How to draw

How to Draw a Bicycle

Challenge (level 5 of 5)
40 min
16 steps
Ages 10–14 (a guide, not a rule)

Start Drawing Draw on Screen Print

Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil, Eraser. Optional: A ruler for the frame tubes, Colored pencils: red, gray and black.

Bicycles look tricky, but they are built from two ideas. The wheels are circles turned a little away from you, so they look like ellipses; a light box helps you draw them. The frame is two triangles that share one tube. Draw the parts nearest you first, so the farther lines can stop behind them.

Rather color it? Print the bicycle coloring page.

Step by step

New lines: purple, thick and glowing
Lines you already drew: gray
Guides: dashed blue, draw them lightly
Erase: dotted pink with an eraser

Step 1 of 16 Draw two light boxes for the wheels, side by side on the same bottom line. Make each a little taller than it is wide, with a small gap between them.
Step 2 of 16 Draw a light cross through the middle of each box. Where the cross meets a side is where the wheel will touch that side. The middle is the hub.
Step 3 of 16 Mark the pedal center between the wheels, a little lower than the hubs. Draw two light triangles for the frame: back hub, pedal center, seat; then pedal center, seat, handlebar.
Step 4 of 16 Draw the parts nearest you first: a crank arm pointing down from the pedal center with a pedal on its end, and the chainring, a small ellipse behind it.
Step 5 of 16 Draw the back triangle's tubes as pairs of thin parallel lines along the guide. Stop where they reach the chainring.
Step 6 of 16 Draw the main triangle the same way with a little thicker tubes: the top tube to the front, and the down tube from the chainring up to the front.
Step 7 of 16 At the front, draw a short, thick head tube and a fork that curves down to the front hub. Add the seat post above the seat tube.
Step 8 of 16 Draw the chain: a small gear ellipse at the back hub and two straight lines from the top and bottom of the chainring to the gear.
Step 9 of 16 Draw each tire as an ellipse that touches the middle of every side of its box. Stop the line wherever a tube, the fork or the chain is in front.
Step 10 of 16 Draw a smaller ellipse just inside each tire for the rim. Keep the same tall shape, so the gap stays even all the way around.
Step 11 of 16 Erase the boxes, the crosses and the two triangle guides.
Step 12 of 16 Draw a hub at each wheel center and thin spokes from the hub to the rim, spaced evenly. Skip any spoke where a tube or the chain is in front.
Step 13 of 16 Draw the saddle on the seat post. At the front, draw the stem up from the head tube and the handlebar crossing toward you, with a grip at each end.
Step 14 of 16 Add the far crank arm and pedal peeking out above the chainring. They are behind the frame, so draw only the parts you can see.
Step 15 of 16 Shade the darkest values: fill the tires between tire and rim with crossed lines, then shade the saddle and the grips.
Step 16 of 16 Shade a middle value on the chainring and a flat shadow on the ground under the bike. Leave the frame white or color it: the lightest value.

A red bicycle turned slightly toward the viewer, with ellipse-shaped wheels, dark tires, thin spokes, a chain, pedals, a black saddle and handlebar grips.

You did it!

Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.

Color it on screen Print a practice sheet

Tips for this drawing

Helpful hints

Draw ellipses with light, quick loops, going round two or three times, then pick the best line and press harder.
Turn your paper so your hand moves comfortably around each ellipse.
Make the gap between tire and rim the same width all the way round; it shows both ellipses are the same shape.
A ruler keeps the frame tubes straight; keep the two lines of a tube the same distance apart.

Common mistakes

The wheels have pointed ends like a lemon. An ellipse is round at every end. Touch each side of the box at its middle and curve smoothly there.
One wheel is round and the other is narrow. Both wheels turn the same way, so draw both boxes the same size and shape.
The frame tubes float without touching the hubs. Start the back triangle exactly at the back hub and end the fork at the front hub.

Make it simpler

Draw the bike from the side instead: two round wheels, two triangles for the frame, a seat and a handlebar. Skip the spokes and the chain.

Ellipses

A circle turned away from you looks like an ellipse, a squashed circle. Draw a light box first: the ellipse touches the middle of each side. Both wheels turn the same amount, so their ellipses match.

Frame triangles

A bike frame is two triangles that share the seat tube: the back triangle (back hub, pedal center, seat) and the main triangle (pedal center, seat, handlebar). Triangles make a frame strong.

Overlap

The crank, chainring, fork and chain are on the near side, so they hide the parts behind them. Draw them first, then stop farther lines where they meet them.

Value

Tires are the darkest value, the chainring and the ground shadow are a middle value, and the frame stays light. Three values make the bike look solid.