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How to Draw a Trireme

12 steps · Medium · about 9 min

Draw a trireme in 12 easy 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 long ship.

Step 1: The long ship
Draw a long low boat with a flat top, a small front bump and a tall curl at the back.
Tip The back end curls forwards like a hook.
Step 2: The ram
Start low on the front edge. Draw a pointed spike forwards along the water, then back to the front edge.
Tip The ram was covered in metal for bumping other ships.
Step 3: The oar rail
Start on the front edge above the ram. Draw a long straight line along the side to the back edge.
Step 4: Mast and bar
From the middle of the deck, draw a tall pole up. Add a flat bar across near the top.
Step 5: Small square sail
Under the bar draw a sail: a straight side down, a curve along the bottom, a straight side up.
Step 6: Sail band
Draw 2 lines across the sail from side to side, with a gap between them, to make a band.
Step 7: Painted eye
Near the front, above the rail, draw 1 small oval eye with a black dot in it.
Tip Sailors painted an eye on the ship so it could see its way.
Step 8: The oars
Start on the rail. Draw 7 thin oars slanting down past the ship's bottom, each ending in a small paddle.
Tip Keep them all leaning the same way.
Step 9: The sea
Start at the left edge, under the ram. Draw wave bumps to the right edge, skipping the oars. Add 2 ripples below.
Tip The ship sits down in the water and the oars dip into the sea.
Step 10: Sail, oars and ram
Colour the sail cream above and below the band. Colour the 7 oars cream too, and the ram grey.
Step 11: Blue sea, wooden ship
Colour the sea blue around the oars. Colour the ship, pole and bar brown, around the eye.
Tip Leave the eye white.
Step 12: Red band
Colour the band on the sail red. Your trireme is ready to row!