Art Club: Draw El Castillo in 5 Steps

RT CLUB

How to Draw El Castillo in 5 easy steps.

BY BEA GARCIA

This month being the one National Day falls on, I thought we’d draw something a bit closer to home, so this month’s drawing is of the Moorish Castle (known locally as El Castillo). This impressive structure is believed to date back to the 12th century and until recent years was used as Gibraltar’s prison until the prison was relocated in 2010.

STEP 1:

Draw a square, 6cm long by 6cm high. Next to this square draw a rectangle, 1cm wide by 8cm tall. Rub out the dividing line separating your square from your rectangle. This is the bottom left hand face of El Castillo.

STEP 2:

We are now going to draw the front right face of the Castle with its iconic arch. From the top right corner of your 6x6cm square,

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

PAPER

PENCIL

ERASER

RULER

COLOURING PENCILS, CRAYONS OR PAINT (OPTIONAL)

Step 1

Step 2

draw a diagonal line 1.2cm long which slopes gently down to the right. Where that diagonal line ends draw a straight horizontal line, 0.8cm long, next to it. See the drawing for reference. Where your straight line ends draw a vertical line 5cm long. We are going to draw in one of the perimeter walls of the Castle below this right face. Where that line ends draw a rectangle which starts at the bottom left face of the Castle and extends out beyond the front right face. The rectangle should be 4cm long by 1cm high.

STEP 3:

On that same face of the Castle draw in some thin rectangular guard posts (i.e crenellations) 0.5 cm high by 0.3cm wide. For the bottom left face, draw in a thin rectangle, 0.6cm high, above your original 6x6cm square. Above that rectangle draw in thin crenellations, 0.5cm high by 0.3cm wide. Leave small even gaps between each of these crenels. Continue these crenels along the length of the left face.

STEP 4:

We will now draw in the top tier of the Castle. Above the left face draw in a rectangle 3cm long by 1.3cm high. The bottom part of the rectangle will be obscured by the bottom tier of the Castle. On the far left side of the rectangle you have drawn, draw in another rectangle above it 1cm

Step 4

Step 3

long and 0.4cm high. Next to this top left face of your castle, draw a 2cm long diagonal line. Where this diagonal line ends draw a vertical line down to the lower tier. Draw in crenellations on this rectangle only.

STEP 5:

Now to add some additional details! For the other perimeter wall of the fortress, draw in a 3.5cm sloping diagonal line which slopes away from the castle. Draw in a horizontal line 3.5cm line along the base and a 2.8cm vertical line to close off the perimeter wall. Draw in the arched doorway and add the flag pole with the Union Jack.

As a final touch why not add a splash of colour?

Step 5

We would love to see your finished entries! Tag @thegibraltarmagazine and @b_garcia_art on Instagram for a chance to be featured. We look forward to seeing them!