Sports cars always draw attention when in public, whether they be standing in the street or in motion. In this tutorial, come with me and learn how to construct a sleek sports car from start to finish!
1. Set Up a Guide in Perspective
Step 1
Firstly we are going to establish a rough guideline for our sports
car as a base to build on. To start with, we shall draw a simple line across
our page which will be our horizon line. We require a low horizon for this
picture, so the line needs to be on the lower half of the page.
Step 2
We then need to set out some vanishing points that will
help us with our perspective, and for this particular image we are going to use
a two-point perspective setup. I find it best if these are placed quite a
distance from each other and, in this case, that means placing points off the
page. To do this, you may have to use two pieces of masking tape placed at
either side of your canvas and add both of your points using a ruler.
Step 3
We can now draw the guide for our sports car, and for this
particular example we are going to draw three boxes using our horizon line and
vanishing points. Start by drawing a
straight line coming from the left vanishing point.
Step 4
Then we draw a second line coming from the same point, but
this time above the horizon line.
Step 5
Add two more lines coming from this vanishing point, and we
will have the rear of our box.
Step 6
Now we are going to move to the right hand vanishing point
and draw in two lines leading from this second point going across the page.
Step 7
Add in another two lines and you can see we have two
stretched rectangles on either side of the horizon line.
Step 8
To complete the box, draw in four vertical lines that will
join both rectangles together.
Step 9
Now that we have our first box in place, we need to draw two
more using our vanishing points and careful drawing. Remember to keep in mind the
perspectives; as you can see, the box that will be for the passenger area is
taller than our first, and we have a smaller one that will make up the rear of
the sports car.
2. Construct the Car Body
Step 1
Now we have a guideline for our sports car, and we are going
to begin constructing the sports car in more detail. However, before we begin
doing this, I would suggest you get used to drawing curvy, flowing lines as we
shall be using a lot of these as we progress.
Step 2
Starting from the left side of the canvas, we are going to
draw the front of the sports car using a simple curved line to begin with. Make
sure this line is toward the left side of the page.
Step 3
Next, we shall draw another curved line toward the centre of
the page. These two curves will eventually make up two small bulges on the
front of the sports car that will house the lights.
Step 4
Now that we have the front of the sports car made up, we’ll
draw the centre section, and here we will draw a curve that will be a guide for
the windscreen and seating area. This particular car will be a convertible, so
remember that as you are drawing.
Step 5
A fourth curved line will make up the rear of the sports car.
Notice that there are virtually no straight lines on this sports car, and the
whole body is built with aerodynamics in mind.
Step 6
We shall now go back to the mid-section of our sports car
and draw in a slightly downward curve, making sure to join the left-hand end
with the curves at the front and the right-hand end with the curve at the rear
of the car.
Step 7
At the very front of the sports car, we need to draw yet
another large curved line that will be the spoiler.
Step 8
The side of the sports car has a feature called side skirts, and these help direct air towards ducts to cool the wheels and engine when the
car is in motion. With this sports car, the side skirts are made up of a small
upward curve. This needs to be placed at the bottom of the car to the right of
the spoiler curve and needs to lead to the rear of the guide as seen below.
Step 9
Now we need to add the wheel arches for this vehicle and,
again, a simple curve will help you here. Sports cars are usually low to the
ground and, as a result, have rather wide wheel arches compared to a normal car
to help them travel at high speeds, which you should bear in mind as we draw.
Step 10
The next step would be to put in the door of the sports car.
Be aware of the ducts and body lines we drew earlier as the door will need to
fit in with these to retain the aerodynamic shape of the sports car.
Step 11
As you can see, many sports cars share the same curvy,
sweeping lines and low body heights, but of course it is no secret in the
automotive industry that these features all have an aerodynamic purpose and affect the speed and handling of the car.
3. Build the Wheels
Step 1
As with the body of our sports car it was recommended to
practice drawing curvy lines, for the wheels it is a good idea to practice
drawing circles and ellipses as we will need to be comfortable with this to
carry out the following steps.
