Spooky season is upon us, so unleash your pens and pencils and let’s start ghost drawing!
Learning how to draw a ghost is a super-easy starting point for your Halloween drawings, even if you’re not hugely confident. The fact that they’re usually plain white and a simple shape means it’s just a case of getting your proportions and positioning correct.
We’ve created two tutorials to help you learn how to draw a ghost. Our first is a super easy ghost drawing which features a cartoon ghost that is easy to customise.
Our second spooky ghost drawing tutorial is a slightly more realistic sheet-style ghost, giving you the opportunity to add some simple shading and play with creating fabric folds.
No need to be a drawing pro!
Our easy ghost drawing is simple enough for everyone to try, but if you want some help take a look at our pencil drawing for beginners guide.
How do draw a ghost - easy ghost drawing tutorial
Step 1
Start by drawing a vertical line of any length.
Mark halfway, then mark halfway between the middle and the top, then mark half way between each of those two sections (so you’ve made four marks).
Step 2
Faintly draw a vertical line either side of your first vertical line, so that your parallel lines are approximately the same distance as one of the top marked sections (in this example we’ve got roughly 1cm sections).
Draw a rounded oval going from the top to the mark above the middle, with your side edges meeting your parallel lines. You want your oval to be circular and rounded rather than egg-shaped.
Step 3
Draw a horizontal line across the base of your three vertical lines, extending each end by the same distance as separating the lines.
Now draw a curved line connecting an end of your baseline to the next line along, up to the point that lines up with your one-above middle marker (in line with the base of your oval).
Repeat on both sides.
Draw a slightly curved line above your baseline.
Step 4
Draw over your outer shape in pencil, but leave the curved baseline for the next step.
Step 5
Using your vertical lines to help you, draw a wobbly line alongside the curved baseline. This doesn’t need to be perfect – in fact a bit of difference can add some charm.
If you’re struggling with this part, our wobbly line has 7 ‘humps’. Draw your edge humps first and then your centre one, then fill in the gaps between.
Step 6
Add your face details. Draw two circles for eyes in the second section from top.
If you want a classic ghost style mouth (saying boooooo!), add an oval in the section third from top.
Step 7
And you’re done! Go over your lines with a fineliner pen.
Get creative with your ghost drawing
Now it’s time to add your own creative touch. This easy ghost drawing tutorial is just a starting position, and you can now choose to alter your ghosts however you want.
Try shortening the bottom section if you don’t want your ghost to be quite so tall, or curving your vertical lines to give your ghosts a bit of movement.
Have fun experimenting with different facial expressions. You can also try different methods for your baseline too. Many cute ghost drawings use a simple wavy line, but you can also experiment with zigzags or even a sketchy line.
What lurks in the shadows
Don’t be afraid – conquer your fear with our complete guide to shading techniques.
Spooky ghost drawing tutorial
If you fancy a scarier ghost drawing, try this slightly more realistic sheet-style ghost. This tutorial is great for trying your hand at a bit of shading and playing with fabric folds without getting too complicated.
Step 1
We’ll start this tutorial in the same way as step 1 and 2 of our easy ghost drawing tutorial (but we’ll repeat the instructions in case you haven’t tried that one).
Start by drawing a vertical line of any length. Mark halfway, then mark halfway between the middle and the top, then mark half way between each of those two sections (so you’ve made four marks).
Faintly draw a vertical line either side of your first vertical line, so that your parallel lines approximately the same distance as one of the top marked sections (in this example we’ve got roughly 1cm sections).
Draw a rounded oval going from the top to the mark above the middle, with your side edges meeting your parallel lines. You want your oval to be circular and rounded rather than egg-shaped.
Step 2
Draw another parallel vertical line on either side of your three vertical lines, again making sure the width distance is the same for all vertical lines.
Draw a horizontal line across at the middle marker line, then draw a diamond joining the horizontal line with the top and bottom points.
Step 3
Starting on the oval in line with the first marker down from the top, draw a curved line down to the diamond side point and continue the curved line beyond the diamond (by approx 1cm). Repeat on the other side.
Step 4
Now we’re going to start drawing the fabric folds at the bottom of our ghost. You can use both the diamond lines and the vertical lines to help you evenly distribute your folds.
Start by bringing in your side curved lines inward at a horizontal angle (as these will be the ghosts ‘arms’).
Then continue drawing folds cascading down towards the centre. Your first outer folds start in between the two vertical lines, with the remaining inner ones starting on the lines.
Remember that fabric folds aren’t precise, so play with varying angles (e.g. between 20 - 45°), culminating in a defined point on the centre line.
Step 5
Draw two ovals for eyes slanting inwards towards the centre. These should be positioned roughly between the two centre markers in the main head oval.
Step 6
Go over your main outline in pencil to define your ghost shape.
Step 7
Now draw in curved lines slightly above your fold lines to mimic the folding fabric. You can essentially copy our drawing or duplicate the curve of the bottom folds, or get creative and try different effects – keep your eraser to hand and try different lines until you’re happy with the result.
Step 8
Add some slight shading up along the outer edge of your vertical fold lines – this will help to enhance the fold effect.
You can also add some subtle lines in various places around your ghost to help boost the fabric effect.
Step 9
Now it’s just a case of going over your drawing with a fine-liner pen (if you so desire). With our drawing, we used a thinner fine-liner to create the shading using several thin lines, but you could also achieve this with cross hatching or stippling.
If you’re filling in your fold shadows with black pen you also have the opportunity to tweak your drawing if there are any parts you’re not happy with.
In our drawing we decided to extend a shadow section in order to give the bottom of our ghost a stronger point.
You might find that adding a bit of variation to your line thickness helps to make your drawing stand out a bit more. Experiment by thickening your line with a pencil first before committing to pen – that way you can always erase it if you’re not happy.
Go big with your ghost drawing
Once you’ve mastered the basics of how to draw a ghost, why not get really creative.
Try making our cute ghost drawing even bigger on a piece of large white paper, then cut out along the outline for a super-simple ghost decoration!
Set the scene this Halloween
Can’t get enough of spooky sketches? Try our haunted house drawing tutorial on Gathered.
