Alright so yesterday I was just sitting around, feeling bored, and decided, hey, why not try drawing some creepy stairs? Sounds simple enough, right? But man, my first few tries looked like total garbage. Flat, boring, nothing spooky about them. Like a toddler drew ’em. So I messed around with some stuff, kept trying different things until it finally clicked. And guess what? Found a super easy way anyone can do it, even if you think you suck at drawing.
Here’s what worked for me:
First thing I did was grab my junk drawer sketchbook – the really cheap one, you know? Just grabbed whatever pencil was lying around, sharpened it kinda crappy. Didn’t even bother with a fancy eraser, just used that crummy one smudging everything. Found a ruler hiding under some bills – thank god, ’cause trying to draw straight lines freehand? Disaster. Round #3 or so proved that. Oh, and needed something for shading. Just dug up an old stub of soft graphite pencil I almost threw out last week.
So here’s the simple 5-step play-by-play of what actually worked:
The Steps I Actually Used
Step 1: Start with a basic shape, but tilt it.
Just drew a simple rectangle lying flat for the top step. Didn’t worry about perfection. But then, instead of stacking another rectangle straight under it like stairs normally look, I tilted it weirdly. Kinda slanted it backwards and a bit to the side? It felt wrong, honestly. But I kept it.
Step 2: Sketch the “Vanish” Point Up High & Link It.
Here’s where I totally winged it. Stuck a dot way up high near the top of the page – not where vanishing points usually go, felt too high up. Then, used the ruler like it owed me money. Drew lines from the edges of my tilted step down towards that point high above. Aimed kinda messily. Lines overlapped, some were thicker… looked chaotic.
Step 3: Draw the First Few Steps Deep Inside.
Way down where my ruler lines got super close together near the vanishing point, I drew a couple of really small rectangles nestled inside the ‘V’ shape I’d made. They looked too deep, too cramped. Like the stairs were disappearing down a scary hallway throat or something. I leaned into that feeling.
Step 4: Destroy the Grid with Uneven Mess.
Forget symmetry. I made each new step slightly off from the last. The vertical rise part (the riser) – made some tall and skinny, some short and fat, or missing altogether. The flat tread part – some deep, some shallow, warped looking. Didn’t measure any spacing. Just scribbled them in quick and dirty. This part felt dumb but actually started looking creepy.
Step 5: Embrace the Shaded Void.
Finally, I took that soft graphite stub and went dark. Not all over! Rubbed it hard to get a thick, messy smudge. Shaded the crap out of the area around that deep center point where the small steps vanished – made it look like a dark hole you could fall into. Let the lines fade into blackness. Left the top step lighter. Went heavy under the treads for thick, unnatural shadow lines. Made some corners look grimy. Smudged everything until it looked old and neglected.
And you know what? I stepped back, and damn. It looked unsettling. Like stairs leading down somewhere you definitely don’t wanna go. Not perfect, lines were messy, but the overall feeling was there. Best part? No fancy skill needed. Just tilting, vanishing way high up, drawing uneven steps quickly, and chucking a bunch of messy darkness into the hole. If my clumsy butt can get that vibe, anyone can. Give it a go! Feels cool when it clicks.
