How to Draw A Boat Step by Step

This tutorial shows how to draw a sail boat in nine steps with detailed illustrated examples and easy to follow instructions.

Boat drawing step by step
Boat drawing step by step

The sail boat used in this example is fairly modern and also fairly simple with just two sails. You can see a preview of what the final drawing as well as the different steps look like in the image above.

Start the tutorial using a pencil and make light lines that you can easily erase in case you happen to make a mistake. You can darken them later with a black pen/marker. You may also want to have some colored pencils/paints if you wish to color the drawing afterwards.

Step 1 – Draw the Boat Hull

Boat hull drawing
Boat hull drawing

Start by drawing the hull of the boat as shown in the example. Before you begin be sure to leave enough room at the top of your page/drawing area for the mast/sails.

All you need to outline the hall are just three slightly curved lines, one for the front, one for the top and one for the back.

Leave the bottom out as it will be submerged in water. Also be sure to draw the front slightly raised.

Step 2 – Draw the Surrounding Water

Boat water drawing
Boat water drawing

Add a wavy line along the bottom of the hull of the boat to show the water ripples around it and add the horizon line on each end of the boat slightly above that for the horizon. Unlike the water ripples around the hull this line can be straight.

Step 3 – Draw the Cabin

Boat cabin drawing
Boat cabin drawing

Sticking out from about the middle of the hull add the cabin. Draw it with a flat top, give it a slope on the front and a steeper slope at the back.

Step 4 – Draw the Mast

Boat mast drawing
Boat mast drawing

Going up from the top of the cabin draw the mast. Make it a straight pole with another part attached near it’s bottom and pointing backwards (the boom).

Step 5 – Draw the Sails

Boat sails drawing
Boat sails drawing

Draw the sails with the front one curved slightly forward but leave a little bit of room between it and the mast and front tip of the boat (there will be ropes tying it to those places added in the next step). Afterwards draw the back sail attacked directly to the mast and the boom. You can simply draw one very lightly curved line between these two to show it.

Finally you can also add a flag at the top of the mast pointing forward with a slightly fold to show that it’s blowing in the wind.

Step 6 – Draw the Ropes

Boat details drawing
Boat details drawing

Draw the ropes tying the front sail to the mast and the bow (front tip of the ship). Next draw another rope going down form the boom to the hull.

Step 7 – Draw the Windows

Boat windows drawing
Boat windows drawing

Draw some windows on the cabin as shown in the example. You can make the two in the middle rectangular in shape (also give them slightly rounded corners). The one in the front should look like it’s cut-off by the front of the cabin. The back end of the back window should be angled to match that end of the cabin. Also try and space the windows to have the same distance between each of them.

Step 8 – Finish the Line Drawing

Boat line drawing
Boat line drawing

Add more water ripples below the big wavy line at the bottom of the hull. Make the waves larger near the bottom of the drawing and smaller near the boat. This will add a bit of perspective making it look like the picture has some depth.

After you finish drawing the water go over your lines with either a black pen or marker. Alternatively you can simply darken the them with a pencil.

Step 9 – Color the Boat

Boat drawing
Boat drawing

Finally you can color the boat as well as the water/sky. It may be a good idea to use either water based paints or colored pencils to do this. Markers can be a little too bright.

Add the colors as follows:

  • Brown hull
  • Yellow cabin
  • Blue windows
  • Light yellow sails
  • Blue Flag
  • Green/blue water
  • Light blue sky

You can of course use a different colors for the boat if you prefer.

Conclusion

This tutorial shows how you can draw a sail boat without needing to go into too many small details or complex shading. By adding the most important parts and using a good combination of colors you can have a drawing that is simple but also looks nice.

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