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Finished drawing of a Chai Tea Latte container with pencil and pink eraser nearby.
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How to Draw a Cylinder

How to Draw a Cylinder is all about the secret of drawing a foreshortened circle. Learn this secret to help you draw so many items around you!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Art Project
Cuisine: Art Project
Keyword: cylinder how to draw, how to draw cylindrical shape, how do you draw a cylinder, how to draw a 3d cylinder, How to draw a cylinder
Author: Shelly
Cost: $1

Equipment

  • none needed

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Think of the bottom half of a circle being a smile shape. The more you tilt a round shaped object away from you, the flatter the smile shape is on the bottom of the foreshortened circle. 
    So, if you draw a cylinder-shaped object from the side you will start drawing the circular top with a smile shape for the bottom edge. And you will try to match how curved or flat the smile shape is by how far the object is tilted away from you. The further it is tilted, the flatter the smile shape will be. 
  • Then you will draw a matching curve shape over the top of that smile shape and connect them with curved lines on each end that finish the oval shape. 
  • To draw the rest of the cylinder shape, you will draw a smile for the bottom of the can that matches the smile shape you drew for the bottom of the foreshortened circle. This smile will be lower on your paper, directly under the first smile shape.
  • Draw a straight line down from the right edge of the foreshortened circle to the right edge of the bottom smile. Then draw a straight line down from the left edge of the foreshortened circle to the left edge of the bottom smile. 
  • Imagine that your light source is coming from the upper right side and shining down on the cylinder. That will create a shadow on the left side of the cylinder and will cast a shadow down on the table to the left.
    Contour lines are basically some lines in the shadow area of the cylinder that match the smile line you started with in drawing the cylinder. Draw some light contour lines on the left side of the cylinder that go the same direction as the first smile that you drew for the foreshortened circle.
  • Then add some shading on the left side of the cylinder by using the side of the pencil lead on the paper. Gently rub this with your finger to blend this together a bit.
  • Add some cast shadow in kind of a cylinder shape down onto the left of the cylinder and blend that as well. 
  • Isn’t that a good start at drawing a cylinder? The pictures in the post and the video are very helpful in learning how to draw a cylinder.

Video