64 ideas

Hourglass Drawing Ideas

One hourglass to draw per press: what runs through it, what it means, or the glass itself.

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Drawn: Two teardrop bulbs meeting at a narrow neckTwo teardrop bulbs meeting at a narrow neckAn hourglass is two glass bulbs joined upright by a narrow neck. Draw one teardrop, then flip it for the other.

Next step Still life set-ups for glass

All 64 ideas

What runs through 16

A candle melting in the top bulb, wax pooling below The wax falls in slow, thick drops and builds a low mound that still has a wick in it.
A city above becoming a desert below Towers stand on the sand of the top bulb and tilt as it drains. Below, the same sand is plain dunes.
A forest above, the pages of a book below Trees thin out toward the neck. What falls through is sawdust, and it settles into a stack of pages.
A galaxy spiraling into the neck The spiral arms tighten as they reach the neck. Below, the stars spread out again into a second spiral.
A mountain wearing down grain by grain into a plain A sharp peak above with its top already gone. Below, a flat land with a river is slowly rising.
A sea draining onto a beach Waves and a small boat above. The water falls as a thread and spreads over sand with a starfish on it.
A tree dropping its leaves into a pile below The tree hangs in the top bulb, half bare. Leaves fall one by one and the pile below has a rake leaning in it.
A waterfall through the neck with mist below A river runs to the edge of the top bulb and drops. Below, the mist hides where it lands.
An iceberg melting above, a rising sea below The ice shrinks from its edges. Below, the water line climbs the glass toward the neck.
Camels walking down the sand toward the neck A line of camels crosses the slope of the top bulb. The leader looks down into the dip.
Flower petals falling onto a meadow One large flower above, losing petals. Below, each fallen petal lies among small flowers.
Popcorn kernels above, popped corn below Small teardrops above and puffy clouds below. One kernel is in the neck, half popped.
Rain in the top bulb filling a pond in the bottom Straight lines of rain above, one drip through the neck, rings spreading on the pond below.
Sand above, a sandcastle building itself below The falling thread lands on the tallest tower. The castle has a flag and the pile above has a dip.
Snow falling from a cloud in the top bulb onto a snowman The cloud fills the top bulb. Flakes fall in a thin line through the neck and the snowman stands on the heap.
Stars pouring through the neck into a night sky A pile of stars above, a thin stream of them, and a dark sky below that is slowly filling up.

Time and meaning 16

A clock face melting into the top bulb The clock droops over the rim and its numbers slide off one at a time into the sand.
A cracked hourglass leaking sand A crack runs across the lower bulb and sand spills from it into a second pile on the table.
A hand turning an hourglass over Catch it halfway, lying level. The sand has slumped to one side of each bulb.
A pixel hourglass beside an arrow pointer Some computer screens turn the pointer into an hourglass while a program is busy. Draw it in chunky squares.
A rattle in the top bulb and a walking stick in the bottom Each object half sunk in sand. The thread of falling grains joins them.
A seed in the top bulb and a full-grown tree in the bottom One seed sits on the sand above. Below, the tree has grown until its crown presses on the glass.
A tiny figure asleep on the sand pile under an umbrella The falling thread lands on the umbrella and runs off its edges. The figure has not noticed.
An hourglass almost empty, the last grains falling A few grains cling to the sides of the top bulb. The cone below nearly reaches the neck.
An hourglass balanced on its edge, mid-tip Tilt the frame so one corner touches the table. The sand lies level in both bulbs while the glass leans.
An hourglass frozen in a block of ice The falling thread has stopped in mid-air. Draw the ice with straight cracks and rounded corners.
An hourglass just turned, the top bulb full The top is packed level and the first thin thread has only just reached the floor of the bottom bulb.
An hourglass whose sand runs upward The pile is in the bottom bulb, the dip is on top of it, and the thread rises to a cone hanging from the lid.
An hourglass with wings The wings stand for tempus fugit, time flies. Spread a feathered wing from each side of the frame.
Day in the top bulb, night in the bottom A sun and a pale sky above, a moon and a dark sky below. The falling grains change from light to dark.
Four seasons in four hourglasses on one shelf Blossom, green leaves, red leaves and snow fall in turn. Each glass is a little emptier than the last.
Past, present and future labeled on one hourglass An hourglass shows the present between past and future. Letter the neck as now and choose which bulb is which.

