The cell is one of the most basic structures of living organisms. Whether it is a unicellular or a multicellular organism, all living things have them. However, animal cells are different from plant cells in that they have no vacuoles, chloroplasts, and no cell wall. If you learn the names of the organelles (also called organelles) of the animal cell and their respective shapes, you can easily draw one.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Drawing the Cell Membrane and Nucleus
Step 1. Draw a simple circle or oval to represent the cell membrane
This part of the animal cell is not a perfect circle. You can draw a kind of misshapen or oblong circle. The important thing is that it does not have straight edges. Also, the membrane is different from the cell wall of an animal cell, which is rigid. This allows molecules to enter and leave the cell.
Create a circle large enough to recognize the organelles you draw inside
Step 2. Draw a pinocytic vesicle
A detailed diagram of an animal cell can include a pinocytic vesicle on the cell membrane. This has a rounded shape. It should be against the outer edge of the membrane without breaking it.
In the process of pinocytosis, the cell membrane surrounds extracellular fluids (what is outside the cells). Then it pulls them inward to digest or absorb them. That is why in the diagram, the vesicle is represented as a circular shape surrounded by part of the membrane
Step 3. Draw two circles to represent the nucleus
This is one of the largest parts of the cell structure. To create it, draw two circles; a large one that covers 10% of the cell and a slightly smaller one inside.
- The nucleus of the animal cell has pores, called nuclear pores. To represent them, erase three or four small sections in each circle. Then connect the external line with the internal one. When finished, the core will look like several curved cylinders that fail to connect to each other.
- The outer layer of the nuclear membrane is also known as the nuclear envelope. To create a very detailed diagram of the cell, place several dots on the outside of the membrane to represent the ribosomes that tend to stick there.
Step 4. Draw a small, darker circle to represent the nucleolus
This is located in the center of the nucleus and is responsible for synthesizing the subribosomes that are assembled in other parts of the cell. To place it on the diagram, add a small shaded circle.
Step 5. Draw a squiggle to represent chromatin
Most of the inside of the core should look like one big squiggle. This represents the materials that make up chromatin, such as DNA and proteins.
Part 2 of 2: Draw the other organelles
Step 1. Draw elongated ovals to represent the mitochondria
These are the energy sources of the cell. To draw them, create two or three large, elongated ovals inside the cell but outside the nucleus. Each mitochondrion must contain many ridges and curved lines. These forms represent the ridges or internal folds of the internal membrane, which provide a greater area to carry out the processes of this organelle.
Leave a space between the outer membrane line and the inner membrane line
Step 2. Draw elongated shapes to represent the endoplasmic reticulum
On one side of the nuclear membrane, it begins to draw a silhouette with various elongated finger-like shapes pointing to either side before reconnecting with the nucleus. The entire silhouette is the endoplasmic reticulum. It must be relatively large, as this organelle can also cover up to 10% of the cell's volume.
Animal cells have both a smooth and a rough endoplasmic reticulum. To create the rough, place dots on the outer edge of the elongated shapes ("fingers") on one side of the organelle. These points represent the ribosomes
Step 3. Draw a group of dumbbell-like silhouettes to represent the Golgi apparatus (also called the Golgi body)
To do this, create a group of three dumbbell shapes, cylindrical in the center and bulging at the ends. Each silhouette must increase in size as it moves away from the nucleus and approaches the cell membrane.
- The Golgi apparatus packages and distributes complex molecules in and out of the cell through vesicles that you can represent by drawing small circles around the organelle.
- Remember to write Golgi with a capital letter, since it is the name of the biologist who discovered it.
Step 4. Draw two small rectangles that intersect at right angles to represent the centrioles
These help in the process of cell division. They are close to each other, but are separated from the nucleus. Create the centrioles by drawing two small perpendicular rectangles near the nucleus.
The centrioles are organelles in pairs, so you must draw the rectangles together
Step 5. Draw another small circle to represent a lysosome
This organelle is like the scrap metal of the cell that is responsible for breaking down unnecessary materials to reuse them. To represent it, draw a small circle on the edge of the cell. It also adds several small dots on the lysosome to represent the digestive enzymes within it, called the hydrolytic enzyme mix.
You can place the lysosome near the Golgi apparatus, as it usually sprouts from this organelle
Step 6. Add dots inside the cell, but around the organelles, to represent the ribosomes
These are also present in the cytosol, which is the cellular fluid found inside the membrane, but outside the organelles. To create more ribosomes in the cytosol, add more dots in the cell.
- If you plan to differentiate the organelles by color, be sure to paint all of them (the ribosomes inside the cell, those that are attached to the membrane, and those that are attached to the endoplasmic reticulum) the same color.
- The terms cytosol and cytoplasm are often interchanged to refer to the fluid within the cell. The fluid inside the nucleus, however, is called the nucleoplasm.
Advice
- Teachers usually ask you to name each cell structure as an assessment or task, so get in the habit of naming each part and organelle.
- If you want to draw a specific type of cell, like an amoeba or a paramecium, study it well first. Other structures are usually present, such as flagella, cilia, and pseudopods.
- If you are creating a 3D mockup, use papier-mâché.