How to Draw Race Cars

with Rachel Cox, Illustrator

Transcript: How to Draw Race Cars

Hi, I am Rachel Cox for About.com Do you like race cars? Today I am going to show you how to draw three different race cars: a sports car, a dragster, and a Formula One.

Supplies Needed to Draw Race Cars

Here is what you'll need to get started:

• paper
• a pencil
• a felt tip pen
• an eraser
• colored pencils

Use a Pencil or Pencil to Create Shading

Let's see what kind of lines and shading you can get from just one pen and one pencil. We can draw lightly with the pencil, we can draw medium with the pencil, or we can draw hard with the pencil.

With your pen, you can use cross hatching techniques to create a different kind of medium tone.

Draw a Sports Car

Let's start drawing our race cars. The general shape of a sports car is kind of like a curvy tongue, so we will draw that first. We'll add the tires, put in the back wing, put in the driver, and the driver seat.

Once you feel that the drawing is finished and looks the way you want it, you can get out your pen and go over all of the pencil lines with your pen. I chose to make my driver saying something exciting.

After the pen has dried, you can take an eraser and erase all of the pencil marks.

Draw a Dragster

Now let's start drawing our dragster. The basic shape of the dragster is a triangular wedge, so first we'll draw that.

We'll sketch out where the back large tire and the two smaller front tires go. Next, we'll add some of the details, like the driver's seat, the back wing, the bars over the driver's seat. Now we'll add flourishes; I am adding a fireball to mine and a number two on the top.

After we finish drawing the dragster in pencil, we are going to go over it in pen. You can also add your own sponsors. I am putting Big Al's.

Personalize the Dragster

After we finish going over everything in pen, we'll wait one minute before taking our eraser and erasing our pencil marks. Now you have your nice final clean drawing of a dragster.

For the dragster, let's add color. Race cars are generally painted bright colors, so let's choose a few colors you really like to accentuate your car.

I am adding stripes to the side of my car. The tires are usually going to be gray or black, and the pipes are probably going to be a light grey.

Draw a Formula One Car

Our next car is a Formula One car. The basic shape of this car is like a shoe. In the front and the back we have large tires. These are the front wings, and these are the back wings.

Draw lightly at first, and don't put too much pressure on the paper because it will be harder to erase later. The engine is behind the driver's seat.

Trace the Formula One Car in Pen

When you feel like the whole thing is taking shape and looks the way you want it, then you can draw a little darker and finalize it.

You can get out your pen and go over the pencil marks with the pen. What exciting thing is your driver saying?

Use Shading for the Formula One Car

I am going to use the shading techniques I showed you earlier to bring depth to the tires and other parts of the car.

The shading on the bottom of the wheels should be much darker than the shading at the top of the wheels. Sometimes we use shading just for contrast to make other parts of the drawing stick out.

I am making the inside of the driver's cockpit dark, so that the driver pops more and is more noticeable. With enough practice you can draw any kind of race car you want, or even make up your own kind of race car.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, please visit us on the Web at parenting.about.com

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