A bubble tea truck, straw as tall as a lamp postA cup on the roof with dark dots at the bottom and a wide straw sticking out at a slant.
A crepe truck with a round hot plate in the windowA flat disc with a thin circle of batter on it and a spreader lying across like a clock hand.
A cupcake van with a cherry for a roof lightRound off every corner of the van and give the roof a wavy line of frosting.
A donut truck with a ring for a roof signOne huge ring with a wavy edge of icing and a scatter of short sprinkle lines.
A dumpling truck with steamer baskets in the windowRound baskets in a stack, each a short cylinder with a woven lid. Steam leaks from between them.
A grilled cheese truck painted with a long cheese pullTwo halves of a sandwich at opposite ends of the truck, joined by sagging strings.
A lemonade trailer with a striped awningA small box on two wheels with a tow bar at the front. Half a lemon makes the sign.
A noodle truck trailing steamA big bowl on the roof with chopsticks through it. The steam curls back as if the truck is moving.
A pancake truck with syrup running down its sideFive flat ovals in a pile on the roof. The syrup runs over the edge and down the side of the truck.
A pizza truck with an oven chimneyA short pipe pokes through the roof, and a round oven mouth glows behind the window.
A popcorn wagon on big spoked wheelsA glass box on a cart with a heap of popcorn inside. Draw the kernels as small clouds.
A pretzel cart with a rack of twists on hooksA box on two large wheels with a push handle. Each pretzel hangs as a knot with three holes.
A soft-serve truck topped with one leaning coneA box on wheels, a serving window, and one cone on the roof whose swirl leans a little.
A taco truck with a giant taco on the roofThe taco is a folded half circle taller than the cab. Fill it with zigzag lettuce and round slices.
A waffle truck with a grid down its sideCover the side in squares like a waffle. The window sits in the grid like one missing square.
Parts to draw 15
A cutout roof sign on two postsDraw the food the truck sells as a flat shape, big enough to see from far away.
A food truck in plan view, roof and awningA long rectangle with a vent, a hatch and the back of the roof sign. The awning sticks out on one side.
A hand passing a paper cone out of the windowCrop in close: the window frame, one arm and the cone. The customer is only a pair of reaching hands.
A menu board with a small picture on every lineA tall board with three or four lines of lettering, each starting with a drawing of the dish.
A rolled-up awning and its crank handleA striped tube under the roof edge. The crank is a thin rod with a bend and a loop at the bottom.
A tip jar and a counter bellA jar with a paper label and a few coins, beside a dome bell with a button on top.
An A-frame chalkboard out on the sidewalkTwo boards hinged at the top. Letter one special on it in white and add an arrow toward the truck.
The back step and one wheel, close upA metal step with a ridged top hangs below the door. The tire fills the lower corner of the page.
The driver's cab from the frontA wide windshield, two side mirrors on stalks, two headlights and a bumper. Keep left and right matching.
The order shelf with napkins and sauce bottlesA narrow ledge under the window. Line up a napkin box, two squeeze bottles and a jar of forks.
Paper trays in a stack and a cup of wooden forksThe trays nest, so only their rims show. The forks fan out of the cup at different heights.
Party lights sagging from roof to awning poleOne sagging line with a bulb at every dip. Put a small ring of glow round each bulb.
The roof vent and a small spinning capA square hatch tilted open and a short pipe with a domed cap. Three curved lines show it turning.
The serving hatch with its flap propped upThe hatch is a wide window. Its flap lifts up and out on two arms to make a roof over the customers.
The side door open, kitchen showing insideA tall dark opening with a counter edge, a hanging ladle and a shelf of stacked tubs just visible.
Design your own 15
A double-decker food truck with seats on topKitchen downstairs, tables upstairs and a spiral stair at the back. Add a railing round the roof.
A food boat tied up at a dockThe same serving window, but in the side of a flat boat. Customers stand on the dock.
A food truck for petsPut the serving window at knee height and draw the menu in pictures, since the customers cannot read.
A hovering food truck with no wheelsSwap the wheels for glowing pads and leave a shadow on the ground to show the gap.
A mascot to ride on the roofTurn the food into a character with arms, legs and a wave. Keep it simple enough to draw again.
