How to Draw Cars

Cars are one of the first things that almost everyone draws when they first learn. Learn the basic skills to draw realistic cars in detail and have the individuality you want. You can draw cars from photos, get inspiration from a car you see on the road, or imagine your own! To take a break from the real world, play around with cartoon car drawings. Exaggerate the features and keep the basic shape of the car and you’ll have a fun drawing in no time.

Table of Contents

Drawing realistic cars

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Sketch a rectangle as long as the length of the car as desired. Using a pointed pencil, lightly draw a long, narrow rectangle on the paper. You don’t need to draw a 3-D rectangle, unless you like to draw 2-point perspective cars. ^{[1] X Research Source}

The width of the rectangle will depend on the size of the car you want to draw.
Don’t press too hard when drawing the basic shapes of the car, because once you’re done you’ll have to go back and erase some lines.

Tip: If you like drawing cars from a 2-point perspective, rotate the rectangle diagonally so that the 2 points disappear. To make it simpler, you should draw the car with a 1-point perspective like we are looking at the car from the side.

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Draw another rectangle above the long rectangle. This will be the car’s cabin, so how big the second rectangle is is up to you. You can also place this rectangle in the center if you plan to draw a standard sedan, or draw it backwards near the rear of the car. The upper and lower rectangles will be close together. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Notice the overall shape of the car. Some mini cars or small cars have a more square shape, so you can draw the rectangle above a bit larger. Most sports cars have an aerodynamic shape, and you need to draw a narrow rectangle that doesn’t protrude too much.
Smaller cars or hatchbacks often have a cabin closer to the rear of the vehicle.

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Draw the outline of the body of the car outside the two rectangles. To keep your car from looking too square, you will draw a light outline outside the two rectangles just drawn to create the shape of the car. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Try to draw a soft frame from the rear bumper to the top of the cabin, down the hood to the front bumper. Remember that some SUVs, trucks or sports cars may have sharper corners.

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Erase the square edges to create a soft line for the body. Erase the square edges so that only the border remains. Your car will now have a basic shape that matches its styling. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

For example, a hatchback will have a pronounced curve that sticks out to the rear, while a sports car will look smoother and lower to the ground.

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Draw 2 bent rectangles in the cabin to make windows. Most cars have 2 windows, so you need to outline both windows inside the cabin, then draw a vertical line down the middle to separate the 2 windows. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

If it’s a sports car, it probably only has a thin window, so don’t draw a vertical line in the middle.

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Draw more details for the windows and cabin frame. Draw 2 vertical lines down next to the border of the window just now to make the car look more realistic. You can also trace the curve at the back of the window, where it meets the rear frame. Some cars have a smaller window than the triangle at this point. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

If you want to see a portion of your car’s windshield, draw a narrow line between the front of the chassis and the contour of the front cabin. This narrow cut will create the image of the windshield.

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Draw 2 circles below the large rectangle. The bottom edge of the rectangle will have to go through each circle at the midpoint from the center to the bottom of the circle so that the wheels appear to be attached to the chassis. Leave space between the two wheels and the front and rear of the vehicle. You can then go back to drawing the spokes or rims between the wheels. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Estimate half the diameter of the wheel and leave an equal amount of space for the bumpers.

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Draw the headlights at the front of the car and black at the rear. Draw an oval or circle at the top of the chassis for the headlights. Then, draw the taillights at the back of the car also with a circle or a rectangle. You can draw the lights as big or small as you want, because the size of car lights varies greatly depending on the type of car you are drawing. Draw the taillights so that each light on the front and rear edges of the vehicle is facing the top corner. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Some taillights have a large rectangle, inside there are many smaller rectangles. You can draw as much detail as you like.

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Add unique details to the car. Draw bumpers near the wheels, if desired. You can also draw the car’s characteristic side mirrors. This mirror is usually oval shaped, located in the corner between the window and the front of the chassis. If you like the car with stripes or decal stickers, you can draw along the side of the body. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Draw an extra vertical line down to represent the car door to make the car look more realistic. Draw one more door handle on each car door.
For example, if you want the car to appear sportier, you can draw a sharp zigzag decal across the doors of the car.

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Erase the extra strokes and color the drawing, if you like. Revamp the drawing by erasing the strokes that you have outlined or smoothed out. This will make your car look more professional. Then you can use colored pencils or markers to color if you want.

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Completed.

Draw a cartoon car

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Draw a rectangle that is narrow and has a length equal to the length of the car you want to draw. Use a pencil to erase later if necessary. Draw lightly so you can draw more details. Remember that this large rectangle will make up the base of the car, so draw the rectangle as long and wide as you want. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Draw the car with a pencil whether you intend to color it or not, as you will need to erase some strokes. After that, you can go back to coloring with crayons, crayons or markers if you like.

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Draw a trapezoid or semicircle above the rectangle. If you like to draw cartoon cars with a little bit of realism, draw a trapezoid above the center rectangle. To make the car look more exaggerated, you would draw an arch or semicircle above the rectangle. The semicircle can be placed in the center or off to the side of the vehicle. ^{[11] X Research Source}

To draw a trapezoid, you would draw a smaller rectangle above the large rectangle and erase the two short sides. Next, draw the short sides that cross in and connect to the top edge of the large rectangle.

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Draw 2 circles on the bottom edge of the large rectangle to make the wheel. To determine the space between the wheels, imagine 2 circles of the same size as the wheels just drawn and place between the 2 wheels of the car.

The bottom edge of the rectangle will pass between the cartoon-style car wheels.
If needed, you can draw 4 circles close to the bottom edge of the rectangle, then delete the 2 middle circles.

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Curve the corners of the car and erase the line going through the wheels. Use the eraser to erase the lines that pass through the wheels. Then, you will use a pencil to draw around the body of the car to make it round instead of square. If you like angular cartoon cars, you can skip this step.

If you draw curved lines along the sides of the bodywork, erase the right angles.

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Draw a small rectangle in front or behind each wheel for the bumper. Draw a rectangle about half the length from the wheel to the front or rear of the vehicle, protruding slightly from the body. This rectangle will look like the bumper of the car. Repeat with the other wheel.