How to Draw a Realistic Anatomical Human Heart

To draw a realistic human heart, start by making a shape like the bottom half of an acorn. This will form the main part of the heart. For extra realism, draw this shape so it’s tilted slightly to the left. Next, add a rounded bump to the top left side of the heart, which will represent the right atrium. While this might seem backwards, remember that you’re drawing the heart in anatomical position, so the heart’s right is on your left. This shape should extend about halfway across the top of the heart. Make a large tube coming out of the top of the right atrium. This tube is called the superior vena cava. Depending on how much of it you’d like to draw, you can either make it a short single tube, or go a little further and draw the two main branches forking out of it to make the right and left brachiocephalic veins. Next, draw a large tube in the shape of an upside-down U extending out of the heart to the right of the right atrium. Make it a little wider than the superior vena cava. This large blood vessel is called the aorta. If you want to get extra detailed, add 3 smaller tubes extending out of the top of the aorta. Finally, make a third large tube, called the pulmonary artery, wrapping around behind the aorta on the left and in front of it on the right. Once you’ve sketched in the main shapes, go back and fill in little details, like the spaces between the tubes and the blood vessels and fatty tissues wrapping around the main body of the heart. You can also color in the heart in shades of red and blue, or add labels to identify the different parts of the heart or show the directions of blood flow into and out of the heart.