How to Sketch a Car – Learn to Sketch a Car That Looks Real

Learning how to sketch a car can often be frustrating, but when you get it right it’s a really great feeling. If you’re trying to figure out how to sketch a car properly and make it look real then your in the right place. I’m going to give you a few tips that the pros use to make their cars look real enough to drive right off the page!

Preparation

The end result of a drawing depends greatly on how well you created the foundation. If you have a good foundational sketch, the rest of your job will be a whole lot easier. So how do you do that?

First of all, start off your sketch using a grid, 1 inch x 1 inch will do fine. This will allow you to get the sizes of your tyres, windows and general body parts correct in comparison to the rest of your drawing. It will also make your job later on easier when you start shading your car, because you can concentrate on shading one square at a time and concentrating on getting the details right.

Once you’ve got your grid set up, take your time and make sure you get the lines of the car smooth and sharp. This can take a while to teach your crazy little hands how to do their jobs, but stick at it they will learn! Make sure you don’t give up on a drawing too quickly, the only way you can fail at drawing is by stopping. Don’t stop and you can’t lose.

Understanding

An important part of learning how to sketch a car is developing an understanding of light, texture and shape. When I say light I mean the way the light plays on a car, the metal, the plastic and the rubber of the tyres. Take note of how cars look in different light and apply this to your drawings.

A great way to practice this is to get some pictures of cars and use a photo editor to change them to black and white. This way you won’t get distracted by the colour and will be able to see exactly how the tones and light should work on your car.

Texture is also very important, being able to create an texture with a pencil is quite a difficult thing to do. All you can do is observe and practice, find out what looks good and what doesn’t.

Being able to simplify complex pictures into simple shapes helps a lot with your ability to accurately create a car. Start with simple shapes and slowly add details, this is the best way to learn how to sketch a car.