Chrome Rim Drawing Tutorial

Hi everyone :)

In this tutorial you can learn how to draw a realistic chrome rim!
The tutorial consists of a video at the start where I draw the rim,
and a step by step picture guide with explanation. I have also
included a drawingvideo at the last step, where I draw an entire

chopper bike.

Estimated time to finish: 3, 5 hours
Tools: Mechanical pencil 0, 5
pencils HB, 2B, 4B, 5B
Blending stick or a Q-tip

Step 1: Reference Photo

I have chosen a car from the movie 2 fast 2 furious as reference picture. This rim is very
detailed and quite shiny, so it's a good picture to draw. The photo that I found was not too big,
so I made the drawing a bit lager. That's why I have written the numbers on the drawing in the
next step, and then you can check if you have the size and geometrics worked out right :)

Step 2: Outline Part One

Now we are going to make some basic outlines, these are easy to make if you use the
same measures as me.

Step 3: Outline Part Two

Ok, now this part is harder. Try to copy my work, it can be quite hard but you could try to
make a cross with your ruler, and then use these lines as guidelines. Do not move on
to the next step until you have the same outlines as me, or else the rim will not look
geometric. This is only for practice, so don't be afraid of copying my work ;)

Step 4: Start Adding Shadows

Then we have worked out our outlines and we can start adding shadows. If you wonder
what to draw first, on any of these steps, then you can watch the video. Not too much to
say about this step, just start with some HB and add a layer of graphite. Then blend it
and add darker tones to some parts. Remember to draw small outlines of the parts
that are supposed to be white (like the small round circles) and colour around them.

Step 5: The Easiest Step

This is one of the easiest steps in this tutorial. Just add more graphite, look at the photo
and copy it. Should be a no-brainer!

Step 6: The Sides of the Spokes

Now we are going to draw the sides of the spokes and making it almost pop-out of the
drawing. Make small contours of the white parts and then add graphite around them.
It's not smart to draw the shiny parts right in, its way better to use your mechanical pencil
and do some outline work first. You can see I do this all the time in the video. Then it's
no problem erasing the lines if you make a mistake. It's quite a challenge if you have
made a mistake and need to erase 4B-5B and darker graphite.

Step 7: Draw Between the Rim Spokes

Next step is to draw between the rim spokes. Here we can find small circles; you
probably need to use all the tools to make them. First outline with a mechanical pencil
or a sharp HB pencil. Then add some tone with a 2B and blend it, and then make the
real dark parts with a sharp 5B pencil. Don't worry too much about the shape of the rim
and trying to make it round.

Step 8: More Work!

Now we can fill the rim with graphite all the way to the circle we made in the first outline.
This is not too hard to do. Just draw the key parts with a mechanical pencil, and then
add the rest.

Step 9: No Outlines

This is the hardest part of the tutorial. Now we don't have any outlines like we had in the
steps before, and we are still going to make round even shapes! So now you must take
your time, if you're not steady on freehand drawing. It's always smart to start with outlining
the white parts as I have said before.

Step 10: Draw the Inside of the Rim

If you managed to do the previous step then this one will be a piece of cake! Now we
are going to draw the inside of the rim. Use a sharp HB or a mechanical pencil and
draw all the lines that are supposed to be light. They are going behind one of the
spokes, so keep straighten them up until you can see them almost flowing evenly
behind the spoke

Step 11: Now We Are Going to Draw the Tire

The tire is dark, so you need to use 4B and 5B for this. Watch the movie and see how I
colour the tire. I make the middle parts dark quite fast and then I sharpen the pencil, or
use a mechanical pencil, to draw the outer part of the tire (clean lines). If you try to colour
the whole thing right away, it probably won't be very round and even. Use time and focus
to make this right, and remember that is not very fun to erase 5B graphite! It probably
won't go away a 100 %.

Step 12: This Step Is Optional

You should of course draw the dark inside of the wheel If you want to draw the whole
car (Google 2 fast 2 furious for the whole car). However, you can choose yourself
what looks the best if you are only going to draw the rim.

Step 13: Last Step!

Go over the whole drawing again and correct mistakes and add more tones if you need.
I have added a lot of 5B graphite, and made sure that the parts that had been weakened
and smudged by my hand and paper, now has the right tones again.

Congratulation!
You have just made a chrome rim drawing!