How to Draw an Audi R8 - Simple & Realistic Step-by-Step Guide

In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to draw an Audi R8 step-by-step.

I explain every step in great detail so you can easily follow along and create your own realistic Audi R8 Drawing.

Let's get started!

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How to Draw an Audi R8?

To create a realistic Audi R8 drawing, you'll first need to find a good reference photo. Next, you sketch the outline of the car. After that, you color the car, part by part until it is fully colored. And to finish it off, you add a few details with colored pencils and a few highlights with a white paint marker.

Step 1: Look for a Good Reference Photo of an Audi R8

The first thing to do is to look for a reference photo of the Audi R8.

When browsing Upsplash this photo caught my eye, so this is the one I'll be using for the rest of this tutorial.

Step 2: Gather the Drawing Tools You'll Need for this Drawing

Next up, we need to choose what drawing supplies we're going to use.

I wanted to keep this drawing as simple as possible while still looking realistic. Alcohol markers are perfect for this.

I used the Winsor & Newton Promarkers in the colors Ice Grey 1 (IG1), Ice Grey 2 (IG2), Ice Grey 4 (IG4), Ice Grey 7 (IG7), Black (XB), and Lipstick Red (R576).

I used the Ohuhu Honolulu Markers in the colors Calamansi (Y040), Acid Yellow (Y070), Nugget (Y140), Shallow Orange Cafe (Y180), and Light Walnut (E370). I also used the Colorless Blender.

I also used Derwent Chromaflow colored pencils in the colors White, Platinum, and Black to add details to the drawing.

And I used a White Posca PC-3M paint marker to add some final highlights.

I also used an eraser, a kneaded eraser, a ruler, and an HB Pencil.

I made this drawing on A4 size Canson Illustration Manga paper.

Step 3: Sketch the Outline of the Audi R8

Now that we've gathered all the drawing supplies and the reference photo, it's time to start sketching the car.

Sketch a car can be tricky, especially if you're new to this.

To make sketching this Audi R8 a bit easier, you can use some sketching techniques like the grid method which I like to use.

If you don't know what the grid method is and how to use it, check out this tutorial I made.

To use the grid method we first need to resize the reference photo to the same size as our piece of paper. The paper I'm using is A4-sized, resulting in 3508 by 2480 pixels when converting it to pixels.

Next, I added a grid of 15 by 10.5 squares on top of the reference photo.

When positioning the car to the spot where I wanted it to be, there were 2 big white strips left on either side of the photo. I decided to fill them in with AI to make it look a bit less odd (though it's not perfect).

Next up, I recreated that same grid on my paper. Each grid line is 2 cm apart starting from the top left. This fits the paper quite well.

Use light pressure when sketching the grid to make erasing it easier later on.

Now it's time to start sketching the actual car.

I like to sketch the outer edge first.

I started by picking a line, marked where it starts and ends, and where it crosses grid lines. Then, I sketched it in one quick motion

I did this for each section of the outer edge of the car until the whole outline was complete.

Next, I sketched all the basic shapes of the car like the grills, the headlights, and the body lines.

I again marked the start and the end, and where it crosses grid lines. I also marked the corners of the parts if they had any. And then I sketched the parts one by one until I had done all the bigger shapes.

After that, I sketched all the details like the inside of the headlights and the windshield.

Then, I roughly sketched the reflections onto the body and the windows of the Audi R8.

Now all that's left to sketch are the wheels.

I started by sketching the outer rim and marking the center.

Next, I sketched the spokes. To do this I carefully looked ate the reference photo to see where each spoke starts and points towards before sketching it.

Next, I added these bits connecting each set of 2 spokes to the next one and this smaller spoke to the left of each 2nd spoke.

Lastly, I added some more details to the wheel like additional rim lines and thickness to some spokes.

And that's the sketch all done!

Step 4: Color All Pure Black Parts of the Audi R8

Next, I started coloring the Audi R8.

To make the coloring process a lot simpler, I colored all the pure black parts first.

Before I started coloring the rest of the Audi R8, I first erased the sketch lines for each part so that they wouldn't show through the ink.

Step 5: Color the Wheels of the Audi R8

Next up, I colored the wheels.

I first colored the spokes with Ice Grey 4.

Then, I colored the tires with Ice Grey 7

Step 6: Color the Shadow of the Audi R8

After that, I colored the shadow of the R8 with Ice Grey 1

Next, I used Ice Grey 4 to color in between the black and the Ice Grey 1 of the shadow.

