Things That Go

Machines look like the hardest things to draw — all that metal and glass! But machines are actually the EASIEST, because people built them out of simple shapes on purpose. A car is a rectangle with a bump. A boat is a watermelon slice with triangles on top. A rocket is a crayon with fins. In this lesson you'll draw all of them, and learn the two tricks that make machines look fast and real: straight guide shapes and motion lines.

Start your engines: a car is one long rounded rectangle for the body, plus a half-bubble on top for the cabin. The wheels are circles that POKE OUT below the body — that's what makes the car sit on the road instead of floating. Windows are just the cabin split in two. Last come the headlights, the door handle… and whoosh lines behind, so everyone knows it's fast.

Next, set sail. A boat's hull is a wide slice shape — flat on top, curved underneath so it can hug the water. The mast is one proud straight line in the middle, and the sails are two triangles that lean on it, a big one and a small one. The wavy line of water is part of the drawing too: a boat without waves looks parked!

Now float up gently in a hot-air balloon. The balloon itself is a giant circle, and the curved stripes from top to bottom are what make it look round instead of flat — they bend with the balloon like the slices of an orange. Ropes connect down to a tiny woven basket. Notice the size trick: the balloon is HUGE and the basket is tiny, and that contrast is exactly what makes it feel like it's really floating.

Grand finale: 3… 2… 1… A rocket is a tall body with a pointy nose, fins swooping down on both sides so it flies straight, and a porthole window for the astronaut. Underneath comes the best part — big wavy flames bursting out of the engine. Add a few stars around it and your rocket is officially in space.

Four machines, four shape recipes — and two tricks you now own forever: check the symmetry, and let wheels and waves and flames connect your machine to its world. Tomorrow, try inventing your OWN vehicle: maybe a flying boat or a balloon-car. Same shapes, new combination — that's what real inventors sketch all day.