Course Highlights


Sketching Cylindrical Objects

Cylinders can be found in all sorts of objects. Glassware, bottles, pots, and candles are just a few examples. When sketching any object that´s cylindrical in nature, draw the geometric cylinder first, then adjust its shape and make any required modifications to resemble the characteristics of the object.

To draw a cylinder, draw two parallel lines and join the two lines with an ellipse at either end. In order to accentuate the viewpoint and depth of the cylinder, emphasize the visible side of the ellipse with a heavier line.



Note: At eye level an ellipse appears to be a straight line. When the ellipse is viewed above eye level, its edge nearest you curves up in an arc. When viewed below eye level, the arc is reversed and the edge nearest you curves down. What is more, as an ellipse nears the eye level, it gets shallower. The further from eye level, the deeper the ellipse gets. The width however always remains the same. Once again, darkening the edge that faces you helps to add a third dimension.



If you are drawing a cylinder on its side (horizontal), draw two parallel horizontal lines and connect the two lines with an elipse. On the other side, draw a curved line to complete the cylinder.



Putting theory into practice

Create the following objects based on the geometric cylinder.

Exercise 1: Mug



Exercise 2: Flashlight



Exercise 3: Wine Bottle


 

Other pages of interest

Sketching Cylindrical Objects
Sketching Conical Objects
Combining Basic Forms
Understanding the Fundamentals of Perspective
Compositional Perspective

 

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