Step-by-Step Instructions for Drawing a Car with Pencil

Capturing a car in pencil requires precise shading to get the subtle details just right.

Cars can make great subjects for the medium of pencil drawings. Their complex shapes, and the manner in which their reflective bodies play with light, make them good subjects for pencil drawings. Like with any other pencil drawing, the artist must be able to emulate the basic form of the car and use knowledge of light to show more subtle details.

Things You'll Need

• Auto magazine
• Sketchpad
• Sketch pencils
• Ruler

Instructions

1. Set yourself up with your sketchpad, reference materials and tools to draw. Measure the parts of the car in the original picture with a ruler and record the sizing ratios. Draw basic lines for the axles and outer body of the car to get the perspective just right.

2. Draw basic shapes over the skeleton lines to approximate the body of the car. Build up 3D objects (such as short cylinders for wheels) by making them out of 2D shapes (such as two circles connected by parallel lines to make a cylinder). Rework the shapes until the proportions are correct.

3. Erase the rough pencil shapes gradually, replacing them with smooth lines as you go. Start with the outer shape and move on to more specific details.

4. Shade the car. Choose the shading method you're most comfortable with: basic lines, dot stippling or total fill with drawing pencils of different graphite contents. The former two methods achieve darker shadows by placing the lines or dots closer together and the latter method requires the artist to blend the transition between different types of sketch pencils (via careful rubbing).

References

• "Draw Cars," Doug Dubosque, 2000
• Toad Hollow Studios: Basic Pencil Shading