Curves, Circles and Ellipses

Look around: cups, wheels, bottles, eyes, plates, lamps. Circles are everywhere, and almost every circle you see is actually an ellipse, because you are looking at it from an angle. Drawing good ellipses is one of the skills that most quickly separates amateur from skilled drawings.

Drawing circles

A freehand circle is a curve that closes on itself. Tips:

• Draw from the shoulder or elbow, never from the fingers.
• Ghost the circle a few times in the air, then lower the pencil while your arm is already moving.
• Go around two or three times lightly. The repeated passes average out into a smoother shape. Then darken the best path.
• For a big circle, mark four points (top, bottom, left, right) at equal distance from a center, then connect them.

Anatomy of an ellipse

• The major axis is the longest line through the ellipse.
• The minor axis is the shortest one. It is always perpendicular to the major axis.
• An ellipse is symmetrical across both axes: its four quarters are mirror images.
• Ellipses have no points or corners. Both ends are rounded curves.

Ellipse degree

The degree of an ellipse describes how open it looks. A circle seen from directly above is 90° (a full circle). Seen exactly edge-on it is 0° (a straight line). Everything else is in between.

In perspective, the degree changes with the distance from eye level: ellipses close to your eye level are thin; ellipses far above or below it are more open. You'll see this in action in the foreshortening lesson.

The minor axis trick

Here is the most important ellipse rule for drawing objects: the minor axis of an ellipse lines up with the axis of the cylinder it belongs to. For a glass standing upright, the minor axis is vertical. For a wheel on a car, the minor axis points along the axle. If your ellipses look "tilted wrong," check this alignment.

Try it: the ellipse trainer

Trace around the guide ellipse two or three times in a single motion. Change the degree to train thin and open ellipses.