When it comes to construction tools, the bulldozer is one of the most easily recognizable examples and is a key part of any building work. To help bring a construction scene to life, read on to learn how to create your very own bulldozer through the power of art.
Tutorial Video
Step-By-Step Images and Instructions
1.
Start with a gray pencil and a ruler and draw a straight line around an inch from the bottom of the page.
2.
Using the gray pencil and a drawing compass, make two circles on top of the line – one just inside the left-hand end, and the other around an inch from the end of the right-hand side of the line.
3.
Use the same tools to create two smaller circles, just inside the first.
4.
Now, make two more small circles, inside those you just made.
5.
Now, use the gray pencil and the ruler to connect the two smallest circles together at the top and the bottom, leaving you with a “safety pin” shape.
6.
Now use the gray pencil and drawing compass to make two small, curved lines inside the smallest circles.
7.
Use the gray pencil and ruler to join the tops of the curves, and then another line to connect the bottoms, creating a long, thin shape in the center.
8.
Use an eraser to eliminate all lines within the long, thin shape, so that you have an empty space in the center.
9.
Now use a gray pencil and ruler to add a straight line just beneath the top one, and another just above the bottom line.
10.
Now use a gray pencil and an eraser to add a series of straight topped bumps to the top and bottom of the overall shape, erasing the lines in between.
11.
Draw a semi-circle on each side of the shape, on the inside, between the outer and inner lines.
12.
Use the gray pencil and eraser to repeat thetopped bumps on the sides of the shape.
13.
Take the gray pencil and the ruler and add a line heading vertically upwards, one across horizontally from this, and another heading downwards. Use a shorter line at the bottom to connect the lines to the initial shape, leaving you with a “rectangle” shape, with the shape forming the bottom line.
14.
Use the tools to add another rectangle to the top left-hand corner of the larger rectangle shape.
15.
Now, use the gray pencil to cut off the top corners, leaving small triangles.
16.
Use the eraser to remove the triangles, leaving you with blunted edges.
17.
Next, use a gray pencil and ruler to add two lines emerging from the top of the large rectangle, with each of the vertical lines coming in at slight angles. Then use the tools to draw two lines inside this shape – one close to the top, the other close to the bottom.
18.
Use the gray pencil and ruler to add another rectangle, starting at the top line you just drew, and heading down to finish just below the top of the main rectangle. Then, add two strips – one on either side of the shape.
19.
Now use an eraser to remove the line at the bottom of the rectangle you just drew…
20.
Before using the gray pencil to add another small, tall rectangle to the front of the shape, just behind the cut off corner.
21.
Now, extend the line at the very bottom of the picture out slightly further to the right. Then, add another line above this, slanted at a 45-degree angle, and add a tiny horizontal line to the end of this. At the right-hand end of this horizontal line, add another slanted line at a 45-degree angle, parallel to the first, and then add another line heading up vertically. On the other side, add a parallel vertical line, and connect these at the top. You will be left with an “L” shape, with the bottom line at an angle.
22.
Now, add two lines heading up at a 45-degree angle, to the left of the “L” shape. At the end of these, add another rectangle shape.
23.
Use an eraser to remove the corners of the top left-hand rectangle, so that the shape you just drew is clear and empty.
24.
Next, use your tools to add a five-sided shape to the right-hand side of the “L” shape, with the bottom of this running alongside the bottom of the “L”.
25.
Above the five-sided shape, add another five-sided shape, emerging from the top of the first.
26.
Use the right and bottom edges of the shapes to form the sides of another shape, this one with four sides. This is the load that your bulldozer will be lifting and moving!
27.
Add another six-sided shape just in front of the pile you just created, slightly to the right.
28.
Now for some color! Grab a yellow-orange pen, and fill in the “L” shape, the main body of the bulldozer (leave the angled shape empty for now), the bottom of the main body, and the “C” shapes on the bottom.
29.
Switch to a red pen, and fill in the outside of the wheels, the section connecting the two “C” shapes, and the rectangle at the top of the slanted lines.
30.
Now use a cyan pen to fill in the rectangles at the top of the shape – these will be the windows.
31.
Now use a gray pen to add color to the rock at the front of the pile, and the smaller, separate shape. Then, add the same shade to the angled lines.
32.
Use a dark gray pen to add color to the shapes at the back of the pile…
33.
And then grab a black pen to fill in the space outside the window, the rectangle at the front of the shape, and the rest of the space at the bottom.
34.
Finally, take a black fineliner pen and use this to add an outline to the entire shape, leaving things sharp, crisp and clear. And you have completed your very own bulldozer drawing!
There is a common misconception that the first bulldozer was invented in 1904 by an American named Benjamin Holt. According to these origins, Holt was responsible for creating the machine and giving it a name – the “caterpillar”, or crawler tractor.
As with so many things however, the truth is a little more complicated. While Holt was responsible for the significant invention, it did not take the form of the bulldozer – instead, he developed an endless chain tread for his steam traction engine.
Meanwhile, engineers in England were busy converting steam traction engines to a “crawler” format, using a patent that had been granted to them by their chief engineer. While this was still rather different from the bulldozers we recognize today, it was nonetheless a closer option than that developed by Holt – the design included a method of steering which worked by controlling power to each track, as opposed to having a tiller wheel in front of the tracks – The method favored by Holt.
In 1913, the English company, Hornsby, sold their patents to Benjamin Holt – it is likely that this is the reason he gets credit for the designs and origin of the bulldozer. The question of who originally designed the bulldozer remains a topic of much discussion and debate, but what is clear is that the bulldozer blade was invented before the machine itself – early models featured a frame with a blade at the front, which was then harnessed by two mules who pushed the blade onto a heap of dirt, spreading it around, or pushing it over a bank to fill the ditch or hole. As the term “bulldozer” technically only refers to the blade, it could be said that this is the earliest possible example.
