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how to draw a zeppelin Illustration filled with cool shadows

Drawing a zeppelin illustration can be an interesting challenge. This large rigid airship has a unique design. The large envelope located on top is filled with helium while the cabin near the bottom can hold a few passengers. Stabilizers are added on the back of the vehicle to keep this one stable. Of course, you cannot reach tremendous speeds using a zeppelin, but it certainly looks like a fun vehicle to ride.

working on the envelope

First, let's work on the envelope located on top of this cartoon zeppelin. Visually, this part of the subject does look like a football. Both ends are pointed, but the front is slightly larger while the back is narrower. Four additional lines are added inside the envelope to illustrate the panels.

drawing the cabin and the stabilizers

Let's continue working on this lesson on how to draw a zeppelin by sketching the cabin. This one is made from short curved lines. Windows are made from rectangles with round corners. A thin rectangle is also added below the cabin. Two stabilizers are made from triangles while the third one is represented by a thin rectangle.

adding gradients and simple colors

Using gradients at this point can help create more depth inside the cartoon zeppelin. The envelope is filled with a dark beige color. Notice how all three stabilizers are slightly darker. Next, you can use a dark blue color inside the cabin. All three windows are filled with a bright blue color. This object looks nice, but we can definitely add more digital effects inside this one to create a more realistic result.

working with cool shadows

To do so, let's draw basic shadows. These new shapes are filled with a very dark beige color (for the envelope) and a dark blue one (for the cabin). I like to play with the opacity of these new shapes for a more appealing result. Some shadows are even completely invisible near the end.

In this step, you can draw these new shapes on the stabilizers (both triangular ones) and below the third one. Another simple shadow is drawn near the junction of the envelope and the cabin. Great work! One last step is needed to complete this lesson on how to draw a zeppelin ...

adding beautiful highlights and reflections

In this step, instead of drawing dark shapes to create shadows, let's sketch brighter ones to form highlights. All new shapes found here are colored in white. Of course, adding transparency is also required. Our goal is to draw subtle reflections to enhance some parts of the zeppelin. You can see all new additions below (with a temporary pink outline).

Nice work drawing this fun zeppelin illustration!

Now that all pink outlines are removed, you can enjoy the final version of this zeppelin illustration below. If you want to go one step further, don't hesitate to draw more versions using different shapes, colors and effects. May models were created throughout the years, so you have plenty of opportunities to draw something slightly different.

The image above contains all steps required to illustrate this cartoon zeppelin properly. Now that this drawing lesson is completed, feel free to try more cool vehicles from the same series here. You can see a small sample below. Have fun drawing! :)