Inside: How to Draw A Boat in 11 Simple Steps
Hello Artists! Today we are drawing a boat.
Boats are a wonderful subject for art because of their strong lines and the way that they meet the fluidity of water. Plus they’re lots of fun to draw!
They also are known to represent an adventure or journey, which can be perfect for those of you who are learning to draw, because this is a journey. An amazing one at that.
A boat can be very simple in shape, so to make this a little more interesting we are going to do it at an angle.
We will be looking at the boat from the front and above as if standing on the shore.
Supplies You Will Need:
There is this preconceived idea floating around the art world that in order to create good art, you have to have the best tools. I think this is simply untrue.
A good quality tool can help, absolutely. But for the most part, it’s about what you do with the tool, and not how much you were willing to spend on it.
Not everyone has a ton of money to throw at their work, and that is okay! You don’t have to.
With this in mind, I always try to choose supplies that you are likely to already have around the house.
- Paper
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Colored pencil or crayons
Artist tip: Keep in mind that knowing your space is very important, especially when drawing.
Otherwise, you run the risk of running out of room mid-draw. That is a catastrophe no artist wants.
To avoid this, take a second before you begin to draw a dot in the center of your page very lightly.
This will help you keep an eye on where you are at on the page.
How to draw a boat from stern to bow
Let’s get started:
1. First draw a gentle curved horizontal line, for the top of the boat.
2. Off the end of this line, draw a straight line down about 2 inches.
3. Draw a large oval, just touching the bottom of the 2nd oval.
4. From that straight line draw a line that repeats the curve of the first line. This will be the bottom of the boat.
5. Next: I had to adjust the top line, it curved too much and made for a short boat. T
he longer the line, the longer the boat. This is why we draw lightly so they can ease more easily!
Start to draw a line down to connect the top and the bottom lines.
6. Curve the bottom line up to meet the straight sidelines.
How to create 3D boat dimension
7. Now create the dimension of the boat.
Above the top line, draw a line from the bow (front) of the boat to the stern (back).
This line will be shorter than the rest of the boat. Draw a rectangle off the top of the bow.
8. Draw a diagonal line to connect the line to the back of the boat.
9 Add a line to the back of the boat and one just below the top line.
10. Add some detail lines: I’ve added more lines on the boat to create the look of individual slats.
Also, I’ve added a zig-zag line in the background for a shoreline.
11. The best part: Color! This part is completely up to you, you should choose whatever color your heart desires.
How to color a boat docked
Artist tip: Use different shades to create highlights and shadows to make it look more realistic.
Your boat is finished! What do you think?
You can always start over to work on any kinks you may have had the first time around.
Practice is the name of the game after all!
Sticking with the water theme, why don’t you try drawing a jellyfish next, or perhaps a shell for your beach?