Lastly, I blended all the greys and black to form one smooth transition.

I blended the black into the grey by coloring over the edge of the black and the Ice Grey 4  with Ice Grey 7.

Next, I blended the edge of the Ice Grey 4 and the Ice Grey 7 by coloring over it with Ice Grey 4.

After that, I colored over the edge of the Ice Grey 4 and the Ice Grey 1 with Ice Grey 1 to blend it out.

Lastly, I used the Colorless Blender to blend the Ice Grey 1 into the white of the paper.

Step 7: Color the R8 Badge and the License Plate of the Audi R8

After that, I colored the R8 badge with Lipstick Red and the license plate with Ice Grey 2.

Step 8: Color the Headlights of the Audi R8

Next, I colored the headlights.

I first colored the rotated L-shape of the left headlight with Ice Grey 4.

Then, I used Ice Grey 7 to color the remainder of the left headlight and the whole right headlight.

Step 9: Color the Side Skirt and the Air Intake Cover of the Audi R8

After that, I colored the side intake and the side skirt with Ice Grey 4.

Then, I added a dark grey line to the top of the side skirt with Ice Grey 7 and I colored most of the side intake with IG7 too, except for this reflection toward the bottom.

Step 10: Color the Rear Wing and the Door Mirrors of the Audi R8

Next up, I colored the rear wing and the left door mirror with Ice Grey 4.

Then, I colored the left 3/4 of the mirror cap with Ice Grey 7, leaving a lighter curved reflection on the top right.

I also colored the whole right mirror cap.

Step 11: Color the Side Windows of the Audi R8

Next, I colored the fuel cap with Ice Grey 2.

And I colored the side window and the panel behind it with Ice Grey 7.

Step 12: Color the Windshield of the Audi R8

After that, I color the rear window with Ice Grey 1.

Next, I colored the rest of the left 2/3 of the windshield with Ice Grey 2 except for the top and left edges.

Then, I colored the edges and the reflection on the right with Ice Grey 4.

Lastly, I used Ice Grey 7 to add some of the window reflections on the right bit and a small curved reflection in the bottom left corner.

Step 13: Color the Main Body of the Audi R8

Now that all the grey parts are done, it's time to color the main body of the car yellow.

I first colored the lightest parts including the left half of the hood, the edge above the grill and below the headlights, the roof, and the top edge of the side of the car.

To do this I used Calamansi.

Next, I colored the remainder with Acid Yellow.

After that, I added some darker yellow tones on the whole side, the lower parts of the front, and a few other bits here and there with Nugget.

Then, I added some more dark reflections on the lower front parts and I added some more intricate reflections on the side of the car with Shallow Orange Cafe.

And lastly, I added the few darkest shadows and reflections with Light Walnut.

Step 14: Add Some Details to Your Audi R8 Drawing

Now the Audi R8 is fully colored, but it's missing a lot of its details.

We're now going to add those with a white, grey, and black colored pencil.

I used the white pencil to add some details and highlights to the wheels, mark the reflections on the side window and the side of the car, and highlight panel edges ena the edge of the big reflection on the hood.

I used the grey pencil to refine the spokes, add some details to the headlights, add some reflections on the side window and the side of the car, and add some details in the relation on the right of the windshield. I also used the grey pencil to color the Audi logo on the front of the R8.

And I used the black pencil to add a few very dark details all around the car, but mainly in the headlights.

Step 15: Add Highlights to Your Audi R8 Drawing

To make the drawing pop a bit more, we need to add a few pure white highlights to the Audi R8 drawing with a white paint marker like the Posca PC-3M.

I looked at the reference photo to find all te brightest highlights and colored those on my drawing.

Step 16: Sign Your Audi R8 Drawing

Since this car has a license plate there is a nice place to add your signature to your drawing.

I did mine with the black pencils and then added some highlights with the white paint marker.

Now your Audi R8 drawing is fully finished! Mine turned out pretty great!

How did yours turn out?

Luuk Minkman

Full-Time Artist Specialized in Automotive Art

I'm an artist and I draw realistic cars with alcohol markers and colored pencils. I have been doing so for a decade. I'm sharing everything I know about drawing on this blog. On here, you can find all you need to know to learn how you can draw realistic cars and other subjects yourself. Stay updated by following me on Instagram.