How to Draw a Car Door

Our team shows not only how to draw cars, but also their parts, and in this tutorial, we will show you how to draw a car door.

Different vehicles have different designs, and their doors vary widely in shape and details.

But despite this, they are all drawn in about the same way, so using the knowledge from this guide you can draw both the Lamborghini door and the Toyota door.

How to draw a car door: step-by-step tutorial

Step 1 – Lightly sketch the door basic shape

Begin the vehicle part by outlining the general shape of the car door. Keep the lines light so you can correct proportions easily. Pay attention to the main curves of the vehicle door, as every automobile model has its own design. Step back from the drawing occasionally to check accuracy. For a luxury sedan, make the shape more elongated; for a compact hatchback, keep it shorter and taller.

Step 2 – Draw the door window boundary

Now, with more precise and cleaner lines, adjust the outlines of the door, trying to bring it closer to the original. Next, draw the window outline, the upper part of which should repeat the upper line of the door. To see any inaccuracies in the drawing even more clearly, you can turn the drawing upside down or look at it through a mirror. Keep in mind, that large SUVs often have taller windows, while sports coupes use thinner glass panels.

Step 3 – Place the simple side mirror

Now let’s start creating the details in the door drawing. Start with a mirror by drawing it in the left corner of the window frame. Since the appearance of cars is very different from each other, the appearance of the mirrors is also very different depending on the make and model of the car. You can change its size to match different automotive styles.

Step 4 – Trace the car door and add details

Now, refine the outlines using darker and smoother lines, giving the car part a polished look. Then, draw several horizontal lines on the side surface of the car door. These lines actually play more than just a decorative role. They serve to strengthen the door and make a thin layer of metal more resistant to various tests. A door with these kinks will deform more slowly with time and weather.

Step 5 – Add the handle above the crease line

Draw the handle of the car door in the correct position, usually above the reinforcement line. Handles also vary by type: pull-type handles for modern sedans or other types of new vehicles, smaller recessed ones for classic and vintage cars, or large vertical ones for utility vehicles. Keeping these differences in mind will make your automobile door drawing more authentic.

Step 6 – Add shadows under the mirror and handle

Now take an eraser and carefully remove all unnecessary construction lines. After that, start drawing shadows. First, add shadows at the bottom of the mirror and the cast shadow below it. Then add shado on the bottom edge of the handle. Next, using longer and lighter lines sketch shadows on the rest of the car door. Don’t forget to illustrate highlights on the window with a couple of lines.

Continue with outer car parts

Car doors come in many different designs, and each type can influence how the drawing looks on paper.

For example, coupe doors are longer and often have frameless windows, which gives the sketch a sportier profile.

Sedan doors are more rectangular, with clear divisions between front and rear. SUV doors are usually taller and wider, making the body appear more massive.

Supercars sometimes feature scissor or gullwing doors, and these add dramatic angles that change the look of the illustration.

Keeping these differences in mind will help you adapt this tutorial to almost any car style.

For more practice with vehicle details, be sure to visit our lesson on how to draw a car seat, where we explain how to illustrate one of the most important interior elements.

You can also check out our Ford logo drawing guide, which shows how to render brand details that often appear on car doors, grilles, and other parts.

And finally, if you want to expand your skills even further, continue with our main car drawing tutorial.

There, we put together all the fundamentals that will allow you to illustrate any automobile from start to finish.