When Art Boy 69 requested a rocket-drawing tutorial a few weeks ago, I got seriously
excited!
After all, my home is less than a 30-minute drive from the United States Space and Rocket
Center!
Today, I'll show you how to draw TWO of the most iconic rockets the US has ever sent into
space.
If any of you have other requests for specific art tutorials or advice, leave a comment below.
I'd LOVE to help you grow!
And don't forget to subscribe to get free weekly art advice!
[music playing] Welcome back to Mr. New's Art Class.
It's wonderful to see your smiling faces today!
Not only do I love everything to do with space travel, but it also fits right in to the series
I've been doing on drawing 3D spaces.
In last week's tutorial, we discussed how atmospheric perspective can be used to create
the illusion of depth, even in a painting where the objects are all flat.
One of the things we learned from our research images was that atmospheric perspective only
works inside an atmosphere.
For today's tutorial, we'll be drawing outer space, so we won't be needing to use atmospheric
perspective.
We also won't need to use one-point perspective, since we don't have a horizon in the distance.
What we WILL need to do is: overlap objects, and resize objects based on their distance
from the viewer.
For my first drawing, I'm going to draw the rocket that stands tall in front of the Space
and Rocket Center: the Saturn V rocket!
I started this drawing of the Saturn V rocket by looking up reference photos from the NASA
website, as well as some photos I have taken from various trips to the Rocket Center in
years past.
I started with a basic rectangle for the body of the rocket, trying to get the proportion
of height to width as close as possible to reality.
To make it look like it's pointed slightly away from the viewer, I narrowed the rectangle
towards the top end, and enlarged the rocket boosters at the back.
This is a little trick called foreshortening.
After getting the basic sizing and placement where I wanted them, I looked at reference
photos to make sure I got the outlines for the black and white stripes in the right places.
I then drew the moon in the distance, which is appropriate considering that the Saturn
V is the only rocket which has ever sent men to land on the moon's surface!
I should point out, here, that the Saturn V is a staged rocket, which means that the
lower sections would have fallen off way before it ever got this far into space.
Only the top sections with the lunar lander and return vehicle would have actually made
it that far.
But I think the rocket looks cooler in one piece, so that's how I drew it!
I also sketched in a sort-of stripey bit where the milky way's distant stars would sort-of
lighten up the black of space.
After the pencil sketch was complete, I used a mix of Copic and Prismacolor markers - these
are alcohol based inks - to color the drawing.
Once I got the shading done, I added some distant stars with a tiny brush and white
paint.
The paint I'm using here is Golden brand fluid acrylic - titanium white.
And there's the finished Saturn V.
Now, it's time to move on to a more modern rocket: the SpaceX Falcon 9.
I started my drawing of the Falcon 9 rocket the same way as the Saturn V - using a rectangle
as the basic construction.
This rocket does not have the black-and-white sections like the Saturn V did, but it does
have a few other details to draw in, like the fins and the SpaceX logo.
The falcon 9 rocket is amazing because it's the first rocket to ever be re-used.
SpaceX was able to land this beast, repair and refuel it, and launch the same unit a
second time!
But the Falcon 9 is only designed for lower orbits - it doesn't have nearly enough power
to send people to the moon.
It is mostly used to take people and supplies to the International Space Station.
For that reason, I chose to draw this rocket with Earth in the middle ground, covering
a large portion of the drawing, with the distant sun in the background, brightly peaking over
Earth's curved horizon.
When coloring this drawing, I had a very specific light source to think about.
The sun shines directly onto one side of the rocket, leaving the other side in deep shadow.
Also, with the sun rising, part of Earth's surface is still dark.
Finally, I didn't add any distant stars to this drawing because the sun is in view, and
its brightness would completely wash out all the others.
Now, let's take a look at both of these drawings side-by-side.
I drew two of them because I couldn't decide which one is my favorite.
The Saturn V definitely LOOKS cooler, and it's the only rocket that has sent men to
the moon.
But on the other hand, the Falcon 9 is the only rocket that can land its first stage
and re-launch it, which is a tremendous cost-saver for future space missions.
That means larger versions of this rocket are likely to take us to Mars one day!
Anyway, I can't decide which one of these rockets is my favorite, so I want YOU to help
me decide!
I've made a poll, which you can access by clicking the card - the little "i" button
in the corner of your screen.
Let me know which rocket you think is more awesome!
Also, I would love to start showcasing viewer artwork in upcoming videos.
If you have made any space-related artwork that you'd like to share, send an email to
the address on your screen - myart@misternew.com - and be sure to let me know in that email
whether or not it's okay for me to share your art in a video.
Thanks again for watching!
I hope you learned something from today's drawing tutorial.
Thumbs up if you liked it, and subscribe if you want more free, weekly art tutorials.
And If you have any questions, or want any help with specific art topics, leave a comment
down below.
I'd love to help you grow!