How to draw
How to Draw a Fire Truck
- Confident (level 4 of 5)
- 20 min
- 13 steps
- Ages 6–11 (a guide, not a rule)
Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Ruler, Red, gray, black and blue crayons, colored pencils or markers.
Draw it on the screen
A fire truck is long and low, so start with a light box about three times as long as it is tall. Wheels come first because they are in front of the body. Then you will practice straight parallel lines and equal spacing for the ladder and doors, and see how the ladder hides the corner of the cab behind it.
Rather color it? Print the fire truck 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 13
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Step 1 of 13 Draw a light ground line. Above it, draw a long light box for the whole truck: about three times as long as it is tall. -
Step 2 of 13 Draw a light line down through the box about two thirds of the way along. The cab goes in front of this line. -
Step 3 of 13 Draw three round wheels standing on the ground line: two close together at the back and one under the cab. Draw them first because they are in front. -
Step 4 of 13 Draw the body: the top, the back and the bottom. Curve the bottom up over each wheel like an arch and leave a small gap around the wheel. -
Step 5 of 13 Draw the long ladder on top: two straight lines the same distance apart, joined at both ends. Add two short posts that hold it up. -
Step 6 of 13 Draw the tall cab with a slanted windshield. The ladder is in front of the cab's back corner, so stop the cab's lines where they reach the ladder. -
Step 7 of 13 Draw the bumper as a small box at the front. Add a headlight, and a side window whose front edge slants the same way as the windshield. -
Step 8 of 13 Draw the ladder's rungs: short straight lines across, all the same distance apart. -
Step 9 of 13 Draw three doors on the body, the same size with the same gaps between them. Add a handle to each door. -
Step 10 of 13 Draw a rim inside each wheel and a dark hub in the middle: circles inside circles, all sharing one center. -
Step 11 of 13 Add the light bar on the roof of the cab, and a door line and a handle on the cab. -
Step 12 of 13 Erase the guides: the long box, the cab line and the ground line. -
Step 13 of 13 Light comes from above, so the bottom edge of the truck is in shadow. Shade it with short slanted lines between the wheels and behind them.
You did it!
Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.
Tips for this drawing
Helpful hints
- A ruler helps with the long ladder lines. Hold it still with your other hand.
- Mark the rungs with small dots first, counting as you go, then draw the lines.
- Draw each arch with a little gap above its wheel so the wheel can turn.
Common mistakes
- The wheels float above the ground or sink into it. Start each wheel by touching the ground line, then draw the circle up from there.
- The ladder gets wider at one end. Measure the gap between the two rails at both ends before drawing them.
- The body line runs straight through the wheels. The wheels are in front. Curve the bottom line up and over each wheel.
Make it simpler
Draw a long box for the body, a taller box for the cab, three circles for wheels and a ladder as two lines with rungs. Skip the doors and shading.
Proportion
The whole truck fits in a box about three times as long as it is tall. The cab takes the front third, and the wheels are about as tall as one third of the box.
Equal spacing
The ladder rails stay the same distance apart all the way along, and the rungs and the doors have equal gaps. Even spacing makes a machine look neat and real.
Overlap
The wheels are in front of the body, and the ladder is in front of the cab's back corner. Lines behind them stop at their edges.
Light and shadow
Light comes from above, so the bottom edge of the truck and the space inside each wheel arch are in shadow. Short lines along the bottom make the truck look solid.
