How to Draw a Pillow in 4 Quick Steps

This quick tutorial shows how to draw a simple pillow in four easy steps. It provides straightforward examples and clear  instructions.

pillow drawing step by step
pillow drawing step by step

The pillow that is shown is slightly stylized to make it easier to draw. At the same time it still has a shape that is very characteristic of such an item (easily recognizable as a pillow). The tutorial can be great if you are looking for something uncomplicated to draw to relax or have a bit of fun.

Although the pillow is very simple it’s still recommended that you begin the drawing it in pencil to make it easy to correct any possible mistakes. For the same reason also try and use light lines until you have it’s entire shape outlined. You can then trace over them with a black marker or darker pencil lines.

Step 1 – Draw the Corners of the Pillow

pillow corners drawing
pillow corners drawing

Begin by drawing the corners of the pillow. This is an easy way to get it’s overall width and height. Because the shapes of the corners are so simple you can erase and redraw them very quickly if you wish to make adjustments.

Draw each corner shaped a bit like the letter “V” but with a rounded tip. Try and make them relatively close in shape and size but not perfectly so.

Step 2 – Draw the Sides

pillow outline drawing
pillow outline drawing

Running in between the corners from the previous step draw the different sides of the pillow. Make each one slightly curved and draw them in a way where the inner ends of the corners slightly cut into the pillows outline. This will help make the drawing look a little more thtee dimensional and less like a wire frame.

Step 3 – Draw the the Folds

pillow line drawing
pillow line drawing

For the last step of the line drawing add some folds around the center of the pillow. You can define these with a few lightly curved lines that branch out in slightly different directions.

Once you’ve added the folds trace over your lines to darken them (as was mentioned at the start of the tutorial). Either use a thin black marker or just press harder on the pencil.

When done with the above you should have a finished simple line drawing of a pillow. If there are any smudges or excess lines you can clean these up with an eraser before moving on to the next step.

Step 4 – Color the Pillow

pillow drawing color
pillow drawing color

To color the pillow you can make it any color you like. In this case it’s a light blue. First fill in it’s entire outline with the color of your choice (or whatever you have on hand) as shown above. You can also simply leave the pillow white or make it a light grey by once again just using a regular pencil.

pillow drawing
pillow drawing

After coloring, add a few shadows by darkening the outer edges of the pillow as well as the areas around the folds. This will again help make the drawing appear a little more three dimensional. You can create the shadows by yet again using a regular pencil or a darker version of whatever color you used for the pillow.

Conclusion

This tutorial shows how to create a nice and simple pillow by starting with a basic line drawing and then adding color and a bit of shading.

When drawing sometimes adding little details and a bit of extra effort can make a big difference on the overall appearance of your art. By drawing the corners in the way described earlier and adding some very simple shading you can make the pillow drawing stand out far more than it would have otherwise.

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