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This article was reviewed by Kelly Medford. 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 fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
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Soccer balls are fun to play with but can be unfamiliar to draw. The traditional soccer ball is made from two flat shapes, pentagons and hexagons. A pentagon, of course, is a five-sided polygon, while a hexagon has six sides. The instructions here will help you to understand how a soccer ball looks so you can draw one. Let's begin!
Steps
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![Step 1 Draw a circle.]()
Draw a circle.[1] -
![Step 2 Draw perpendicular lines bisecting each other at the centre.]()
Draw perpendicular lines bisecting each other at the centre.[2]Advertisement -
![Step 3 Draw a modest-sized hexagon at the centre of the circle to form the first guide to the shape of the ball.]()
Draw a modest-sized hexagon at the centre of the circle to form the first guide to the shape of the ball.[3] -
![Step 4 Join further slightly squeezed hexagons from three alternate sides of the hexagon.]()
Join further slightly squeezed hexagons from three alternate sides of the hexagon.[4] -
![Step 5 Fill the gaps with lines meeting on the perpendicular lines to form three pentagons.]()
Fill the gaps with lines meeting on the perpendicular lines to form three pentagons. -
![Step 6 Attach nine small joining lines to complete the guides to form the shapes of the ball.]()
Attach nine small joining lines to complete the guides to form the shapes of the ball.[5] -
![Step 7 Based on the guides, draw curved lines to enhance the realistic shapes of the sphere.]()
Based on the guides, draw curved lines to enhance the realistic shapes of the sphere. -
![Step 8 Clean-up all earlier guides.]()
Clean-up all earlier guides. -
![Step 9 Color the ball applying shades and a drop-shadows.]()
Color the ball applying shades and a drop-shadows.
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![Step 1 Create a circle.]()
Create a circle. -
![Step 2 Make two hexagons and a pentagon on three corners of the ball.]()
Make two hexagons and a pentagon on three corners of the ball. -
![Step 3 Start joining more shapes to the earlier shapes.]()
Start joining more shapes to the earlier shapes. -
![Step 4 Complete drawing all shapes of the ball joining each other.]()
Complete drawing all shapes of the ball joining each other. -
![Step 5 Make a couple of overlapping ovals at the top of the circle to form the shapes of the eyes.]()
Make a couple of overlapping ovals at the top of the circle to form the shapes of the eyes. -
![Step 6 Insert a smaller oval each inside the above-made eyes to form the eye-balls.]()
Insert a smaller oval each inside the above-made eyes to form the eye-balls. -
![Step 7 Draw a smile of the ball-character at the base of the ball below the eyes.]()
Draw a smile of the ball-character at the base of the ball below the eyes. -
![Step 8 Make three vertical lines within the shape of the smiling mouth joining the top and bottom edges to form the teeth.]()
Make three vertical lines within the shape of the smiling mouth joining the top and bottom edges to form the teeth. -
![Step 9 Draw a couple of paddle-shapes to create the feet of the ball-character detached from the circle.]()
Draw a couple of paddle-shapes to create the feet of the ball-character detached from the circle. -
![Step 10 Join a couple of tube-like shapes on each side of the ball to form the arms of the character.]()
Join a couple of tube-like shapes on each side of the ball to form the arms of the character. -
![Step 11 Add further lines to the tubes to indicate the hands.]()
Add further lines to the tubes to indicate the hands. -
![Step 12 Complete the drawing of the gloved fists.]()
Complete the drawing of the gloved fists. -
![Step 13 Join further regular-shaped tubes joining the bottom of the ball to the paddle-feet to form the legs of the character.]()
Join further regular-shaped tubes joining the bottom of the ball to the paddle-feet to form the legs of the character. -
![Step 14 Add eye-brows on top of the eyes slightly edging out of the circle and spikes on the shoes with a line for the soles as well.]()
Add eye-brows on top of the eyes slightly edging out of the circle and spikes on the shoes with a line for the soles as well. -
![Step 15 Add the shoe-laces and color the ball-cartoon.]()
Add the shoe-laces and color the ball-cartoon.
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![Step 1 Draw a circle.]()
Draw a circle. -
![Step 2 Create a pentagon with an inclined axis at the centre of the circle.]()
Create a pentagon with an inclined axis at the centre of the circle. -
![Step 3 Draw five straight lines from the five vertices of the pentagon.]()
Draw five straight lines from the five vertices of the pentagon. -
![Step 4 Join a couple of lines each from the five earlier lines drawn.]()
Join a couple of lines each from the five earlier lines drawn. -
![Step 5 Join the five open edges to complete the shapes.]()
Join the five open edges to complete the shapes. -
![Step 6 Join short lines to edges of the circumference to complete forming all the lines of the soccer ball.]()
Join short lines to edges of the circumference to complete forming all the lines of the soccer ball. -
![Step 7 Finally, color the soccer-ball.]()
Finally, color the soccer-ball.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
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Draw large figures. Small ones will look unrealistic and misplaced.Thanks
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A good way to shade is to lightly shade in your shadowed area with pencil, and then use your pinky finger to smooth out the color.Thanks
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Traditional soccer balls have black pentagons and white hexagons, but you can mix up the styles and colors for your own unique design.Thanks
Tips from our Readers 
- Use colored pencils when coloring in the soccer ball. You can use them to add shading to the drawing.
- Take your time. Sketch your lines lightly at first so you can erase them easily if you mess up.
Warnings
- Avoid drawing the shapes too small; they should take up a good amount of space on the ball.Thanks
- Be sure that you aren't smudging your drawing.Thanks
- Don't make the pentagon too big or else the soccer ball won't look goodThanks
- Don't draw darkly at first, just sketch it out your first try. You can fill out the lines after you finish.Thanks
- If you are finished and it is so not perfect give it another go!Thanks
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Drawing utensil (Black pen, pencil, marker, etc.)
- Eraser (for pencils)
References
About This Article
To draw a traditional soccer ball, draw a circle and put a pentagon in the center of it. Then, extend 1 straight line from each of the five vertices of the pentagon, and connect those lines with 3 lines each to form 6 hexagons. Next, join 2 corners of each hexagon to the circumference of the circle using short lines to complete the pattern. Finally, color all of the pentagons black while leaving the hexagons white to make it look realistic. Keep reading to learn how to draw a cartoon soccer ball!
Reader Success Stories
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"I found this tutorial on Pinterest. I like the hexagon. Anything hexagon is interesting to me. I had a lot of fun drawing the soccer ball. Im going to draw more and other balls."..." more
