How to Draw an Ambulance | in 10 Easy Steps

This engaging tutorial will not only teach you how to draw an ambulance, but how to enhance it with the use of background elements and color in as little as half an hour, as well! Are you ready to get started?

From bustling cities to remote rural areas, ambulances are used all over the world to transport people in need of medical attention.

They’re compact vehicles with driver cabins similar to delivery trucks, including a spacious interior in the back that can comfortably transport up to four, and sometimes even sixteen people, if necessary.

Ambulances have a nickname of their own. Known as flying doctors, these vehicles feature standard medical equipment, and they’re operated by skilled professionals to assist people while en route to medical facilities.

In ten simple steps, you can walk away from this lesson with a realistic ambulance drawing that will rival all others, so without any further ado, let’s dive right in!

What You Will Need

• A4 sheet of paper
• Pencils (HB, 2h and 3b)
• An eraser
• A ruler
• Mathematical drawing compass
• Coloring kit
• 25-30 minutes

How To Draw An Ambulance

The trick to pulling off this drawing is making sure you have the correct drawings tools at your disposal. You can use any A4 piece of paper for an ambulance drawing.

Since they are lightweight and easy to erase in the event that you make a mistake, HB pencils are an excellent choice for outlining the vehicle. Towards the end, when you’re going over each line and shape to darken the image of your ambulance, 2h and 3b will definitely come in handy.

Step 1: Draw the Driver’s Cabin

Before you start drawing, flip your paper in a landscape orientation to ensure you have enough room to draw. This ambulance sketch is done from a side angle, so a landscape orientation will provide you with room to exploit each and every detail.

Then, start by drawing a small vertical rectangle somewhere around the upper-left corner of your page. Once you are done, erase the upper-left corner of the rectangle, replace it with a curved line, and you’re all set for the next step.

• Flip your paper in a landscape orientation
• Draw a small vertical rectangle on the upper-left side of your page
• Erase the upper-left corner and replace it with a curved line instead

Step 2: Draw the ambulance body

Now that the driver’s cabin is complete, you can add the main body of the ambulance to your sketch. This is where the ambulance houses all its medical equipment, like stretchers, oxygen tanks, ventilators, cardiac monitors and more.

Due to its function, the main body is significantly bigger than the driver’s cabin. So for this step, extend the bottom line of the driver’s cabin until it’s at least twice as long. You can either freehand it or use a ruler for a neat design.

Then, add the upper part of the body and make sure it’s slightly higher than the driver’s cabin. Remember, you want the upper corners of the main body to be curved for a nice, realistic shape.

• Extend the bottom line of the driver’s cabin
• Add the top part of the ambulance’s main body
• Ensure the top corners are curved

Step 3: Draw the Ambulance Siren

Ambulances are emergency vehicles, so like police cars and fire trucks, they feature sirens to signal themselves out in traffic and get to their destinations as soon as possible.

It’s an essential item to make your drawing appear more authentic, so be sure to include this step in your sketch.

Start by drawing a thin horizontal rectangle on the straight surface of the driver’s cabin for the base of the siren.

Then, draw a semicircle above the base for the shape of the siren’s bulb. Once you’re done, you should have something that looks like this.

• Draw a thin horizontal rectangle on top of the driver’s cabin
• Draw a small semicircle above the rectangle for the bulb
• Follow the image to make sure you’re on the right track

Step 4: Draw the Ambulance Wheels

Motor vehicles would be incomplete without a pair of wheels, wouldn’t you agree?

If you’re not using the freehand method, then make sure you have a mathematical drawing compass or circular household object such as a coin or bottle cap on hand for this step.

Start by drawing two large circles for the outer rims, one across the bottom of the driver’s cabin, and one across the back part of the main body.

You want to ensure these circles are the same size for a neat look, and that half of their width stretches over the length of the vehicle.

Then, add a smaller circle within each large circle to give off the appearance of actual wheels, erase the lines of the cabin and body that cut through them, and you’re good to go.

• Use a mathematical drawing compass or circular household object
• Draw two large circles spaced apart along the bottom of the vehicle
• Add a smaller circle within each large one to resemble actual wheels

Step 5: Draw the Ambulance Windows

Let’s add some more distinctive vehicular features, like windows. Draw a horizontal rectangle inside the driver’s cabin for the front window. Remember to erase the left side and draw a curve that matches the one of the cabin.

Then, draw two small squares next to each other on the center of the ambulance’s main body for the back windows. Make sure these shapes are neatly aligned, and that they’re exactly the same size.

• Draw a horizontal rectangle inside the driver’s cabin
• Erase the top-left corner and replace it with a smooth curve
• Draw two small squares in the middle of the main body

Step 6: Draw the Bumper

The bumper protects both the driver’s cabin and the body of the ambulance from any collision by providing a barrier between the vehicle and the colliding object.

