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A white and red rocket with a round blue window, three red fins and orange and yellow flames, flying up among four little stars.
The finished drawing.

How to draw

How to Draw a Rocket

  • Growing (level 3 of 5)
  • 15 min
  • 12 steps
  • Ages 6–10 (a guide, not a rule)
Start Drawing Draw on Screen Print

Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Red, blue, gray, orange and yellow crayons, colored pencils or markers.

Draw it on the screen

A rocket is symmetrical: its left side is a mirror of its right side. A light line down the middle and a tall oval help you get both sides the same. Then you add a round window, a fin on each side, a fin in front and flames at the bottom. The front fin is closest to you, so the lines behind it stop at its edges.

Rather color it? Print the rocket 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
  1. Step 1 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 1 of 12 Draw a light, straight line down the middle of your paper. It helps you make both sides of the rocket match.
  2. Step 2 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 2 of 12 Draw a tall, thin oval on the line. Start near the top of your paper and stop about three quarters of the way down. Press lightly.
  3. Step 3 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 3 of 12 Draw the left side of the rocket: start at the pointed top, curve out along the oval, then come in a little at the bottom.
  4. Step 4 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 4 of 12 Draw the right side the same way, like a mirror. Check that both sides are the same distance from the middle line.
  5. Step 5 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 5 of 12 Draw a curved line across the top part. It shows where the pointed nose of the rocket ends.
  6. Step 6 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 6 of 12 Draw a round window on the middle line, with a smaller circle inside it for the glass.
  7. Step 7 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 7 of 12 Draw a curved fin on each side near the bottom. Make the right fin a mirror of the left one.
  8. Step 8 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 8 of 12 Draw a thin fin in the front, right on the middle line. It hangs down past the bottom of the rocket.
  9. Step 9 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 9 of 12 Draw the flat bottom and a small nozzle under it. The front fin is in the way, so stop each line at the fin.
  10. Step 10 diagram, showing what to erase
    Step 10 of 12 Erase the middle line and the oval.
  11. Step 11 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 11 of 12 Draw big wavy flames coming out of the nozzle, with a smaller flame inside.
  12. Step 12 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 12 of 12 Finish with a few twinkling stars around the rocket.
A white and red rocket with a round blue window, three red fins and orange and yellow flames, flying up among four little stars.

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

  • Use the middle line to check: each point on the right side should be as far from the line as the matching point on the left.
  • Turn your paper upside down to check the shape. Mistakes in symmetry are easier to spot that way.
  • Draw the flames with loose, wavy lines. Flames never look the same twice.

Common mistakes

  • One side of the rocket is fatter than the other. Measure from the middle line to each side with your finger, and fix the side that is too far out.
  • The bottom line runs straight through the front fin. The front fin is closer to you. Stop the bottom line at each edge of the fin.
  • The window is off to one side. Put the middle of the window right on the middle line.

Make it simpler

Draw just the two side fins and skip the front fin and the nozzle. Draw one flame at the bottom.

Symmetry

When one half is a mirror of the other half, a shape is symmetrical. Draw one side, then copy it on the other side of the middle line, the same distance away.

Overlap

The front fin is closest to you. It hides part of the bottom of the rocket, so the bottom line stops at the fin and starts again on the other side.

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