The Artabet website is full of videos and blogs that will give you all the skills needed to make this Drawing Cars and Trucks lesson a successful and rewarding artistic experience for your child, your students, and yourself.
Start each drawing session with the Artabet Warm-ups and then dive into this how to draw cars and trucks art lesson.
Let’s Start With the Easiest Truck Drawing
Easy does not mean that it is just for young kids or beginners. I have found few art students that can draw a simple circle without drawing it either very slowly with little pushy lines or else trying 9 or 10 times and erasing until it’s just right. What is easier than a simple circle … indeed, what is simple is what is well done easily … DO YOUR ARTABET WARM UPS !!!!! … and all your drawings will be easy. Here is our easy truck drawing for ages 4 to 9 .
Learn the Basic Model and Then Add Your Own Details.
The Artabet always gives you a ‘Basic Drawing Model’ be it a cat, tractor, dinosaur, or in this case a truck. This simple basic drawing allows the student to add their own ‘spin’ on the drawing they started with using the ‘model’. So go ahead now and add your own details ! If your guiding your 4 to 9 year old ask questions such as “What kind of truck is it?” or “What colour is your truck?” and “Where is your truck going?”
Our Next Truck Is a ‘CLASSIC TRUCK’
Get those Artabet warm-ups going before you attempt the ‘Classic Truck’. Do lots of UP and DOWNS and BACK and FORTHS. The ‘Classic Truck’ is all about rectangles, squares and a few curved lines.
Start with the basic rectangular tailgate, practice a few and then add the stating ‘bumper’ lines on the sides and finish with the bottom line.
‘Rear Wheels’ are next followed by the ‘Cab’. Just follow the number sequence and then add your details, mirrors, lights, handles, etc …
Here is my Classic Truck work page .
Now we can add some colour and start “Drawing a Story”
Here is what it looks like now since I have not finished yet … But I will and I’ll add it later.
How You Draw a Truck Is All About How You Look at It !!!
Let’s take a look at another truck but from a different ‘Perspective’ or you might say a different ‘Angle’ or even a different ‘Viewpoint’. Most Art teachers would say that ‘Viewpoint’ is the correct term as it means from where are you looking …at the truck, up at the truck like a worm, down at the truck like a bird, are you looking at the front of the truck, the side of the truck, the back of the truck … lots of questions lead to a good solid well planned drawing and that spells success, self esteem, and confidence for the young artists ages 4 to 9.
So, look at the next Truck Drawing and answer some of the ‘Viewpoint’ questions we just listed. Think a little more than you draw and every thing will turn out just fine.Start your drawing with the same ‘Classic Truck’ drawing but make things bigger and taller add some extras like the massive ‘stacks’ and ‘running lights’. Use the ARTABET TRUCK MODEL and your Semi-Truck drawing will be easy!
Time For BIG RED … the MIGHTY SEMI
Piercing through the night air like an eagle on 16 plus wheels, Big Red is determined to reach the ‘Pools of King Parr’ by midnight.
Be creative with words as well as your drawing. Don’t just draw a truck ‘Draw a Story’. I have engaged thousands of young artists between the ages of 4 to 9 for over thirty years and in each class I ‘Draw a Story’. If you do not encourage this art activity of drawing a story you will end up with a young artist that simply copies other people’s drawings.
Art moves and entertains, teaches, changes ideas, feelings, attitudes, and history by engaging us with a story … that is drawn.
Here is How I Drew ‘Big Red’ From Start to Finish
I started with drawing these two simple trucks
First up was to Doodle and Noodle around with the basic Truck Model and then get the right Viewpoint and Draw some Prototypes. This is an easy drawing for me as I can draw using 3-D concepts. Of course a 4 to 6 year old would not understand 3-D but some could ‘copy’ it without any understanding.
The Artabet has lots of Pre-3-D games and exercises to make the switch from 2-D to 3-D an easy process when the time comes, Do not force 3-D on a young child rather let them exhaust the world of 2-D first.
REFINE and DEFINE … there are NO MISTAKES IN ART!!
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Final copy for now until we do the Car and Truck Book and then it will be polished and trimmed to the max!!!
Stack Tops were turned and made shiny, hood was evened out and the Pools of King Parr were added.
The computer enhancement program used was Paint.NET. It’s free and simple.
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THE BIG CAR , PLANE, TRUCK, AND BOAT SHOW CONTINUES …
How would you start drawing this Ultra Cool Car?
The answer is always the same when you design or draw a vehicle … Start with the ‘WHEEL BASE”
GET THAT RIGHT AND YOU CAN BUILD ANYTHING ON TOP !!!
REMEMBER OUR EASY LITTLE TRUCK .. GET THE WHEELS AND GET IT RIGHT.
TRY THIS EASY DRAWING OF AN ENGLISH ROADSTER FROM THE 1930’S AND THEN MOVE ON TO THE WATER CRUISER AND SPACE CRAFT
Here are a few CAR Ideas from the Artabet Ink Work Desk
Help Artabet by sending me your drawings, a quick click and send it on to me so I can get it into our
Best and Biggest Car and Truck and Plane and Boat and Ship and Machine and Bike Show in the Universe.
Next Up is ‘How To Use The Classic Truck Model To Draw Machines
Here are the Worksheets that led me to Draw some Cool Machines using the Basic Truck Model from Artabet.
TRUCKS, TRUCKS, TRUCKS … SEND ME YOUR DRAWINGS !!!!
OUR First Drawing Is In ( 4 year old from Atlanta, USA )
Linda (Mom) writes about her 4 year old boy,
My husband and I don’t know too much about drawing ourselves. I love the book. Tonight we spent over 30 minutes and here are a few things he drew (ladybug/rocket from your book, and truck/car from what I taught him yesterday). He loves cars (esp. those converted into transformers )/trains/different kinds of vehicles. Any tips on how to draw those for little kids?
Get the Basics With the Artabet Book!
I genuinely prize your work, Great post.
Much appreciated.