Sketching Tutorials

How to Draw Ellipses Freehand

Not sure how to draw ellipses freehand?
Follow this easy guide and learn the steps for drawing perfect ellipses fast!

How to Draw an Ellipse Freehand

In today’s video tutorial, we cover:

The 5 common beginner mistakes.
The 8 easy techniques to succeed in your ellipses by today!

Take a ballpoint pen, and paper, and let’s draw 10000 ellipses together! 😀

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once,
but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
– Bruce Lee

A message I received from Sam:

Sam-draw-ellipses-success | ✏️ design sketchbook — Sam can now draw ellipses with success

How to Draw Ellipses Freehand

01:01 MISTAKE #1 🥞 PANCAKE ELLIPSE

The most common mistake is the ellipse that looks flat at the bottom.
You try to draw many of them, but this flat surface keeps coming back.

01:23 MISTAKE #2 POINTY ELLIPSE

The shape of the ellipse becomes an “egg”?

Mistake #2 pointy ellipse egg shape — The egg shape is the second most common beginner mistake

01:58 MISTAKE #3 FURRY ELLIPSE

Lacking confidence, you trace many small lines one after another.
But the outcome looks amateur and hesitant.

02:27 MISTAKE #4 SHAKY ELLIPSE

Lacking confidence, your hand is shaking.
You feel a bit of fear when you draw.

02:35 MISTAKE #5 OVERCONFIDENT ELLIPSE

On the opposite, you want to imitate professional design sketchers.
You draw fast and your lines express speed.
But… you can’t achieve drawing any ellipse properly.

Drawing with overconfidence, it is like trying to drive a sports car that is too fast for you. You need training on the basics first.

03:25 HOW TO SOLVE THE 5 ELLIPSE MISTAKES

We saw the 5 beginner common mistakes.
Now let’s see the 8 complementary techniques to master freehand ellipses with confidence!

03:41 SOLUTION #1 GHOST DRAWING

If you want to learn how to draw like the professionals,
this technique is the most important to master early (for drawing “perfect” lines, circles, and curves)

Solution #1 ghost drawing simulate the movement — Simulating the movement before tracing your ellipse helps you better visualize the outcome

Solution #1 ghost drawing draw multiple loops — Dont stop at the first ellipse loop Draw adding to loops on your ellipse to gain momentum and precision

5:00 SOLUTION #2 DRAW GENTLE

If you have a heavy wrist,
it is time to be gentle with your pen.

Use the ghost drawing, and let your ballpoint pen nib touch progressively the surface of the paper. Then bold along the way if needed.

05:53 SOLUTION #3 REGULAR SPEED

If you start sketching, avoid making acceleration to show fluidity.
You also don’t need speed to draw dynamic lines.
Take your time.
What matters is the momentum you create during the ghost drawing, not the speed.

06:30 SOLUTION #4 ITERATE

If you feel that you start drawing a bad ellipse, don’t stop!
Continue and iterate on top of it. If it is not satisfying yet, draw another one!

08:52 SOLUTION #5 WHOLE ARM DRAWING

Do you draw with your elbow resting on the table?
If yes, get ready to make big progress by starting drawing with your whole arm.

Solution #5 whole arm drawing don't draw with wrist

Solution #5 whole arm drawing don't draw with elbow on table

11:04 SOLUTION #6 GOOD SUPPORT

To draw with precision, you need stability.
You use the below fingertip to “hold your pen like a tripod”.
So when you draw, your fingertips slide on the paper surface with sketching control and stability.