How to Draw a UFO

In popular culture, UFOs are most often depicted as flying saucers. In this tutorial on how to draw a UFO, we will show you how to depict this flying craft in its classic disc-shaped form. We will demonstrate how to construct its shape correctly, what details to add, and how to create volume in the drawing.

How to draw a UFO step by step

Step 1: Draw the symmetry lines

We will draw the UFO at a slight angle to create a more dynamic composition. So start by indicating the vertical and horizontal lines of symmetry with light, straight lines.

Step 2: Outline the UFO’s main shape

Using these construction lines as guides, draw a horizontally elongated ellipse. Make sure it is symmetrical. The top, bottom, left, and right edges should be equally distant from the central point.

Step 3: Sketch the upper hull

Using a light, smooth line, indicate the upper edge of the hull, connecting the left and right edges from the previous step. In the lower part, just below the horizontal line, sketch another ellipse. This is part of the ship’s exhaust system.

Step 4: Draw the cockpit canopy

Now, in the upper part, draw a thin rim that supports the cockpit glass. After that, draw the cockpit glass itself using a curved line. All parts of the ship, from bottom to top, should be positioned symmetrically around the central vertical line.

Step 5: Outline the lower hull

Now draw the lower part of the hull, making it look convex. In the center, draw another ellipse. Erase the construction lines indicated in the first steps, trying not to disturb the final outlines of the ship.

Step 6: Add the hull panels

Around this ellipse, draw a rim using another elliptical shape. Now move on to the ship’s outer surface and draw the panels with light lines. They should visually spread outward from the central vertical line.

Step 7: Refine the UFO drawing

Get rid of the remaining construction lines and visible preliminary outlines. Check your UFO drawing and strengthen the lines that are visually closer to us, while making those farther away lighter to begin creating volume.

Step 8: Add highlights and shadows

Glossy surfaces strongly reflect light and create a noticeable contrast between light and shadow. Keeping this in mind, indicate the outlines of the highlights on the glass and hull surfaces. Use light hatching to add tone within these outlines, following the form of the surface you are shading.

Step 9: Make the final adjustments

Check your entire UFO drawing once again, find any errors in the lines and shading, and correct them. Here you can also increase the contrast and deepen the tone in the parts of the ship that are visually closer to us to strengthen the three-dimensional effect.

UFO drawing principles and practice

The UFO has long been established as a familiar visual image in popular culture, and by reproducing it, you make it immediately clear to the viewer what they are looking at. Here we showed you how to draw a fairly detailed UFO with shadows, highlights, and a three-dimensional form.

This sense of volume in the drawing was achieved primarily through several simple techniques. First, there is the overlapping of forms. Notice how some parts of the ship slightly overlap others, creating a basic sense of volume.

Second, there is line weight. The lines closer to us appear thicker and darker than those farther away.

And third, of course, there are light and shadow, along with highlights. Applying them correctly completes the drawing and makes it look visually unified and three-dimensional.

You should always remember these three simple techniques whenever you draw a UFO. The same techniques work when you draw a spaceship. When drawing a space shuttle, all the same principles apply.

Next, you can try drawing a UFO with a slightly different tilt, change the hull panels, or even draw an alien inside the cockpit.