Have fun with boats

If you love marine pictures the most interesting subject to draw are boats. The shape of their hull is always pretty much the same even though there are so many different boat designs.

Figure 1 will help you to draw a boat accurately. Observe how the shape of its hull shape fits into a box. The drawing illustrates this fact clearly and all you need to do is keep this in mind. This technique is an ideal aid to getting the perspective right.

Observe some boats that are sailing and notice how the masts on these sailing boats are never dead centre; they are set forward towards the bow (the sharp end).

The five illustrations shown on Figure 2 are of different boat designs. They are very simple and have been drawn with pen and ink.

Draw all the boats in Figure 2, and practice them as much as you can. The canal long boat in Figure 3 is an interesting vessel. The illustration reveals how its lines must diminish (come closer together) as they go back in distance - away from you.

Use a sharp 2B pencil to sketch at first. Once the outline is done, you may ink it. Observe the dark shades I have used to depict the water in Figure 3, and a fishing boat anchored in Figure 4. Study the structure of the fishing boat, curved and shaded with dark patches. Two small seagulls have been included at a distance.

The diagonal sky lines suggest space and wind movement. These drawings are done to a small scale with a thin pen point. It will help you if you can do your drawings twice as big.