Why a Simple Sketch of Eiffel Tower is Still the Best Way to Learn Drawing

Everyone thinks they need to be Gustave Eiffel himself to put pen to paper and capture the Iron Lady. They're wrong. Honestly, the obsession with hyper-realism is killing the joy of art for most beginners. You see these time-lapse videos on TikTok where someone spends forty hours shading a single rivet, and suddenly, grabbing a napkin and a ballpoint pen feels like an insult to Paris. But here’s the thing: a simple sketch of eiffel tower is actually the gold standard for understanding perspective, scale, and "the lie" of architecture.

It’s just a big A.

Seriously. If you can write the letter A, you can draw the most famous landmark in the world. People overcomplicate it because they see the 18,000 iron parts and panic. They forget that at its core, the tower is a lesson in curves and triangles. When you strip away the lights and the tourists selling plastic keychains at the base, you’re left with a shape that is surprisingly forgiving to the human hand.

The Geometry of the "Big A"

Stop looking at the lattice. If you try to draw every single cross-beam, you’ll lose your mind before you even hit the second floor. Instead, think about the silhouette. The Eiffel Tower isn't made of straight lines; it’s made of four exponential curves that reach toward each other.

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The base is wide. Really wide.

I’ve seen so many people start their simple sketch of eiffel tower by drawing a narrow triangle, and it always ends up looking like a radio tower in Nebraska rather than a Parisian icon. You need that "flare" at the bottom. Think of it like a pair of bell-bottom jeans from the 70s. The legs curve inward as they go up, meeting at a point that feels almost impossibly high.

There are three main platforms. That’s your roadmap. The first one is low, the second is about halfway up, and the third is the observation deck near the top. If you get the spacing of these three horizontal lines right, the rest of the drawing basically does itself.

Why Your First Attempt Probably Looks Wonky

Perspective is a liar. When you stand at the Champ de Mars, the tower looks like it’s leaning over you. When you draw it from a photo, it looks flat. Most beginners make the mistake of making the curves perfectly symmetrical. In reality, hand-drawn art thrives on slight imperfections.

If one side is a bit more curved than the other, it actually looks more "artistic" than a perfect CAD drawing.

Leonardo da Vinci used to talk about sfumato—the blurring of edges. While the Eiffel Tower is all hard iron, your sketch shouldn't be. Using a soft 2B pencil allows you to ghost in the lines before committing. If you press too hard initially, you're stuck with a rigid, lifeless skeleton. Keep it loose. Keep it messy.

The "Grid" Trap and How to Escape It

Art teachers love grids. They tell you to divide your paper into squares and copy the image piece by piece. While that works for accuracy, it kills the soul of a simple sketch of eiffel tower. You aren't a printer. You're a human capturing a vibe.

Instead of a grid, try the "Triangle Method."

1. Draw a vertical line down the center of your page. This is your spine.
2. Draw a very wide triangle using that spine as the center.
3. Soften the sides of that triangle into curves.
4. Mark your three horizontal platforms.
5. Add the "curved arch" at the very bottom between the legs.

That arch is the part everyone misses. They draw a flat line across the bottom, but the tower actually sits on four massive masonry piers. There’s an empty space under the first floor that forms a beautiful, sweeping curve. If you get that arch right, your sketch immediately gains 50% more "Parisian energy."

Handling the Ironwork Without Crying

This is where the "simple" part of a simple sketch of eiffel tower usually goes out the window. People start trying to draw the X-bracing. Don't do it.

Instead, use "suggestive" lines.

Take your pencil and do some light zig-zags within the frame of the tower. You aren't drawing the actual iron; you're drawing the texture of the iron. If you squint at a photo of the tower from a distance, you can't see the individual bolts. You see a dark, hazy lattice. Recreate that feeling with quick, rhythmic strokes. It's about the impression, not the blueprint.

Materials That Actually Matter (And Those That Don't)

You don't need a $200 set of Copic markers.

In fact, some of the best sketches I've ever seen were done with a Sharpie on a coaster. There’s something about the permanence of ink that forces you to be confident. If you use a pencil, you'll spend half your time erasing and the other half worrying. With a pen, you just go.

If you're feeling fancy, grab some charcoal. It’s messy, sure, but it allows you to create the dramatic shadows that occur under the platforms. The Eiffel Tower is a 3D object, and shadows are what give it depth. Without a bit of shading under the first and second floors, it’s just a flat sticker on a page.

• Pencils: A simple HB for outlines and a 4B for the dark shadows.
• Paper: Anything with a bit of "tooth" or texture. Smooth printer paper makes the lead slide around too much.
• Erasers: Kneaded erasers are the best because you can shape them into a point to "pick up" highlights from the ironwork.

The Secret History of the Shape

Did you know the Tower wasn't even supposed to stay up? It was built for the 1889 World's Fair. People hated it. Writers like Guy de Maupassant reportedly ate lunch at the tower's restaurant every day because it was the only place in Paris where he didn't have to look at the "giant metal asparagus."

When you're doing your simple sketch of eiffel tower, remember that its design was purely functional. It was designed to withstand wind. The curves aren't there to be pretty; they're there to channel the force of the wind down into the ground. When you draw those curves, you're drawing physics.

This realization helps with the sketching process. Every line has a job. The taper toward the top is a response to the way wind pressure increases with height. Understanding the "why" behind the shape makes the "how" of drawing it much more intuitive.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• The "Top Heavy" Look: Beginners often make the top observation deck too wide. It should be a tiny needle point compared to the massive base.
• Ignoring the Surroundings: Don't just draw the tower floating in a void. A couple of messy scribbles to represent trees or a simple horizontal line for the horizon gives it scale.
• Perfectionism: The tower has been standing since the 19th century. It has character. Your lines should too. If a line is shaky, leave it. It adds "hand-drawn" charm that a computer can't replicate.

Putting It Into Practice: Your 5-Minute Plan

Forget about making a masterpiece today. Just aim for a recognizable silhouette.

Start with the center line. It’s your anchor. Without it, your tower will probably lean like it's in Pisa, not Paris. Once you have that vertical guide, sketch the outer curves. Focus on the "swoop."

Next, add the platforms. Remember: the gaps between them get smaller as you go up. The distance between the ground and the first floor is much larger than the distance between the second floor and the top. This "foreshortening" is what gives the tower its sense of immense height.

Finally, add the antenna at the very top. It's a small detail, but without it, the tower looks unfinished.

A simple sketch of eiffel tower is a gateway drug to urban sketching. Once you master this, you'll find yourself looking at the Arc de Triomphe or the Notre Dame spires and thinking, "Yeah, I can simplify that too."

Practical Next Steps

1. Grab a Reference: Find a photo of the tower taken from a distance (side profile is easiest for beginners).
2. The 2-Minute Drill: Set a timer and try to draw the tower using only ten lines. This forces you to identify the most important shapes.
3. Experiment with Weight: Try drawing the base with thick, heavy lines and the top with very thin, light lines. This creates an automatic sense of atmospheric perspective.
4. Share the Mess: Don't hide your "bad" sketches. They show the progression of your hand-eye coordination.

Art isn't about the final product; it's about the way you look at the world. When you sit down to draw, you see the Eiffel Tower for what it really is—a masterpiece of engineering and a perfect exercise in minimalist design.