Caroline
We have many ways of marking and telling time, and in years gone by people would often use an hourglass for timing various events.
These hourglasses are often ornate and beautifully decorated, and while they serve a purpose they also serve as wonderful works of art.
It can be fun to design your own beautiful hourglasses, and learning how to draw an hourglass will show you how you can do that.
You’re on the right guide to learn that, so be sure to read to the end!
We hope that you enjoy this step-by-step guide on how to draw an hourglass in 6 steps.
How to Draw An Hourglass – Let’s Get Started!
Step 1
An hourglass will typically have a frame that holds the two glass containers that contain the sand.
We will be starting with that frame in this first step of our guide on how to draw an hourglass. To begin, the top of the frame will go first. First, draw two curved lines that connect to one another for the top of the frame.
Then, add two more curved lines underneath the top of the hourglass for the base of this part of the frame.
Finally, draw two small round shapes at the corners for the top of the sides of the frame. Once you have drawn these lines you’re ready for step 2!
Step 2 – Next, start drawing the sides of the hourglass
Now that you have the top of the hourglass drawing done, we will next focus on the side supports of the frame.
These will extend down from the top round shapes that you drew in the previous step.
These will be thin support beams that hold the two sides of the frame together, but they will also be ornately detailed and will look like they are carved out of wood.
There will also be some thin, round shapes in the center of the supports for some extra detailing. You could also change the look of some of these decoration elements if you wish as well!
Step 3 – Draw the glass of the hourglass
Without the inner glass casing, an hourglass would not only not be very useful but would also spill sand everywhere!
For that reason, we will be drawing the glass casing in this step of our guide on how to draw an hourglass.
This glass casing is separated into two rounded sectioned that are connected by a thin part in the center between them.
You can draw these sections using some rounded, curvy lines coming down from the top of the frame.
There will be an empty space at the bottom of the glass casing, but we will fill that in very shortly. Once you have drawn the lines for the casing, you’re ready for step 4!
Step 4 – Now, draw the sand for your hourglass
Much as an hourglass wouldn’t work so well without the glass, it would be equally useless without some sand! In step 4 of your hourglass drawing we will add that aspect.
For the sand on the bottom half, draw a rounded shape with a thicker base that has a thin tip at the top. You can also add some dots above this tip for more sand trickling down onto it.
For the top half, add another triangular shape with a rounded top to it for the smaller clump of sand that is dropping down.
Then you can add some smaller line details to have you ready for the final details in the next step!
Step 5 – Finish off the base of the hourglass
In this step of our guide on how to draw an hourglass, we will be focusing on the base for it. The base will look like an identical mirror image of the top part that you drew all the way back in step 1.
That means that it will have two levels to it that you can draw with some rounded lines. Once you have drawn this base, you have finished all of the details in this picture!
We will be moving on to some coloring fun in the next step, but you can also keep it going with some of your own details.
Some ideas could include engraving a message or a pattern onto the frame of the hourglass.
You could also draw a background and maybe show this hourglass on a table along with some other objects.
These are just a few of an infinite amount of ideas that you could go for, so how will you finish off your hourglass drawing for the final step?
Step 6 – Finish off your hourglass drawing with some color
You’ve arrived at the final step of your hourglass drawing, and for this part you can have some fun bringing some amazing colors to it! In our reference image, we went with some golden yellow to make it look like the frame is made of gold or bronze.
Then, we used various shades of blue for the glass and then used some yellows for the sand.
These are the colors that we chose, but this is your drawing and you should feel free to use any colors that you like!
You can also experiment with various art tools and mediums to bring the colors to life, so there are lots of ways that you can get creative with finishing off this drawing.
Here’s how you can make your hourglass drawing even better…
Spend some time making your hourglass sketch even more amazing!
The design we created for this hourglass sketch is a really classic one, but they can come in so many different variations. You could create one of your own by changing just a few of the details.
These could include the frame of the hourglass, but it could be the shape of the glass itself. That is just a few of the changes you could make, but how else could you customize this hourglass?
Another way to improve your hourglass drawing even further would be by adding some other objects beside it. An hourglass is something you don’t usually see every day, so you could choose some unusual objects to go beside it.
These could include objects such as an old telephone, a compass or maybe an antique globe. If you have some unusual objects in your house, then you could use them as inspiration for additions to your artwork!
What objects do you think you would like to add to this?
Hourglasses are often used as a symbolic object that represents time, so you could use this drawing of an hourglass for a more stylish composition.
There are many different ways that you could do this. One would be to use a more stylistic background to create a scene that shows what an hourglass means to you.
It would also be an interesting image to use in a greeting card for someone you care about. What other uses can you think of for your hourglass?
Finally, when it comes to adding color to your hourglass sketch you should feel free to also use some interesting crafts. Once you have added colors using your more conventional tools, you could experiment with something more unusual!
For instance, you could put a layer of glue over the sandy portions of the hourglass. Then you can buy some fine sand or even use some glitter to sprinkle over it to give it some texture.
What other fun crafts could you use for this drawing?
Your Hourglass Drawing is Complete!
You have completed all six steps of this guide on how to draw an hourglass!
We aimed to make it so that this drawing wouldn’t be difficult or frustrating for you to take on by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
Hopefully we succeeded in this goal for you!
Now that you have completed this drawing, you can take it even further with your own details.
We went over a few ideas that you could try earlier in the guide, but this is your chance to get creative with it and put your own spin on it.
When you are ready to draw another awesome picture, we hope you will visit our website where we have tons of guides for you to enjoy. Be sure to visit often to never miss out!
We would also love to see how you completed this hourglass drawing, so when it’s done please be sure to share it on our Facebook and Pinterest pages!
