed from "The Dream" was used to inspire the following step-by-step instructions.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Drawing paper
• Straight edge or ruler
• Image of a bed to use as a guide

Instructions

1. 

   Using a straight-edge, draw the primary lines that make up the bed. Start with a paralellogram at the top of the page, which will be the canopy at the top of the bed. It should be wide, with narrow sides. From the four corners of the paralellogram, draw four vertical lines using a straight edge and your pencil. These will be the four posts.

2. The footboard will go between the leftmost vertical line and the one immediately to the right of it. To mark the footboard, draw two horizontal lines about halfway down the two left-most posts. Draw the headboard between the two rightmost posts, again as two horizontal lines about halfway down the posts. Draw two parallel horizontal lines connecting the second and fourth post, about two thirds down the posts. This will mark the mattress. Don't be afraid to draw lines beyond the parameters of the bed; these are merely your guidelines.

3. Look at the image you're using as a guide and observe the shape and design of the posts. They have one bulbous shape at the base, then two more places where the wood curves in, then out again. Note the details that are parallel to each other on different posts, or a particular angle that connects the same detail on two different posts.

4. Draw lines between the posts, marking where the bulbous points should appear, the points where the post curves in, and out again. This will aid you in lining up these features, then sketching them.

5. 

   Sketch the four posts, using the lines you drew as a guide. Also examine the image you're using as a guide for help, when you're confused how everything should line up.

6. Use your straight edge to draw the bed more clearly. Complete the posts by drawing out the straight bottom half that has no carving or embellishment on it--each post should be drawn as two parallel, vertical lines.

7. Darken the parallelogram that you drew at the top of the page to make the canopy appear more clearly. Do the same for the rectangle that you drew as the bed's mattress. For the headboard and footboard, observe any cutouts that alter the shape of them from a basic rectangle. The headboard in particular has a curve-shaped cut out to it; be sure to include this in your detailing.

8. 

   Line up the angle of each so it's in line with the canopy. This creates continuity in the drawing.

9. 

   Outline the posts, and use lightness and shading with your pencil to create an illusion of depth. The left sides of the posts are darker than the right side, and there is a shadow cast across most of the headboard, making the bottom half darker than the upper half. Add any further details that you feel would enhance the look of the bed.