How to draw a cathedral with a pencil step by step. Drawing a temple How to draw an old church

This lesson is quite complicated, because to draw a temple with a pencil step by step, you will need a lot of time and patience. There are a lot of small details in this drawing, which are the architectural decorations of the temple. Despite the fact that when drawing they most often do not use a ruler, we still really need it. A temple is, first of all, an architectural structure, which means its design consists of many clear and even lines. To convey them more accurately, we need a ruler.

On our website you can also learn to draw Easter cake with eggs- drawing of medium complexity and Easter drawing- a fairly simple drawing.

So, let's start drawing the main lines of the future temple with a pencil. If you doubt that you can correctly transfer the proportions onto paper, then simply measure all the lines with a ruler and transfer them in the appropriate ratio to the paper.


Now let's draw a block on top and a small narrow rectangle at the bottom. We highlight each new element in red to make it easier for you to draw each new element.

Now let's draw two rectangles on the left and right, and in the middle we need to draw several geometric shapes that will be the basis of the middle part of the temple.

We add windows - there are 10 of them and they are all in the shape of an arch; we also add elements at the very top.

In this picture we add a few more decorative elements.

Now we draw the domes - this is one of the distinctive features of temples and churches from other buildings. At the end of each dome we will draw a circle, on which we will then draw a cross.

In this step we need to draw a lot of columns. They are located both on the left and on the right, and there are also a lot of them in the center of the temple - look carefully at the enlarged hint so as not to miss anything.

We decorate the upper part of the temple with elements.

At this stage, we will draw decorative elements on each column of the temple with a pencil. We will also add one internal arch in each of the ten windows.

Well, the temple is ready. Now you can start coloring it.

Don't know how to draw a temple with a pencil or paints? This lesson will help you create this element step by step, using familiar and accessible tools - an eye, a ruler, paints and pencils!

In fact, creating such a drawing is not so easy. The whole point is that the artist will have to depict a number of elements of different sizes and shapes, the totality of which will create the unique structure of the church.

Historical reference

The period of the birth of Christianity does not tell us about modern churches, because earlier people prayed in basilicas - specialized buildings - prayer houses. During the period when Christians had to hide their faith, people prayed completely underground, often in the catacombs. The structures that are now familiar were formed only during the period when Christianity came into its heyday. Considering that the teaching talks about the church as the temple of God, it is not surprising that outwardly all such buildings differ from ordinary buildings. The main distinguishing features are domes, crosses, and an internal altar.

The cross in Christianity is a symbol of Jesus Christ, who managed to defeat death and ascend to heaven. At the same time, the domes are a symbol of heaven, where, according to beliefs, God now lives. The place where the church was built, in turn, is considered sacred, and even if the monastery of God was previously destroyed, modern descendants are trying to restore it in the same place.

Drawing an Orthodox Christian temple

It's time to learn how to draw a church. To create a drawing, you should purchase in advance

such tools and materials:

  • Whatman paper (preferably thick);
  • Wax crayons;
  • A glass for water (you can use a specialized glass - a sippy cup);
  • Natural brushes;
  • Watercolor paints;
  • Pencils;
  • Eraser.

If the building that you decide to reproduce stands on water, such as the Temple of the Intercession, you should determine the horizon line in advance and separate the land from the water. Next, you should create the outlines of the future structure and highlight the reflection in the water. All this is done using colorful wax crayons. The walls should remain white, the dome yellow, and the reflection will not be painted over. Near the main element of the design there may be vegetation - trees, shrubs, or the sun in the sky. Decorate the water surface with ripples in light blue or white tones and move on to paints.

You should work with watercolor paints easily, while applying the paint in large strokes. Mark the earth, sky, water, maintaining color balance. You should not make the sky darker than the water, and the earth lighter. You can sketch crayons with paint, because after the drawing has completely dried, they will appear.

Method No. 2

Having become familiar with architectural objects related to Orthodoxy and Christianity, some patterns become clear, on the basis of which you can quickly and easily create a high-quality drawing. A church can be drawn even without focusing on a specific real object. For example, you can take a regular sheet of paper, in A4 format, and start creating a temple from the center line in the middle of the drawing.

In order for the drawing to acquire the correct shape, you need to create a parallelepiped with a base at the bottom and a pointed top. At the top, accordingly, there will be a dome consisting of 2 inclined lines, which in turn extend from the base. Vertical lines will help create a bell tower. Once the basic lines are created, you should begin creating the semicircular elements of the dome, which are mirrored relative to the center line. The lower tier of the temple will become the end of the bell tower, and the lower part of the dome will become its ceiling.