Step 2
Let’s start with the front wheel as this will be the
simplest. Draw a simple circle either by freehand if you are comfortable doing
so or with a compass for accuracy if
you would prefer. This will be our tyre.
Step 3
Now draw a second and third circle within the first circle that
mark out the outer and inner rim of the tyre.
Step 4
At this stage I would also draw a smaller circle just off to
the left of the centre of our larger circles. This will later become a brake
disc.
Step 5
At the very centre of our circles, one final circle needs to
be drawn, and this will be the centre badge for our wheel.
Step 6
For this particular set of wheels, we are going to go for a
star design, and to begin with we shall draw a rough star guideline inside our
circles drawn earlier and then build this up.
Step 7
We now begin with a slightly larger outer star outside our
original rough sketch. This will be the outer part of the spokes.
Step 8
For the inner part of the spokes, it is to best to draw a droplet
like shape, but take extra care when doing this as the shapes vary depending
upon the perspective of the wheel.
Step 9
Follow the drop shape method for the rest of the inner
spokes around the wheel, but notice the slight difference as we proceed round.
Step 10
Now you can erase any overlapping parts of the brake disc
you drew earlier, and you will start to have a complete looking wheel.
Step 11
For the rear wheels and rims, ellipses or ovals are the best shapes
to draw. As previously advised, practice drawing these if you feel the need to
do so.
Step 12
Once more, a star shape will help you as you construct the
spokes. Take note as we work how much perspective and distance have an effect
on this second rim in comparison to our first.
Step 13
If you take great care, especially with tight areas such as this, you should have a result like the image below.
4. Fill in the Details
Step 1
Now we have all the main parts of the sports car drawn in,
we can focus on the small details that will bring our hard work together.
Starting again from the left side of the paper, draw an egg shape with the top
at a downward angle, and then draw an oval shape within the egg. This will be one
of two air intakes for the front wheels.
Step 2
Moving across the front of the car, we need to draw a second
egg and oval shape facing the opposite direction to our first one. Be aware of
perspective again with this second oval as you will find that it will need to
be larger than the first.
Step 3
Now, hopefully if you have positioned your ovals properly,
we need to draw one last air intake, but this one will lead to the intercooler
at the front of the car. Take note that it this is of a more square shape with
it being directly at the front. The intake itself has a slight “scoop” feature
that helps to direct air into the intake, so be aware of that as you draw.
Step 4
Staying at the front of the car, we shall now draw in the
lines for where the front spoiler is attached and the “shut” lines for the
bonnet.
Step 5
To complete the front end of our car, we shall now add the
lights. Remember to keep them in line with the body for aerodynamic purposes.
Step 6
Now we need to return to our wheels and add the
all-important brake callipers that are used to stop our sports car. On sports cars
such as this, the callipers are rather large as a lot of braking power is
needed to stop the car when it is travelling at speed. The calliper itself
wants to be situated on the left side of the brake disc.
Step 7
Staying with the brakes, we’ll add a few small holes in
the disc that help get rid of excess heat that might cause problems if the car
needs to brake quickly. Remember to clean up any loose lines after you have
finished with areas like this.
Step 8
Moving right along the car, we can now place in such details
as the wing mirrors and door handles. Once more, perspective will play a part
here, and you can see a lot of the interior is masked by the wing mirror itself.
Always remember to bear these points in mind as you work.
Step 9
Add in what little interior we can see, such as the
passenger seat and the integral roll bar behind.
Step 10
We now need to add any cooling vents that are remaining on
the body, such as on the top near to the passenger area and just in front of
the rear wheel.
Step 11
All that is left for you to do is to clean up all your construction lines and
generally tidy up your drawing.
Awesome Work, You’re Done!
A little splash of colour will not go amiss on a car like this.
At last you have an awesome looking sports car that is ready to tear up the streets. Have fun making up your own designs using some of the principles discussed here, and who knows what you could create!
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