How to Draw a 1959 Impala

Chevrolet Impalas hit the market in 1958 and for many years were the best-selling automobile in the United States. Impalas from 1959 have relatively large, square bodies, colorful interiors and two tail lights (instead of six tail lights as many models had). Knowing how to draw a 1959 Impala can come in handy for the purposes of design and illustration, or if you're just a classic car enthusiast.

Instructions

1. Select a picture of a 1959 Impala. Many photographs can be found online simply by typing "1959 Impala" into a search engine.

2. Outline the body of the car, using smooth, confident lines. If you need to draw sketchy lines at first, make them light and darken them with a long, unbroken line later. The 1959 Chevy Impala is relatively boxy but compact. The front section will be prominent and rectangular, and the rear of the car will have a tail fin protruding over the trunk. Start at the front end of the car and move to the back, draw under the car and include the outline of the wheels as they protrude from the bottom.

3. Draw the large details inside the car, such as the wheels, doors and windows. The shape of the windows will partially conform to the shape of the car--the door windows are defined by the line of the car's roof while one entire side of the front and back window will already be defined in the outline of the car. Another important detail in the 1959 Chevy Impala is the tail fin. Part of the tail fin will already be indicated by the outline of the car, but you may also wish to draw a line all the way along the underside of the tail fin to more clearly define it.

4. Sketch in the finer details inside the body of the car, such as the door handles, side view mirrors and any striping along the length of the car's body. Refer back to the photograph frequently, looking for any errors or inconsistencies. For additional insight, turn the photograph and the drawing upside down, and draw from that perspective. Often looking at a drawing upside down will immediately make mistakes pop out.

5. Draw the glare on the windshield, if applicable. This can be represented by a few diagonal lines over the windshield. Look for areas of shadow on the car, such as on the tail fin and shade the drawing where necessary. You can apply shading by lightly running your pencil back and forth over the drawing. Shade lightly at first then darken as necessary--it's easier to darken a shadow that is too light than it is to lighten a shadow that is too dark.

6. Erase any sketchy marks or mapping lines you made at the beginning of the drawing process.

References

• Jim's 59: Chevrolet Impala
• How To Draw And Paint: How To Draw A Car