On one side you can add half-cylinders attached to the wall. A rounded roof consisting of numerous arches will begin from them. Windows should be placed on the upper and lower tier and given an elongated shape with a rounded top. On the opposite side of the arches, draw a door.

When starting shading, pay attention to the shading of the towers and domes, windows and doors. Thanks to the correct direction and density of the shadow, the church will acquire the desired volume and come to life in the drawing. Don't forget to get rid of the sketch lines!

Reviving the drawing with color

In order for the drawing to become colorful and realistic, all details should be painted. Paint or ink is perfect for this purpose. When working with paints, you should use a brush and follow a number of rules described in other lessons, but ink can also be used with your fingers. So, first you should add some water to the mascara,

and then rub the color in the necessary places:

  • The roof and dome are yellow;
  • Walls - green;
  • We complement the space near the roof with gray color.

After drying, the drawing can be framed or presented as a gift to a friend.

    To draw a cathedral with a pencil, let’s take the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral as a basis step by step.

    Drawing an aquarium

    In the middle of the Aquarium we draw horizontal lines.

    Now draw triangles at the very top

    Adding some vertical lines

    Now let’s draw domes in triangles

    Draw the frame of the window and dome, erase the extra lines.

    We make the temple three-dimensional using shading.

    St. Sophia Cathedral is ready.

    It is quite difficult to depict a church or temple, because there are subtleties of buildings, small details, etc.

    But you can try. You need to proceed from general rules if you want to depict a church in projection. This method is well shown in the question How to draw a house. At first the technique will be the same. A schematic image, and only then drawing.

    You can look at the diagrams on the computer drawing forum, and simply draw them by hand, whichever you like best. The types may be different, of course.

    Sample image:

    With such questions, I will soon become an architect))) then give you a hut on chicken legs, then a castle... and now a church.)

    It is drawn in the same way as other buildings, but we add attributes of faith in Jesus Christ: arched windows and doors, crosses on the roofs instead of roosters, and we also need to add a dome.

    You can even draw in paint; to draw straight lines, hold down Shift, and for smooth curves, use a double-curved line.

    Here is an approximate diagram according to which I drew something similar to an Orthodox church. Or maybe even Catholic. Only the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knows what the difference is between them. Amen.

    How to draw a church step by step with a pencil can be seen in the video that I have posted below. I’ll tell you now how to do it (draw a church).

    So, first we draw a cross on a piece of paper on top (I think everyone can cope with this task), then we draw the top of the church (in other words, the dome), then from this witch’s bath 2 parallel lines down (we start drawing the lines from the sides of the dome), then we begin to draw these lines in different directions at an angle of 45 degrees. Then, stepping back a little from the edges of these lines inside the church, we again draw 2 lines down and connect them with a horizontal straight line below.

    Well, we have the silhouette of the church, now we paint the dome with wavy lines, then in the upper part of the church we draw a bell tower (we draw a semicircular window, and in the middle there is a bell), a little lower we draw a round window, on the sides - semicircular ones, and at the very bottom of the church - gates. This is how the church turned out. You can watch the video below for more details.

    I would also like to talk about this method of drawing as a pencil sketch. It is good when you draw from life (option - looking at a photo). You don't have to think about constructions, you just draw what you see.

    You can start with the base, it’s easier to maintain the proportions.

    We continue to build the building from the bottom up (as the builders built it).

    You don’t have to worry about the cleanliness of the lines; this is not required from the sketch.

    Once the building is mostly shown, you can work on the details without fear of them moving out of place.

    The level of detail depends on your visual acuity and the purpose of the drawing.

    Let's start the outline drawing. To begin with, let’s designate the domes of our temple and immediately draw a cross, since this element is the main one.

    Now let's mark the main entrance to the temple. And we will gradually begin to come up with ways to decorate the facade (the front part of our building).

    The third stage, like the first, is one of the most important. A lot will have to be done here. Let's draw small narrow windows in the upper part of the temple, under the dome. Let's shade the sky above the church, since the temple and the sky are inseparable things. And we will begin to draw elements that are called the infrastructure of the drawing - we will install two lanterns on poles in front of the temple.

    Now let's complete the drawing. This will be quite a painstaking but interesting job of decorating the building.

    Very beautiful temple draw turn out according to these drawings. Of course, this is a rather difficult task, I will say from my own experience that a ruler will make the task easier, although of course it is not correct to draw with a ruler, but all the windows and walls will be perfect. I often make such objects for various applications, I need precision.