To complete this step, draw a long horizontal rectangle along the entire length of the bottom part, covering the wheels and extending past each side of the vehicle.

Then, carefully erase the lines of the driver’s cabin and main body that are visible inside the bumper. Once you are finished, erase the lines of the bumper that are visible inside the wheels.

• Draw a long horizontal rectangle across the bottom part of the ambulance
• Erase the driver’s cabin and main body lines visible inside the bumper
• Erase the lines of the bumper that overlap with the wheels

Step 7: Draw the side mirror and light

Adding a side mirror and a light is going to make your drawing ten times more realistic! Start by drawing a small vertical rectangle on the front side of the driver’s cabin for the light.

Next, draw a tiny square under the front window for the base of the side mirror. When you’re finished, add a thin vertical rectangle attached to the side of the square to resemble the mirror.

Remember that the shape should cover a portion of the front window and that you should erase the bottom line of the window visible inside the side mirror. Once all these shapes are added on, you’re cleared to carry on with the next step!

• Draw a small vertical rectangle against the driver’s cabin
• Draw a tiny square under the front window
• Draw a small vertical rectangle attached to the square for the side mirror

Step 8: Draw the ambulance logo

Your ambulance drawing is taking form and looking great! It just needs a little…something. A dash of flavor to make it stand out. What better item to add than a logo? This is going to label your vehicle for what it is without actually labelling it.

The common ambulance logo is a cross or a plus sign. This logo was invented so that ambulances all over the world are known to the public as emergency vehicles.

To complete this step, simply draw a thin vertical rectangle underneath the back windows. Place it roughly between the windows for a nice spacious effect.

Then, draw a horizontal rectangle across the middle of the vertical one. Erase the lines that intersect with each other in the center, and you should have something that looks like this.

• Draw a vertical rectangle beneath the back windows
• Draw a horizontal rectangle over the middle of the vertical one
• Erase the intersecting lines in the center of the cross

Congratulations! Your Ambulance Drawing is Complete

If you followed along with each step and completed your ambulance drawing in one sitting, then job well done! You have completed some great work today.

Take a little moment to analyze the outcome of your drawing as you give your hand a well-deserved break. Are there perhaps any shapes or lines you would like to correct?

Use the image below as a guide to do so, and then, be sure to check out the rest of the tutorial for some bonus steps and tips!

Taking Your Ambulance Drawing To The Next Level

Right now you have a great black-and-white ambulance sketch. But ask yourself this, why leave the drawing as it is when you can make it even better by adding a background and coloring it in?

Step 9: Adding a background

Most of the time, ambulances are seen within the premises of hospitals. So, we have decided to add some hospital insignia to make it more realisitic. In order for you to do the same, draw a long horizontal rectangle above your ambulance.

Inside the rectangle, write the words “hospital” and draw a cross on each end for the standard hospital logo. Then, draw a vertical rectangle extending from the left and right side of the banner to represent a column that holds up its weight.

Draw an oval shape under the wheels of the ambulance to create a shadow and make sure no line overlaps the wheels.

Finally, add some extra details on the ambulance to fill in the empty spaces, like a rectangle across the driver’s cabin and another across the main body.

step 10: Adding color

This is often considered the most fun part. Set aside your drawing pencils and grab your coloring kit. While we often encourage personalization, imagination and creativity, there are only a few colors that match real-life ambulances.

Pick up your black, gray, light gray, red, light blue and yellow colors. Work your way down from the top of your drawing to the bottom to avoid smudging any colors. Start by coloring the banner gray, and use red for the written words and symbols.

Then, color the columns on the sides with the same gray used for the banner. Color the general outline of the driver’s cabin and main body with a lighter gray, and use red on the siren, logo and extra detailing.

Be sure to color the light using a bright yellow and the windows with a light blue. Follow the image below for a guide on how to color in the rest of your vehicle.

Bonus tips

Study the techniques used when drawing an ambulance and other motor vehicles by watching YouTube videos or surveying visual learning platforms.

Make use of shading on certain parts of your sketch to create depth, like cross-hatching on the wheels, and smudging on the oval shape beneath the ambulance.

Add a back light by following the same instructions of the front light, only this time color the light with red to identify it as a brake light

Write your name and the date on your page to personalize your work and create a timestamp.

Conclusion 

There you have it, a realistic depiction of an ambulance, done and dusted. You started by drawing the driver’s cabin and main body of the vehicle, before adding distinctive details like the siren, wheels, windows and logo.

You even incorporated a background and colored in your drawing to improve its quality. Starting something from scratch is always a commendable feat, so job well done for pushing yourself to accomplish this drawing challenge.

We hope that you continue to grow as an artist and learn new techniques as you explore other drawing tutorials. Remember, good results take time, dedication and patience. From Edits101 to you, we’ll see you next time!

Thanks for reading & feel free to check out more of our articles!