How to Draw Metal

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Metal is very fun to draw because you can achieve amazing results with just a few tricks. In this tutorial I will show you how to draw shiny metal (polished silver, chrome), and old/used metal (weapons, armor). I will use a silver goblet and an axe as an example, but you can use the same techniques to draw a metal texture on any object.

What You Will Need

HB pencil
2B pencil
4B pencil
8B pencil
Blending stump
Ruler
Pencil sharpener
Eraser (preferably kneaded)

Before you start drawing, take a look at some references of metal, to get an idea of what you're trying to achieve:

1. How to Draw Shiny Metal

Step 1

You can draw shiny metal texture on any object, but let me show you how to draw a metal goblet in a few steps.

Start by drawing the upper part: draw two ellipses and connect them with straight lines. Use the HB pencil and the ruler if necessary. Try to draw lightly, keeping the lines barely visible.

Step 2

Imagine the stem of the goblet and draw some gradually smaller ellipses to create a gentle transition.

Step 3

Connect the ellipses with lines, creating an outline of the goblet.

Step 4

Draw the base of the goblet. I added some bulging in this area—a metal texture looks the best on detailed surfaces.

Step 5

Draw lines along the goblet to see the perspective better. It's really important to see the goblet as a 3D object!

Step 6

Take the eraser and gently clean the redundant lines.

Step 7

Add some more details—again, this will give the metal texture a chance to shine.

Step 8

Time for shading! Tilt your pencil and fill the inside of the goblet with shadow.

Step 9

Take the blending stump and carefully blend the shadow to make it uniform.

Step 10

Look at your object as if it were standing in front of you, and decide where the light source is. Then shade the parts that are not directly illuminated. Use the blending stump all the time.

Step 11

Metal is all about that shine, and shine is created by contrast. Gently shade a side of the goblet to create a side of the "shine band".

Step 12

Shade the other side as well, but this time don't create a sharp edge of the shine band. Instead, gently blend into it.

Step 13

The basic shading is done, and now we just need to increase the contrast. Take the 2B pencil, tilt it, and shade the inside of the goblet some more. Use the blending stump again.

Step 14

Use the same pencil to shade the very edge of the goblet's side. Make it sharp on the edge and then blend it toward the body of the goblet.

Step 15

Do the same with the other side.

Step 16

Use the same pencil to accentuate the sharp side of the shine band. Give it a sharp edge and a soft one.

Step 17

Darken the other shadows to level the contrast.

Step 18

Take the 4B pencil and darken the sides of the inside of the goblet to make it look 3D.

Step 19

Take the 8B pencil and darken this area even more, blending it as softly as possible. This will be our point of reference for the darkest shade.

Step 20

"Metallic" means reflecting in high contrast. Let's give the surface something to reflect to show it. Sketch an outline of a dark band on the other side...

... and fill it with the 8B pencil.

Step 21

It looks very shiny already! Let's just add some minor details. The inside of the goblet is as shiny as the outside, so it reflects itself. Use this fact to create some interesting details. You don't need to be perfectly accurate, just make it look as if it's reflecting "something".

Step 22

Because metal is so reflective, it also reflects... itself. That's what we needed all these bulges for—they take some shine from the surfaces around and reflect it in the shadows.

Step 23

Use all the pencils to level the contrast in the whole goblet.

how to draw shiny reflective metal chrome silver