If you're looking to draw cartoon cars to make your own cards, artwork to display on the fridge, or just for fun, don't worry, it's easy! Use a pencil and start drawing the basic rounded or square shape of the car in a light sketch. After that, add details like windows and bumpers, darken the lines you want to keep, and delete the rest. After that, add a color or even a face to your cartoon car image!
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Method 1 of 2: Sketch a Round Cartoon Car
Step 1. Draw a thin rectangle with a pencil as the body of the car
Scratch the pencil lightly so you can erase it easily and round the corners later as needed. This initial rectangle is the outline as the basic shape of the car body. So, make it as long and wide as the desired car body for the final result.
- Even if you want to use a pen, marker, or paint to draw a car, start by making a light sketch with a pencil. It will be easier to make changes and fix errors this way.
- Start drawing in this way to create the side (2-dimensional view) of the cartoon car.
Step 2. Sketch a semicircle on top of the rectangle to serve as the roof and windshield
The diameter (width) of the semicircle should be about to the length of the rectangle. You can draw this semi-circle right in the middle of the rectangle or slightly back so that the front hood is slightly longer than the trunk.
Since this is a cartoon car, you don't need to draw with precision. However, if you want to draw a more precise semicircle, use a compass or arc, a glass base, or another tool to draw the circle
Step 3. Draw two circles at the bottom of the rectangle to serve as tires
The horizontal line at the base of the rectangle should intersect the two circles exactly in the middle. Place each circle roughly below the point where the semicircle of the roof meets the rectangle of the body of the car.
You can make the tires as big or small as you want, depending on how realistic the cartoon car image is. In general, the diameter of each tire should be about the length of the car body
Step 4. Round the corners of the car body and erase the rest of the sketch lines
Use an eraser to clean the line that cuts through the middle of the two tires. After that, use a pencil to round the corners of the rectangle. You can round the corners evenly or make the front hood more curved than the back.
After rounding the corners to your liking, remove the sharp corners from the original rectangle
Step 5. Sketch the bumpers on the front and back of the tire
Make each bumper look like a rectangle or rectangle with rounded corners. Draw the front bumper in front of the front tire, at the corners of a rounded rectangle. Sketch the rear bumper behind the rear tires in the same way.
Use the eraser as needed to clean the lines inside the bumper
Step 6. Add round headlights and square taillights
Draw a circle of headlights just above the front bumper. In the same way, draw a square with rounded corners just above the rear bumper for the taillight.
Step 7. Make faces for the headlights and bumper if you want
Instead of the normal size, make the headlights extra large if you want to give this cartoon car a face. Draw a smaller circle inside it as the eyeball, the horizontal line inside it as the eyelid, and the horizontal line above it as the eyebrow.
You can also easily turn the front bumper into a mouth. Instead of a rectangle with rounded corners, make the bumper curve upwards to make it look like a mouth smiling from the side. After that, you can outline your lips and teeth if you want
Step 8. Sketch the windows on the roof of the car by drawing smaller semicircles
This second half circle should be right inside the first and not too small compared to the first half circle that forms the roof of the car. The narrow gap between them represents the window frames and the roof of the car.
If you want to create two side windows-not one-draw two adjacent vertical lines, dividing the inner semicircle into two halves. These lines will form the door frame between the two windows
Step 9. Add more details to the car based on your preference
You can stop here and get a very basic but recognizable cartoon car image. However, you may want to add more details such as the following:
- Circle inside the wheel as hubcap.
- The semi-circle that is right above the wheel represents the wheelhouse.
- Two doors that are usually rectangular in shape with small rectangles with rounded corners as door handles.
- A mix of rounded rectangles and circles to represent the steering wheel and seats as seen from outside the window.
Step 10. Clean the image and color it, if you want
Re-check the car sketch and erase any pencil lines that shouldn't be there. After that, use a pen or marker to darken the exterior and interior lines of the car. At this point, you can leave the car image as is or start coloring the components of the car with crayons, markers, or paint.
