How to Draw a Ghost in Pencil Step by Step
Have you ever wanted to draw a ghost in pencil and weren’t exactly sure where to start? Let me tell you, if you know how to draw the alphabet, you can draw a ghost! I have a super easy tutorial for you how to draw a ghost in pencil step by step instructions that is easy for beginners or kids to follow! To get started, you don’t need a lot of art supplies, just need a pencil and paper to make this easy ghost doodle just in time for Halloween!
How to draw an easy ghost drawing
We are going to draw a classic sheet ghost. Drawing a basic cute little ghost is so much easier than you think! There is a printable template (and art printable!) you can also trace below at the bottom of this post. If you are going to draw this in pencil on paper, you can follow the same steps below. If you master the ghost drawing and want to take it a step further, check out this tutorial of how to paint a ghost on an old thrift store painting.
To practice, start by drawing the ghost’s outline first with a pencil. If you want to make this more of a ghost illustration, use fine line black markers to go over your lines after you complete your drawing and erase your pencil marks. You’re going to find this is so easy!!! A ghost is basically an upside-down u-shape. Draw the top of the ghost as a tight curved line “U” and make straight lines down to the bottom. You can flair them slightly out if you want to leave the bottom of your ghost’s body fairly straight.
To create the bottom, if you want to make it look like it’s a floating sheet, make the hem of the sheet uneven. Draw a wavy line and any area there the line is higher up, use two vertical lines to create the effect of a draped sheet effect like there are creases in your drawing of a ghost.
Shade in the creased lines on the edges with pencil to add some depth. You can use your fingertip to lightly blur the pencil lines and give it a softer look.
Make your pencil ghost look like it’s floating
To give your ghost the gift of levitation, lightly shade in a bit of an abstract blob underneath the ghost. It can be any round-ish shape, just make sure it doesn’t touch the bottom hem of the ghost’s sheet. As long as it’s detached it will give that sense of flotation ghost look.
Once you have your ghost’s outline illustration drawn, you’ll want to decide what type of ghost you want to make? It’s all in the eyes. The eyes are the facial features that tell the story. I decided to make a cute ghost, so the eyes are ovals. To give it a sense of direction, make the ghost eyes more on the left side or the right side. Important tip: When making ghost faces, which ever direction they are looking make that eye smaller than the other. It will give a sense of perspective. There is a printable below of different shape ghost’s eyes you can copy when try to create expressions. I opted on mine not to do the classic open mouth, but you can certainly add it!!!
Since the eyes are everything, along with the template below I’ve added a drawing of a few types of eyes you can try. Each one will give the ghost a different emotion and look. Angry, sad, concerned, spooky, scared. You can make a friendly ghost or a scary ghost! Have fun and create your own fun character!
Have fun with your creativity! You can make all kinds of fun things with your spooky drawing! Make a sticker using the packing tape method, a Halloween greeting card, or even Halloween decor!
