How to Draw a Cartoon Helicopter

This super simple lesson will show you how to draw a cartoon helicopter using the most basic shapes and lines.

This lesson continues our series on drawing everyday objects in a cartoon style. This approach involves intentionally simplifying details to a certain degree, depending on the specific stylistic direction chosen by the artist.

In this cartoon helicopter drawing lesson, we used a highly simplified style made up of the most basic shapes and lines, while still keeping the form recognizable.

When drawing this helicopter, you can add more details or include additional elements if you wish.

How to draw a cartoon helicopter step by step

Step 1: Sketch the cockpit shape

A helicopter consists of several main parts: the cockpit, the skids, the tail, and the rotor blades. Start with the cockpit, drawing it as an oval. Since you are creating a cartoon helicopter, you do not need to precisely match the contours of a real cockpit. In our example, the cockpit looks like an egg, but you can draw it as an elongated oval, a rounded rectangle, or any other simplified shape that fits your chosen style.

Step 2: Draw the cartoon helicopter window

A helicopter’s cockpit should always have a window – otherwise, how would the pilot see the outside world? So in this step, draw the window using smooth, curved lines. You can also add a side window or change the shape of the windows however you like. This is a good place to draw a few extra details, such as a door or even a cartoon pilot sitting inside the cockpit of the helicopter.

Step 3: Draw the rotor blades of the helicopter

Now draw the second main element of the cartoon helicopter in the upper part. First, sketch a smooth, slightly protruding section directly above the cockpit. Then add two long, rounded rotor blades that resemble stretched ovals. In a cartoon version, it’s better to draw the blades like those on a toy helicopter, using soft, rounded shapes rather than long, sharp, straight lines like on a real one.

Step 4: Sketch the landing skids

Now move to the lower part of the helicopter to draw the third large element of this aircraft. First, sketch the vertical supports of the landing skids using short, straight lines. Then draw the cartoon skids of the helicopter themselves with long, smooth shapes that resemble elongated ovals.

Step 5: Draw the tail of the cartoon helicopter

The rear section of the helicopter consists of several parts: the tail boom itself and the end section with a small fin and rotor blades. Start with the tail boom by drawing two long, smooth lines that narrow and connect at a short end. You can adjust the length and thickness of the tail depending on your chosen style.

Step 6: Add the tail fin and rotor

Now draw the tail cartoon fin and the small rotor of the helicopter, which consists of a rounded central hub and the blades themselves. Keep the shapes simple and slightly stylized to match the cartoon look of the helicopter. Next, review your entire helicopter drawing. Trace it with cleaner, darker lines and gradually erase all auxiliary marks and sketch lines that show through the main contours. At this stage, you can also add extra details, such as decorative elements or small functional parts of the helicopter.

The cartoon drawing style includes many distinctive features and stylistic choices, such as simplification and exaggeration.

In this helicopter drawing lesson, we showed how complex details can be reduced to minimal forms using very simple shapes.

We also demonstrated how certain features of a vehicle can be slightly enlarged to make it more recognizable while keeping the overall style clean and simple.

The same approach can be applied to any other vehicle. For example, you can draw a cartoon car using these principles.

You can also use this method not only for cartoon vehicles but for animals as well. For instance, you might draw a cartoon dog or create a cartoon cat drawing using the same ideas.

The principles of designing cartoon objects, animals, and people are very similar. We discuss all of this in our Cartoons category, where we also share how well-known artists and studios create popular characters and show how you can create your own.