How to Draw a Compass Image

Use a gold ink pen to color in your compass for a more authentic look.

Compasses are used by hikers, sailors and pilots to help them navigate their travels. A small magnet in the tip of the arrow on the compass will always point toward true north, ensuring that travelers won't lose their way. A drawing of a compass is made up of several circles ranging in size and shape.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Pen

Instructions

1. Draw a circle the size you want your compass to be. Cross the circle with a horizontal and vertical line to mark the center point of the circle.

2. Draw a 50-degree diagonal line up from the edge of the circle and the horizontal centerline. The diagonal should be the same length as the centerline.

3. Make a small thin rectangle along the side of the circle, where the diagonal line and the horizontal centerline meet. The majority of the rectangle should be above the horizontal line and expand as it crosses this line. Draw a small horizontal oval as the larger end of the rectangle.

4. Draw a slanting circle around the diagonal line and halfway overlapping the small end of the rectangle. Erase part of the rectangle that overlaps into the circle.

5. Draw a line parallel to the curve of the circle. Start inside the base of the slanting circle just before the diagonal line and follow the curve of the left half of the circle. Finish the line halfway up the circle.

6. Draw a similar line on the other side of the same circle, but close the line into points at the top and the bottom of the diagonal line. Erase the diagonal line.

7. Draw another circle the same size and shape as the one you drew in step 1. The circle should overlap the first circle and come down just below it. The distance the two circles overlap each other will determine how thick the base of the compass will be.

8. Draw a short 50-degree angle down from the edge of the circle and the left side of the horizontal centerline. Draw a small slanting circle around the diagonal line, then another one just inside it. Erase the diagonal.

9. Draw a small horizontal oval around the center point made in Step 1. Write N, E, S and W symbols in their respective locations where the horizontal and vertical centerlines meet the edge of the oval made by the two overlapping circles.

10. Erase the centerlines and draw an arrow extending out from the small oval and pointing at the N symbol. Outline the compass with an ink pen and let the ink dry. Erase all leftover pencil lines.

Tips & Warnings

• Vary the thickness of the black lines as you outline the compass. The lines that are closest to the viewer should be thicker than the ones farther away. This will create volume and depth in the drawing.