top of page
Search
Writer's pictureKimberley Kohan

Drawing a Circle and an Oval Shape (Elliptical)

Put your hand up if you ever drew a circle by finding something round and tracing a line around the edge of the item? My hand is up.


Circle and ellipticals are important shapes to master as they are the foundation of many items that you might draw. I was hopeless at getting a nice round circle or an elliptical with both sides even.


Let me share with you what worked for me. Take you pencil and place it on the paper where you want the bottom of the circle to be. Move the pencil upwards to the left (if you are right-handed), upwards, across the top, down to the right, bringing it around to meet your starting point. The circle should be approximately 3 cm in diameter.


Move to the right of that drawn circle and repeat the process. Start at the bottom and move upwards to the left, around the top and down to meet the starting point. Keep repeating until you fill the page. After a few days you are really going to notice a huge change in your ability to draw a circle.


Ellipticals are really a squashed circle. I suggest you draw this elliptical on an angle with the highest point on the left and the lowest point of the curve on the right. Start with your pencil at the midpoint of the lower loop (longest edge) of the elliptical and move upwards to the left, around and down to the right, back up to the left again to join with the starting point. Fill a page of these shapes every day. Vary the sizes and roundness of the elliptical. Keep repeating until you see consistent well drawn ellipticals.


Good luck.


bottom of page