How to draw

How to Draw a Train

Confident (level 4 of 5)
25 min
14 steps
Ages 7–12 (a guide, not a rule)

Start Drawing Draw on Screen Print

Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Ruler, Green, red, black and gray crayons, colored pencils or markers.

A steam engine is built from simple shapes: a long tube for the boiler, a tall box for the cab, and circles for the wheels. Light guide lines show how long each part is. You will draw the parts in front first, use an oval to show the boiler is round, and make the smoke puffs grow bigger as they drift away.

Rather color it? Print the train 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 14 Draw a light line near the bottom for the track. Above it, draw a long light box for the whole train.
Step 2 of 14 Draw two light lines down through the box to split it: the coal car at the back, then a narrow cab, then the long boiler.
Step 3 of 14 Draw the wheels standing on the track line: two big wheels under the boiler, a small wheel at the front and back, and two small wheels under the coal car.
Step 4 of 14 Draw the frame: a long flat bar just above the small wheels. The big wheels are in front of it, so stop its bottom line at them.
Step 5 of 14 Draw the boiler: a long tube lying on the frame. Draw a tall oval at its front end: the oval shows that the boiler is round. Add two curved bands.
Step 6 of 14 Draw the chimney near the front, wider at the top. Add a round dome in the middle of the boiler and a small lamp at the front.
Step 7 of 14 Draw the cab: a tall box behind the boiler with a flat roof that sticks out on both sides, and a big window.
Step 8 of 14 Draw the cowcatcher at the front: a slanted shape that reaches down to the track. Add three bars on it.
Step 9 of 14 Draw the coal car behind the cab: a box with lumps of coal piled on top. Join it to the cab with a short bar.
Step 10 of 14 Draw the rod that joins the two big wheels. It is in front of the wheels.
Step 11 of 14 Draw a rim and a hub inside every wheel, then the spokes from the hub to the rim. Stop the spokes where they meet the rod.
Step 12 of 14 Draw puffs of smoke from the chimney: a small one first, then bigger and bigger ones drifting back. Each new puff is behind the one before it.
Step 13 of 14 Erase the guides: the long box, the two dividing lines and the track line.
Step 14 of 14 Draw the track: two long lines for the rail and wooden sleepers under it. Shade the bottom of the round boiler with short lines.

A green steam engine with a red cab, a black chimney puffing smoke, red wheels with spokes and a red coal car, on a brown and gray track.

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 all the wheels on the track line first. If they sit on one line, the train stands level.
Use the oval at the front of the boiler to check it lines up with the top and bottom of the tube.
Count the spokes as you draw: eight in each big wheel, six in each small one, like the hands of a clock.

Common mistakes

All the wheels are the same size. Make the two driving wheels much bigger than the others. They do the pushing.
The boiler looks like a flat box. Add the oval at the front and bend the bands a little, so the tube looks round.
The smoke puffs are all the same size in a straight row. Start small at the chimney and let each puff grow bigger as it drifts up and back.

Make it simpler

Draw a long box for the boiler, a tall box for the cab, a chimney, four circles for wheels and a few smoke puffs. Skip the spokes, the rod and the coal car.

Proportion

The coal car takes about a quarter of the length, the cab is a narrow tall box, and the boiler is the longest part. The two driving wheels are much bigger than the small wheels.

Overlap

The big wheels are in front of the frame, the rod is in front of the wheels, and each puff of smoke is behind the one before it. Lines behind a part stop at its edge.

Showing round shapes

From the side a tube looks like a flat box. An oval at the front end and bands that curve a little show that the boiler is round.

Size change

The smoke puffs start small at the chimney and grow bigger as they drift back, like real smoke spreading out.