A three-item menu with a portrait of every dishThree is enough to fill a board. Draw each dish in the same style and give it a name.
A tiny food stand built onto a bicycleA box over the front wheel with a lid that opens into a counter. An umbrella clips to the handlebar.
A truck built in the shape of its own foodPick the food first, then stretch it until a window and four wheels fit. A long food suits a long truck.
A truck that makes one fruit five waysChoose the fruit and paint the whole truck its color. List the five things on the board.
A truck that sells only breakfastDecide the three things on the menu, then decorate the truck with the biggest one.
A uniform for your truck's crewAn apron, a hat and a name tag in the truck's two colors. Put the truck's mark on the apron pocket.
A wrapper and a cup printed with your patternInvent a small repeating pattern from your mark and wrap it round both shapes.
One truck tried in three color schemesTrace the same outline three times. Use two colors each time and choose the one that reads from far off.
Your truck turned three ways on one pageLine up the three views so the roof and the wheels sit at the same heights in each.
Your truck's name, stretched from wheel to wheelMake up a name of one or two words and letter it along the side so it fills the space.
The scene 15
A customer leaving the truck with three full traysThe trays stack up the arm and tilt a different way each. Eyes fixed on the top one.
A dog waiting under the order shelfThe dog looks straight up. From the customer there is only a pair of legs and a dropped crumb.
A map of a food truck park from aboveTrucks are rectangles round the edge, tables are small squares in the middle. Label each truck by its food.
A row of trucks along one side of a fairgroundEvery truck is a different color with a different roof sign. Overlap them so only the first is whole.
A small child on tiptoe at the truck's counterOnly the fingertips and the top of a head clear the shelf. A grown-up hand steadies the cup.
A truck on an empty road at sunriseA long low horizon with the truck small and off to one side, its roof sign catching the first light.
Closing time: flap down, sign carried inThe window is shut and dark. One person carries the chalkboard toward the door under a streetlight.
Customers sheltering under the awning in the rainSlanted rain everywhere except under the flap. Puddles on the ground mirror the lit window.
The line at the window on a hot daySix people seen from behind, each shorter on the page than the one in front. Give one of them a sun hat.
One truck under a tree with one customerThe tree throws a patch of shade over the truck. Keep the rest of the page nearly empty.
Picnic tables by the trucks, under strings of lightsTables shrink toward the back. The lights cross above them in long sagging lines.
Sparrows hopping after crumbs beside a food truckSmall round birds at different angles, one in the air. A truck wheel and a table leg frame the view.
Three trucks glowing at a night marketDark sky, dark ground and three bright windows. The light spills onto the people standing closest.
Two trucks side by side with rival signsEach sign is a little bigger than the other. The cooks lean out of their windows to look.
The view from inside, looking out at the lineThe window is a bright rectangle full of faces. Inside, the counter and your own hands are in shadow.
How it works
These food truck drawing ideas are starting points for a design-your-own-truck project: trucks by what they sell, the parts every truck has, design tasks and street scenes. Every truck is made up.
Read the full guide
A food truck is a box with a window
Draw a long box on wheels with a smaller box at the front for the cab. Cut a wide serving window into the side and prop a flap up over it. The rest is decoration: a sign on the roof, a menu board, a string of lights.
Designing your own
Decide what the truck sells before you draw anything. Then choose Design your own from the list for the next step: a shape, two colors, a name for the side, a menu of three things.
Give the truck one giant thing on the roof. It says what you sell from across the street.
Letter the name on a strip of paper first, then copy it onto the truck.
Questions and answers
How do you draw a food truck step by step?
Draw a long box, add a cab at the front and two wheels below. Cut a serving window in the side with a flap propped over it. Finish with a roof sign, a menu board and a name.
What is an easy food truck to draw?
A soft-serve truck topped with one leaning cone is a box, a window and one cone. A lemonade trailer with a striped awning has only two wheels. Easy, under More filters, has more.
What should a food truck design include?
A name, one kind of food, a shape people can spot, two colors and a short menu. The Design your own group gives these one task at a time.
What goes on a food truck menu board?
The name of the truck at the top and a few dishes, each with a small drawing. A three-item menu with a portrait of every dish is on the list, and three is enough to fill a board.