doodlea.day

Wednesday, September 9

How to draw...

Turn a big U into a magnet with comic pulling power. Build two curled paper clips above the tips, reserve bright white highlights, then add two yellow sparks and streaky red-and-blue color. This 15-minute lesson practices parallel curves, open wire loops and leaving useful white space.

15 minEasy
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Handmade felt-tip drawing of a red-and-blue horseshoe magnet with two gray metal tips, two floating curled paper clips, two yellow zigzag sparks, two white arm highlights and a thin inner U-shaped bevel line.
Finished doodle About 15 minutes

Felt-tip marker mode

Let's draw a horseshoe magnet

Treat this as one playful practice round: sketch the idea loosely, simplify the shapes, then commit with confident marker outlines and bright fills.

  1. 01
    Draw the horseshoe band stage for how to draw a horseshoe magnet

    Draw the horseshoe band

    Draw a wide U with two upright sides and a rounded bottom. Turn across each flat top end and follow a smaller U inside, making one thick horseshoe-shaped band. Keep the opening wide enough for two floating paper clips.

    Marker tip: Keep the band wide enough for color; compare the spaces inside and outside the U.

  2. 02
    Add the seams and clips stage for how to draw a horseshoe magnet

    Add the seams and clips

    Draw a horizontal seam across each arm below its flat end and a short vertical seam across the bottom center of the U. Above each tip, draw a narrow loop that curls back inside itself to form a paper clip. Tilt the left clip right and the right clip left, keeping a clear paper gap above each tip.

    Marker tip: A paper clip is a long looping stroke with a smaller return inside. Leave the return open.

  3. 03
    Reserve the highlights stage for how to draw a horseshoe magnet

    Reserve the highlights

    Inside each arm, draw a narrow rounded highlight shape below the tip seam. Add a thin U-shaped inset line along the inner curve of the magnet, stopping both ends below the tip seams so the metal caps remain clear.

    Marker tip: Keep the inset line and highlights apart so each has a clear job when you add color.

  4. 04
    Add two magnetic sparks stage for how to draw a horseshoe magnet

    Add two magnetic sparks

    In the open space between the clips, draw two small closed zigzag spark shapes, one above the left tip and one above the right. Keep both sparks separate from the clip wires and leave the center opening airy.

    Marker tip: Two small sparks are enough. Their empty surroundings help the pulling motion read clearly.

  5. 05
    Handmade felt-tip drawing of a red-and-blue horseshoe magnet with two gray metal tips, two floating curled paper clips, two yellow zigzag sparks, two white arm highlights and a thin inner U-shaped bevel line.

    Fill the magnet with color

    Fill the left half red and the right half cobalt blue, meeting at the bottom seam. Leave both enclosed highlights white. Shade the tips and clip wires lightly gray, fill the two sparks yellow, and darken the narrow inner bevel with the matching red or blue. Keep visible marker strokes inside the existing outlines.

    Marker tip: Pull red and blue strokes around the bend. Leave both highlights untouched and keep the inner line visible.