how to draw a car

In this fun tutorial on how to draw a car, I will show you how to create this fun vehicle using only a few basic shapes, perfect curved lines and simple digital effects like shadows and highlights. This cool sport car has everything needed to become a legend! You will learn how to draw a long pointed wing, large wheels, small windows and a double exhaust. Ready? Let's proceed with the first step! :)

step 1 - working on all major parts

First, we need to draw the body, the windows, the wheels and the wing of the vehicle. Some parts like the wheels are quite easy to figure out. In this case, you must pay attention to details like the front of the car, the small exhaust near the back of the vehicle as well as the little window behind the large one. This is a pretty compact object, so make sure that all proportions are accurate.

step 2 - adding more details to the vehicle

Next, you can add more details inside this cartoon car like the headlight, the tail light, the rims and the handle near the main window. We are opting for simplicity here, so no need to create irrelevant details that won't make this drawing visually more appealing.

step 3 - bright colors to give life to this cool illustration

Using bright colors, let's turn this fun vehicle into a more interesting one. The car as well as the wing and the tail light must be red while both windows are blue. The headlight is yellow and both wheels are grey and black. This image is fine, but it's definitely not enough to create a stunning cartoon car. Let's add more effects to this simple object!

step 4 - color gradients to add more realism

This tutorial on how to draw a car is getting pretty interesting now. To create more depth inside the illustration, you can add color gradients as shown in the illustration below. Parts like the wing, the body, the windows or the wheels are now darker on the bottom and brighter on top. This simple technique already adds more realism to this image.

step 5 - shadows to create more depth

In our quest for a more realistic picture of a cartoon car, adding shadows is definitely on top of the list. All these new shapes must be filled with a dark color and be partially transparent so that we can end up with a more realistic result. Important shadows must be placed on top of the wheels, inside the wheels, below the wing and on the door. A few shadows on both windows can also improve this lesson on how to draw a car.

This is the result once all blue outlines are removed (blue outlines were only added for readability purposes).

step 6 - highlights to complete this fun vehicle!

Bright areas are also needed to create more depth and volume inside this vehicle. In this case, all new shapes must be colored in white and be partially transparent. This step is extremely important since we are working on an object mostly made from reflective materials. You can see all various highlights with a temporary blue outline below.

Learning how to draw a car has never been easier!

This is the result once all shapes, colors and digital effects are added to the vehicle. Below this image, you can see all the steps needed to learn how to draw a car like the one displayed here. Of course, you can use these tips to create all kinds of vehicles. Just be creative, practice as often as needed and don't hesitate to create new inspiring models for everyone to see. :)