Adventure Sketchbook, ages 8 to 12
How to draw Lighthouse by the Sea
Draw a red-and-white lighthouse on the rocks, shining over the sea. You will learn why the stripes on a round tower curve, how they bend differently above and below the horizon, and why waves shrink as they go back.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Steps
- 8
- Ages
- 8 to 12
How to draw Lighthouse by the Sea
What you need
- Paper Plain printer paper is perfect.
- Pencil (HB) For light first shapes you can erase.
- Black fineliner 0.5 mm, or any black pen.
- Eraser A soft white eraser.
- Coloured pencils Any set; sharpen them first.
Step by step
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01Placement
Horizon first
Draw a light, level horizon line a little below the middle of the page. This line is your eye level.
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02Big shapes
A tower that tapers
Draw the tower narrower at the top than the bottom. Add a balcony, a lantern room with a dome, and lumpy rocks.
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03Construction
Bands that curve
Draw the band lines. Above the horizon they arch up; below it they dip down. The one on the horizon stays straight.
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04Details
Ink the lighthouse
Ink the tower and its curved bands, the balcony and railing, the lantern’s window bars, the dome and a little door.
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05Details
Rocks, sea and gulls
Ink the front rocks, then the ones behind, the horizon, the waves and two far-off gulls. Stop lines where something is in front.
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06Details
Erase the pencil
Wait a minute for the ink to dry, then gently erase all the pencil lines, the beam lines too.
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07Colour
Red bands and bright light
Colour every other band red, and the dome too. Make the lantern and beams yellow, the sea blue and the rocks grey.
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08Finishing touches
Shadows and deep water
Shade the right side of the tower, the dome and the rocks. Make the sea a deeper blue as it comes toward you.
Ages 8 to 12
