How to Draw a Soccer Ball [6-Step Guide]

The game of soccer is brought to life by the soccer ball.

It represents the beauty of the sport pretty well and many people love to illustrate soccer’s memorable moments by drawing this spherical object, be it on a piece of A4 paper or on a much larger canvas.

Funnily enough, replicating the design of this iconic object is by no means an easy feat!

Which is why we’ve decided to produce a detailed guide that outlines the sequence of steps that one would need in order to draw one correctly.

What materials do you need to draw a soccer ball?

For this task, you’ll need to equip yourself with the following items:

• A piece of paper;
• A pencil;
• A ruler;
• A drawing compass;
• A rubber (to erase any beginner mistakes); and
• A pencil sharpener

Steps to drawing a soccer ball the right way

Now, let’s get down to business.

1. Draw a circle

The first and most obvious step is drawing a circle.

In order to get a perfectly spherical shape, you would need to take your drawing compass and make a circular outline.

So, get your paper and lay it down on a smooth surface, which could be your own office desk or dining table.

Like so:

Then proceed to use the drawing compass to make the circular shape.

Now this can be a bit confusing if you’ve never used one before, so just keep on reading to get a handle on this process.

Clip your pencil into the circular attachment that comes with the compass and rotate the pencil around the sharp point which would be the reference for the circle’s center.

It looks like this:

You can decide how large you want your circle to be by extending the distance of the pencil from the sharp point.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a drawing compass at your disposal, you can simply use a round object to draw the circle instead.

In my case, I’ve used a play bucket.

Here’s how the finished circle should look like:

Once you’ve got your circle ready, you can proceed to the next step.

2. Draw a hexagon in the center of the circle

Now, you need to draw a six-sided hexagon shape right in the middle of the circle that you’ve just outlined.

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Which of the following locations is most suitable as a storage area for a soccer ball?

Bedroom closet

Car trunk

Garage

Outside in the garden

What function does the bladder contained within a soccer ball perform?

Secure the outer cover of the ball

Bond together the different components of the soccer ball

Provide structure, stability, and shape retention to the ball

Air retention

What soccer ball bladder type offers the best air retention?

Carbon latex bladder

Butyl bladder

Natural latex bladder

Which of the following surfaces is most suitable for play with a soccer ball?

Hardwood floor in an indoor soccer arena

Asphalt

Concrete

Natural grass or synthetic turf pitches (i.e. 3G and 4G)

Which soccer ball bladder type offers the best touch and bounce response?

Butyl bladder

Latex bladder

Which of the following materials is used to produce the the highest quality of outer covering for a soccer ball?

Synthetic leather with a polyurethane coating

Polyvinyl carbonate

What set of criteria does FIFA use to evaluate the performance of soccer balls? Tick one box

Water absorption, shape retention, ball weight, circumference and bounce responsiveness

Bounce responsiveness, acclimatisation, durability and mass

Ball speed, circumference, air retention and size

Ball weight, air retention, pre-compression and deformation

What is the best way to know if a soccer ball is properly inflated?

Bouncing the ball from a height of 80 inches to see whether it reaches a rebound height of between 45 and 65 inches

Squeezing the ball using one's fingers; pressing certain parts of the ball with enough force to see whether the shape holds true.

Using an air pressure gauge to measure the exact PSI or bar level of the soccer ball

What are the air pressure requirements for a size 5 soccer ball?

Less than 6 PSI

Between 8.5 PSI and 11.6 PSI

Between 6 PSI and 8 PSI

Why should you store a soccer ball between uses? Select the most likely reason.

To safeguard against theft

To ensure that temperature fluctuations are kept in check

So that other people can easily access it when needed

Which of the following soccer ball specifications is of the highest quality? Tick one box.

International Match Standard

FIFA Quality Pro

FIFA Basic

FIFA Quality Inspected

When inflating a soccer ball, what lubricant can you use to ease the entry of the pump needle in the valve?

Water

Canola oil

Glycerine oil

Vinegar

Is a person permitted to take a soccer ball on an aircraft? Select the correct answer.

No. Because the soccer ball would burst.

Yes. A soccer ball can be carried on an aircraft in either an inflated or deflated state.

Yes. Although the ball must be transported in a deflated state.

What is the most important part of soccer ball storage?

A dry and well ventilated room temperature location

No exposure to rain or water

Full deflation of the soccer ball

Partial deflation of the soccer ball

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It shouldn’t be too difficult.

Grab your ruler and use your pencil to draw a modestly-sized hexagon in the circle’s center, as this will be the first guide to the final shape of the ball.

3. Draw additional hexagons from three alternate sides of the original

The next step involves replicating the original hexagonal shape that’s present in the center of the circle.

What this looks like is as follows:

So, what’s been done here is three additional hexagons have been added within the circle.

One to the left of the original hexagon, one to the right of the original hexagon as well as one below the original hexagon shape.

4. Fill the gaps with lines to form three pentagons

Yep, that’s right!

Hexagons aren’t the only shape that you see on a traditional black and white soccer ball.

You’re now going to draw lines in the spaces between each hexagonal shape so that you form pentagons as a result.

Like this:

Pentagons, as you know, have a total of five sides, so they won’t look the same as a hexagon shape upon further inspection.

So, your end result should be similar to the picture you see above.

5. Attach joining lines to complete the panel shapes

This part of the process is relatively straightforward.

What you need to do here is draw small lines from each of the pentagonal and hexagonal corners so that you get the completed panel shape of the soccer ball.

Like this:

That does look like an actual soccer ball now, doesn’t it?

6. Color in the panels

Finally, you’ll want to give the soccer ball a bit of personality by including some color.

Coloring in your soccer ball really lets you express your own style and creativity, as using different shades allow you to impart your own unique style on the final design.

You can do this any way you like, but for the instructional purposes of this guide, we’re simply going to use the pencil we have to apply black shade to some hexagonal spots.

So, there you have it!

If you decide to take things a step further, you can add some drop shadows to give the ball more of a three-dimensional look.

Or even better, you could decide to incorporate some flecks of brown onto the white colored panels of the ball to give it a more realistic look, as these objects do tend to get muddy and murky from time to time.

Conclusion

By following the aforementioned steps, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a really good soccer ball drawer.

The process certainly isn’t as easy to accomplish as the final process looks, so take your time with it.

Before you go, we’ll leave you with a short video which presents a different method for drawing a soccer ball.

Take a look here:

Those visuals should provide you with an alternative should the method we’ve outlined in the article pose any challenges, however unlikely that may be.

With that said, you can check out some of our other guides pertaining to soccer balls, such as:

• How to catch a soccer ball easily;
• Punting a soccer ball correctly;
• Taking care of a soccer ball the right way;
• The soccer ball sewing process;
• Guide to deflating a soccer ball;
• How to clean a soccer ball properly;
• Recommended pressure guide for soccer balls;
• How soccer balls should be pumped up / inflated; and
• Storing a soccer ball correctly

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Samuel Waihenya

CEO & Digital Publisher at Cosy Content Limited

Samuel Waihenya is 27 years of age and has been watching, discussing, as well as playing soccer for well over 10 years.

With a solid educational background in business management, the Soccer Whizz website is his first foray into the digital web space and it has been created with the intention of providing the absolute best soccer content for its readership.

Have a read through Samuel Waihenya's author bio page here.

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