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How to Draw a Chess Board
Draw a chess board in 12 steps, about 9 minutes. Free, with a printable worksheet.
Each picture adds one red line. Draw that line, then scroll to the next picture. Rub out any dashed helper lines at the end. First up: the board.
Step 1: The board
Draw a big square in the middle of your paper for a corner of the chess board, seen from above.
Tip We draw just a 4-by-4 corner, so the pieces can be big.
Step 2: The king
Draw a big king on the left: knob, ball head, collar, then a stem flaring to a wide base.
Tip The pieces stand up even though we see the board from above.
Step 3: The king's face
On the ball head draw 2 round eyes with dots and shines, a smile, and a cheek each side.
Step 4: Cross and collar
On the knob draw a thick cross. Draw 2 curved lines across the collar and 2 across the base.
Step 5: A pawn
Right of the king draw a pawn: ball head, collar, stem and wide base, with a line across the collar.
Step 6: Lines down
Draw 3 straight lines from the board's top to its bottom, evenly spaced, making 4 columns. Skip the pieces.
Tip Lines stop at a piece and carry on below it.
Step 7: Lines across
Draw 3 straight lines from the board's left to its right, evenly spaced, making 4 rows. Skip the pieces.
Step 8: Shadows
Under the king's base draw a flat oval shadow, and a smaller one under the pawn. Rub out lines inside.
Step 9: Cream king, yellow cross
Colour the king cream around the eyes and cheeks, and the cross yellow. Leave the eyes white.
Step 10: Pink cheeks, grey shadows
Colour the king's cheeks pink and both shadows light grey.
Step 11: Dark squares
Colour every other square brown, starting at the top row's second square. Go around the pieces and shadows.
Tip Brown squares only touch each other at the corners.
Step 12: Slate pawn
Colour the pawn slate grey. Go over your lines and your chess board is done!
Your finished drawing
Follow the steps above and this is where you end up: a chess board, drawn by you.
Every step in one picture