    St. George's Cathedral is drawn with a pencil step by step quite simply, the main thing is to draw all the small details. We start with three lines.

    Let's finish drawing the rest of the base lines.

    Now we draw out small details, add shadows. text on hover

Depicting architecture requires a lot of effort. For beginners, this is not as difficult as portraits, for example. This is because painted buildings are perceived differently from people we know, and here mistakes are less visible. I will show you how to draw the Assumption Cathedral step by step. I prohibit using a ruler or any other tools that make it easier to draw straight lines! Learn to draw by hand. When your hand gains experience and confidence, you can use any techniques. Now draw the cathedral on your own!

Step one. We will show on paper the place where the cathedral and trees will be located.
Step two. We draw the main components of the building.
Step three. Let's detail each of these parts. Take your time, carefully work out every detail: crosses, domes, windows and even trees.
Step four. To make the landscape realistic, we will add a background and shadows.
Check out my other tutorials on drawing buildings, they are even better:

In the first centuries of Christianity, above-ground churches were not specially built, and believers prayed in special rooms in the houses of rich people and in buildings established for cultural events - basilicas. During times of persecution, Christians began to hide in vast dungeons - catacombs. When the persecution ended, over time the type of temple familiar to us was formed.

The temple is the house of God, where the Lord is invisibly especially present. A temple differs from an ordinary house in that it has an altar inside and a dome or domes topped with crosses outside. The dome symbolizes the sky above us, and the cross symbolizes the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over death. External signs are not necessary, this is especially clear now when new temples are being built and people pray in huts at construction sites or in the basements of unfinished temple structures.

But the altar space is what makes the temple a place for the main divine service - the Liturgy. In the altar there is a throne on which lies a special plate - an antimension, where the transformation of bread and wine into the Holy Gifts takes place. Literally, the word “antimins” is translated as “in place of the throne.” This means that such a board can be used anywhere, and the Liturgy can be celebrated even on a stump in the forest, if necessary.

You can turn to God mentally anywhere: at home and on the road, at school before a test or in line for a vaccination. But Christians attach special significance to church common prayer: according to Seraphim of Sarov, just one short prayer “Lord have mercy” in church is equal to a thousand bows performed at home.

There is an angel at the altar of any temple, and even if people have forgotten about the temple, he serves the liturgy there every day. We read in the book “The Spiritual Meadow” by Blessed John Moschus:

Abba Leonty, abbot of the monastery of our holy father Theodosius, told us: “After the monks were expelled from the New Lavra, I came to this monastery and stayed in it. One day, on Sunday, I came to church to receive the Holy Mysteries. Entering the temple, I saw an angel standing on the right side of the throne. Struck by horror, I retired to my cell. And a voice came to me: “Since this throne was consecrated, I have been commanded to remain with it inseparably.”

We know that many churches in our country were destroyed in the twentieth century. This is very sad because sanctification is not retroactive. Where stadiums, tracks and ordinary houses now stand on the site of destroyed churches, angels stand invisibly, saddened by the fact that no one prays in the holy place. And it is very good if the temple is restored in its original place or at least a chapel is erected there - a small building similar to a temple, only without an altar.

Let's get creative! For drawing, we chose the simplest temple in appearance - the Intercession of the Mother of God on the Nerl River, in the Vladimir region. Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, as it is usually called.

Now let's reveal all the secrets of technology.

So, you will need the following materials:

- white thick paper,
- wax crayons for children's creativity,
- watercolor paints,
- a sippy cup and a squirrel brush.

First you need to determine the horizon line, the boundary of land and water, and the outline of the temple. For little ones, you can make a temple template for outlining. Then more sparingly draw the reflection of the temple in the water. At this stage, the work is carried out with colored wax crayons. The temple itself is painted white, the dome is painted yellow, but the reflection does not need to be painted over. You can depict trees on the ground, the sun in the sky, and make ripples in the water in white or light blue.

This stage is of little interest because the result is practically invisible. But you have to try, the main focus is ahead! We remove the crayons, they will no longer be needed. Then you need to wet the watercolor paints and paint the sky, earth and water with large, sweeping strokes. It is important to remember that the water is always darker than the sky. An image made with crayons should not be afraid to paint over it, it will definitely appear under the magic brush!

Who knows, maybe a child drawing a temple pleases God no less than the adults who built such a temple. I wish you creative success!

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