The hourglass itself 16

A brass hourglass with engraved end plates, in ink Use fine parallel lines for the metal and none on the glass. The engraving is a ring of small leaves.
A sandglass on the chart table of a sailing ship At sea the sandglass was the most dependable measure of time, and a ship's page turned it. Tilt the horizon.
A small egg timer beside an egg cup Egg timers were traditionally small hourglasses. Draw this one no taller than the egg.
A wooden frame with three turned posts Two round end plates held apart by posts. From the front, two posts are clear and one stands behind the glass.
An early hourglass: two bulbs bound at the neck with cord The first hourglasses were two separate bulbs joined by a wrapped cord coated in wax. Draw a thick collar.
An hourglass in three views: front, side and top From the top it is a circle with the post ends around it. Line up the three views so the heights match.
An hourglass lit from behind The sand is a dark silhouette and the glass a bright outline. The posts are black bars against the light.
An hourglass seen from slightly above The end plates become ellipses and the top plate hides part of the upper bulb.
An hourglass through a magnifying glass Inside the lens the neck is large and the grains are separate. Outside it the hourglass is its normal size.
The cone of fallen sand and the dip above it Below, the sand piles into a cone. Above, it sinks into a funnel-shaped dip over the neck.
Four sandglasses fixed in one frame Several sandglasses could share a frame, each running for a different time. Fill the four to different heights.
Grains crowding into the neck, close up The grains funnel together and leave a few at a time. Draw each as a small angular pebble, no two alike.
The hourglass as a flat sign: two triangles tip to tip Two triangles joined at their points, with a bar across the top and another across the bottom.
Reflections on the glass of an hourglass Each bulb shows a curved window shape on one side and a thin rim of light on the other. Leave both as bare paper.
The thread of falling sand One thin straight line from the neck to the tip of the cone. A few grains bounce off where it lands.
Two teardrop bulbs meeting at a narrow neck An hourglass is two glass bulbs joined upright by a narrow neck. Draw one teardrop, then flip it for the other.

Hourglasses as other things 16

An hourglass as a bird feeder Seed trickles from the lower bulb onto a tray. Two small birds sit on the rim, one mid-peck.
An hourglass as a city above and its reflection below The towers above are solid and the ones below are wavering. The neck is where the street meets the water.
An hourglass as a coffee maker Water in the top, a filter at the neck, a cup under the bottom. One drop hangs ready to fall.
An hourglass as a fish tank with a fish in each bulb One fish looks down through the neck and the other looks up. Bubbles rise from the lower one.
An hourglass as a greenhouse with vines through the neck Draw the bulbs with glazing bars like window panes. The vines climb out of the bottom and flower in the top.
An hourglass as a lamp, the top bulb glowing A cord and a plug trail from the base. Light fills the top bulb and falls through the neck as a beam.
An hourglass as a lighthouse The top bulb is the lamp room and the bottom is the rock it stands on. A beam sweeps from the top.
An hourglass as a mountain and its reflection in a lake The neck is the shoreline. Draw the lower mountain upside down and break it with a few ripples.
An hourglass as a planet above and its moon below The planet fills the top bulb and a thread of dust falls from it to build the moon.
An hourglass as a planter, seedling above and roots below The stem passes through the neck. Leaves fill the top bulb and the roots spread to fill the bottom.
An hourglass as a tower with a stair spiraling around the neck The stair wraps the narrowest part. Windows above look out and windows below are half buried in sand.
An hourglass as a tree: crown above, roots below The trunk is the neck. Make the crown and the roots the same size and shape, one of them upside down.
An hourglass as two apartments, upstairs and downstairs A chair and a lamp in each bulb. Sand from the upstairs floor is piling up on the downstairs table.
An hourglass as two ice cream cones tip to tip The cones are the two halves of the glass. The scoop at the bottom is the one that has melted through.
An hourglass made of water: two drops joined No frame and no glass. Each drop carries a highlight and bends the background that shows through it.
An hourglass with arms, legs and a worried face The face is on the top bulb and it is watching its own sand run low. Give it a hand pressed to the glass.

How it works

An hourglass has a top, a bottom and a neck where one becomes the other. That makes it a ready-made before and after: a city above and a desert below, a seed above and a tree below.

Read the full guide

Draw the glass first

Draw a teardrop, flip it for the second and close each end with a round plate. Below, the sand piles into a cone; above, it sinks into a dip over the neck.

Then change what falls

What runs through swaps the sand for snow, leaves, stars or a sea. Hourglasses as other things keeps only the outline and turns it into a planter, a lighthouse or a lamp.

Keep the falling thread thin and straight. A thick stream reads as liquid.
Seen from slightly above, the top plate hides part of the upper bulb.

Questions and answers

What does an hourglass symbolize?

The passage of time. It shows the present, at the neck, between the past and the future. A winged hourglass pictures tempus fugit, Latin for time flies.

What are easy hourglass drawing ideas?

Two teardrop bulbs meeting at a narrow neck, an hourglass with wings, snow falling onto a snowman, or the flat sign of two triangles tip to tip. The Easy level, under More filters, holds 24.

Is there sand in an hourglass?

Not always. Some early hourglasses used silica sand, but many used none: most were filled with powdered marble, tin or lead oxides, or burnt and ground eggshell.

How do you draw sand falling in an hourglass?

One thin upright line from the neck to the tip of the cone below. Dot a few grains where it lands, and curve the surface of the sand above down into a funnel.