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This article was written by Kelly Medford and by How.com.vn staff writer, Carmine Shannon. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.
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This article has been viewed 610,421 times.
There are plenty of ways to draw a heart, but if you want them perfect every time, look no further. Hearts are everywhere, from scrapbook designs and application icons to graffiti and tattoos. This article will go over two simple ways to draw a heart so you too can start making your mark. Let’s begin!
This article is based on an interview with our professional artist, Kelly Medford, founder of Sketching Rome Tours. Check out the full interview here.
Steps
Draw two circles right next to each other. These will be the guidelines for the “cheeks” of your heart. You can overlap them slightly to get a nice cleft (where the cheeks meet) at the top.[1]- Put an upside-down triangle under the two circles. To define the bottom of the heart, start drawing an upside-down triangle right at the bottom of the two circles.[2]Advertisement
- Outline the heart shape. Start where the two halves of the meet at the top and draw down to the bottom center. Then repeat that on the other side.
- Erase the sketch. Now that the outline of the heart is finished, erase all the inside lines (the circles and triangle).
- Color the draft. Fill the inside of the heart with one solid color.
- Add the highlight and shading. The light and shade are on either side of an object in a drawing. For example, if the highlight is on the top right, shade the bottom left.
- Get inspiration from other artists to keep improving your hearts. If you find a drawing you particularly like, trace over it or copy it to get the feeling of how to draw it.
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- Draw two overlapping circles. To make the heart look like it’s at an angle, draw the top with perspective. That means one part will look closer and one will look further away. Make the circle you want to be “closer” larger than the circle that’s “further away”.
- Put a slightly curved triangle under the middle of the circles. To keep with the perspective, connect a convex line from the outside of the big circle to a concave line from the outside of the smaller one.
- A convex line is a curve that pushes out and a concave line is a curve that pushes in. So if your big circle is on the left, the left side of the triangle will bend out to the left. The right side of the triangle will bend towards the center before meeting the other line.
- Trace over the outline of the heart and erase the sketch. Trace the upper arc of the big circle, starting close to where the bottom of the circles interlap. This will make it seem closer than the smaller circle. Draw another curve starting at the cleft (the dip in the top of the heart) down over the side of the smaller circle. Round the point of the triangle, then erase the inner lines.
- Draw an arrow. Draw two diagonal lines across the heart that are pretty close to each other to make the shaft of the arrow. Draw a diamond over the lower end for the arrowhead, then draw two parallel lines slightly overlapping either side of the high end. Make the fletching (feathered part) of the arrow by connecting the parallel lines to the end of the shaft.[3]
- The fletching should look like two mirrored parallelograms, or two rectangles that are leaning over.
- Put two curved lines over the middle of the arrow. The lines make the heart pucker where it’s been shot through. Alternatively, you can just drawn one curve to make it look like the arrow’s coming through from the back of the heart.
- Trace the outline of the actual arrow. Draw over the entire sketch of the arrow except between the curves—if you only used one curve, stop drawing between it and the back edge of the heart. Erase the end of the stick where it overlaps with the diamond, and draw diagonal lines on the back of the arrow parallel to the fletching’s connecting lines.[4]
- 7Layer colors to create highlights and shadows. Color in each part of the drawing with your lightest color. Use a slightly darker color to start shading the drawing, leaving round areas at the top of the heart uncovered.[5] Use your darkest color to shade at the very bottom of the heart and behind the largest cheek at the cleft.
- If you’re painting the heart, make the colors for your shading by mixing small amounts of the opposite color wheel color in the paint. For example, if your heart is red, mix a small amount of green in to make it darker.
- Make the highlights pop by dotting them with white ink or paint.
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Expert Q&A
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- QuestionWhat is the easiest way to scale a drawing?
Kelly MedfordKelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.
Professional ArtistBuy a small wheel that shows ratios so that you do not have to calculate them yourself. Then scale up the drawing according to the same proportions. - QuestionHow can you use water-soluble pencils for shading?Kelly MedfordKelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.
Professional ArtistYou can use water-soluble pencils and roughly shade over an area. Then go back over the pencil with a wet brush to fill it. - QuestionHow do I make a perfect heart?
PreuxFoxTop AnswererTo make a perfectly-proportioned heart, you can use the two circles and triangle method, but use a ruler or other straight edge to draw a line down from between the circles before drawing your triangle. This will help you keep the point centered. You can also use tools to help you draw the circles if you struggle with drawing nice circles.
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Things You'll Need
- Paper (any type)
- Pencil
- Pencil sharpener
- Eraser
- Colored pencils, crayons, markers or watercolors of your choice
References
About This Article
Professional Artist
This article was written by Kelly Medford and by How.com.vn staff writer, Carmine Shannon. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art. This article has been viewed 610,421 times.
Co-authors: 69
Updated: July 25, 2023
Views: 610,421
Categories: Drawing Shapes
Article SummaryX
To draw a simple heart icon, draw 2 circles of the same size next to each other. Then, draw a “V” underneath the circles that touches the outer edge of each circle. Darken the outer heart shape by tracing along all of the outside lines, drawing one side of the heart at a time. Erase the extra marks inside of the shape, and fill the heart with color. For more tips, including how to draw a heart with an arrow, read on!
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 610,421 times.
Reader Success Stories
"I am the least creative person ever, but seeing the breakdown of how to create a heart by drawing two circles and one triangle was truly inspiring. My first attempt was less than perfect (very less), but by my 3rd heart, I did it!"..." more
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