How to draw a ball? In this lesson we will look at three types of balls, soccer, basketball and volleyball.

Essentially, the ball is an ordinary circle with shadows on which some kind of relief is depicted. Of course, a soccer ball is very different from a basketball, a basketball has a different weight, a different material, but they are drawn almost the same.

In this lesson we will not deal with the chiaroscuro of the ball, but to draw the ball you need to use it. It will give the ball a more realistic look.

You can take a look at the picture below to refresh your knowledge of ball chiaroscuro, and if you don’t know anything about ball chiaroscuro, then we recommend you read here.

So let's start with a soccer ball.

How to draw a soccer ball

Drawing a soccer ball is not very difficult, so believe in yourself and you will succeed! We will give a few different examples drawing a soccer ball, starting from the simplest ball, ending with the most complex ball with shadows.

Stage 1
At the first stage everything is simple. Let's draw a circle.

Stage 2
The most difficult part is to draw the dark polygons on the ball. Draw polygons as shown in the figure below. Since our ball is at an angle, we draw polygons at an angle.

Since a ball is a ball, and a ball is round, we must depict the volume on these polygons. It is very clearly visible that one of the sides of the right polygon is round, this gives it a rounded shape.

Stage 3
In the third step, we need to connect the corners of the polygons of our soccer ball. To do this, you need to draw lines between their corners. Please note that the lines should not be straight, but slightly rounded, this will give volume to our ball.

Stage 4
On final stage we apply chiaroscuro to our ball. We will tell you how we did this in an example with another ball.

Another option for drawing a soccer ball

Since the polygons in a soccer ball are the hardest part, we want to go into that a little bit. Let's look at another option for drawing a soccer ball, but in a slightly different way.

Stage 1
Let's draw a circle.

Stage 2
Draw one polygon in the center. Like our previous ball, the polygon is at an angle.

Stage 3
The third stage is significantly different from the third stage in the previous example. If earlier we immediately drew other polygons by eye, then here everything will be according to the rules.

We draw lines from each corner.

Stage 4
From the ends of the lines drawn at the previous stage, we draw two more lines in different directions, and we already have a soccer ball net.

Stage 5
Connecting lines with lines :)

Stage 6
Now we draw lines, as it were, beyond the edges of our ball.

Stage 7
On last stage we color some polygons and get a soccer ball.

If you know how to apply chiaroscuro, you can apply it, and we will get to it very soon.

The third option for drawing a soccer ball

There is no point in describing this ball in particular; this example is just another option for drawing a net. Just look and choose the grid drawing option you like and use it.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

Another small and fun option for drawing a soccer ball.

Learn to draw a soccer ball with shadow

It's time for chiaroscuro! Drawing a soccer ball with chiaroscuro.

Stage 1
As before, draw a circle.

Stage 2
At the second stage, we draw a polygon that is already familiar to us.

Stage 3
Let's draw three more polygons.

Stage 4
Starting from the polygons that we already have, we sketch the entire ball with polygons.

Stage 5
The fifth stage is the most interesting stage for us. This is where chiaroscuro begins.

Shade the polygons, which should be black. In the upper part of the polygon, the strokes should be darker than in the lower part, this will create an imitation of glare and add volume to our soccer ball. We do not touch the white polygons, they will remain white.

After shading the black squares, draw your own shadow on the ball in the lower left part. In our example, the light hits the ball from the top right side. This is why the shadow is on the lower left side of the ball. Your own shadow is drawn in the form of a month, which smoothly flows from dark to light.

Well, the last step is to draw the shadow of the ball on the ground. Such a shadow is drawn much easier than the ball's own shadow. Just draw a narrow oval under the ball and that's it.

If you have difficulty with shade, be sure to read our article on chiaroscuro and try taking a ball with a flashlight. By rotating the flashlight around the ball, directing the light at different angles, you will definitely understand the whole meaning of chiaroscuro and how to draw it in the case of the ball.

Another example with chiaroscuro

So let's move on to the last example of drawing a soccer ball. It also has chiaroscuro, but the way of drawing the ball itself is a little unusual.

Stage 1
First we draw auxiliary lines, draw a square and divide it into equal parts.

Stage 2
Using auxiliary lines we draw a circle.

Stage 3
Drawing polygons. We have already drawn polygons before different ways, so we won’t dwell on this topic.

Stage 4
At the last stage, we shade the black polygons. Shading from top to bottom. Since the light falls on our ball from the top left, the black polygons are darker at the bottom than at the top.

Shading right side the ball is darker because less light falls on it than on the left, and the lower part needs to be made completely dark because almost no light falls on it at all.

Draw a shadow under the ball.

We're done with the soccer balls and now we're moving on to drawing the basketballs.

How to draw a basketball

It's time to learn how to draw a basketball. It is drawn in exactly the same way as a soccer ball, just like a regular ball. Therefore, we will not go into detail about how to draw it.

Stage 1
Draw a circle and divide it with a rounded vertical line almost to the center.

Stage 2
And the second stage in drawing basketball We have, one might say, the last one :) We draw three lines on the ball, we will not describe them, since by looking at the picture below you will immediately understand everything.

Essentially, our basketball is ready, but we will still paint and add light and shade to it in the next step.

Stage 3
Our example uses a fairly complex cartoon chiaroscuro, so if this method applying chiaroscuro will seem too complicated to you, you can simply apply a shadow in the form of a month and that’s it.

In our example, there is cartoon chiaroscuro, so we paint the ball orange. We paint the space between the lines with a darker tone, but not to the edges; especially a lot of free space should be left in the upper left part. Since the light falls on our ball from the top right, we must paint the highlights with a lighter color.

Another option for drawing a basketball step by step

Let's take a look again step by step drawing basketball ball, but with a slightly different type of chiaroscuro.

Stage 1
Draw a circle and divide it into four parts with rounded lines.

Stage 2
At the top and bottom of our basketball we draw two lines characteristic of basketballs.

Stage 3
Now let's move on to chiaroscuro. We paint over the entire ball with light shading, but do not paint over the center of the ball, because the light will fall on it, and the unpainted area will be a highlight.

Now we press harder on the pencil and paint over the entire surface of the ball, making the highlight area lighter than the rest of the ball’s surface. Make the left edge of the ball as dark as possible, since very little light falls on it.

Our basketball drawing is ready :)

How to draw a volleyball: Wilson from the movie Cast Away

Yes, yes, if you watched the movie “Cast Away,” then you probably recognized this volleyball :) A volleyball is drawn the same way as a football, basketball, or any other ball, so let’s draw a face on it.

Stage 1
Circle.

Stage 2
We draw these vertical lines on the sides.

Stage 3
At the third stage, we draw horizontal and vertical lines. Do not forget that they are not drawn evenly, but as if along the surface of the ball.

All that remains is to paint the ball and it will be ready, but we have an unusual ball, so let's move on to the next stage!

Stage 4
Sketch out the contours of the face.

Draw the eyes, nose and mouth.

Stage 5
Our ball is already ready.

All that remains is to paint it with any colors and apply chiaroscuro in your favorite way.

Bottom line

We hope that you figured out how to draw a football, basketball and volleyball step by step with a pencil. As you noticed, they are all drawn almost the same way, so using the same methods you can draw absolutely any ball with any designs on it.