The final details are up to you, make a cartoon car to your taste
Method 2 of 2: Draw a Cartoon Square Car
Step 1. Draw a rectangle for the body of the car with a pencil
Draw thinly so you can easily erase the parts that need to be removed later. The long side should be about 4 times wider than the high side.
- If you want the car to be less boxy, make the top horizontal line slightly shorter than the bottom horizontal line, and tilt the vertical line slightly inward. In other words, draw a trapezoid instead of a rectangle.
- This easy sketch will be a side view (two-dimensional) of a box-shaped car.
Step 2. Make the roof of the car directly above the body of the car
Make the roof of the car form a trapezoid (that is, a rectangle with sloping side lines and a top line that is shorter than the bottom line). Draw about half the width of the car body, but at the same height. The sloping trapezoidal line will form the front and rear windshield.
You can make both sides have the same slope or draw the side that will be the windshield with a sharper slope
Step 3. Sketch the circles and semicircles for the tires, hubcap, and wheel bay
Start by drawing two circles as tires. Position the circle so that the bottom line of the car body cuts it in half horizontally. Space the tires under the windshield and rear respectively-that is, the slanted vertical line on the trapezoid.
- Each circle should measure approximately of the width of the car body.
- Then, draw a semicircle over the tops of the two tires-this will be the wheelhouse.
- After that, make slightly smaller circles inside both tires as hubcaps.
Step 4. Add the headlights and bumper on the front of the car
For the front bumper, sketch a rectangle with rounded corners overlapping the lower left (or right) corner of the car body. Make an oval or conical shape for the headlights, if you like, a bit like an ice cream cone turned sideways. Position the headlights just below the top left (or right) corner of the car body.
- You can also add a rear bumper on the opposite side of the car, if you want.
- To give your cartoon car a face, draw the headlights bigger and add circles as eyeballs and lines as eyelids in them. Also, make the front bumper bigger and curve the edges upwards to make it look like a smile.
Step 5. Make 2 side windows inside the roofline of the car
Draw a slightly smaller trapezoid inside the existing trapezoid, leaving some space around it as a window frame. Then, draw 2 vertical lines close together in the middle of the smaller trapezoid as the frame separating the two side windows.
Step 6. Draw a small mirror in the lower corner of the window closest to the front of the car
Make a small trapezoid with rounded corners and tilt the top slightly forward if you like. You can skip this step if you want, but it's an easy way to add more detail to your cartoon car.
Step 7. Sketch the car door and door handles in a rectangular shape
Make the front door roughly the same size and position it just below the front window. Do the same for the back door. Doors are usually rectangular with rounded edges at one corner to make room for the wheelhouse you've drawn.
For the doorknobs, draw small rectangles with rounded corners just inside the top-back corner of each door
Step 8. Add exhaust and smoke pipes, if desired
Make a rectangular exhaust pipe and position it just below the rear-bottom corner of the car body. If you want your car to look like it's moving, scratch a few thin lines or a round cloud of smoke coming out of the exhaust.
Step 9. Darken the pencil lines to finish the sketch
Use a pen or marker to trace pencil lines that represent tires, hubcaps, wheel bays, doors, windows, and more. Follow it by tracing the outline of the car with a pen or marker. Don't follow a pencil line that shouldn't look like a horizontal line across the center of the tire.
- Erase pencil lines that you didn't trace with a pen-for example, the overlapping horizontal lines that mark the top of the car body and the bottom of the trapezoid of the window pane.
- After darkening the outline and details of the car, color it to your liking.
Tips
- Have some other pencils or pencil sharpeners nearby, just in case the pencil you're using breaks.
- Before you begin, test a pencil or marker on a piece of scrap paper to make sure it still works. Also test the pencil to see if the tip is firm, and test the eraser to see if it leaves black marks on the paper?
