Are you looking to learn how to draw a dragonfly? Drawing this fun, flying insect can be easy with a few simple steps! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, you’re sure to be able to bring a dragonfly to life on paper. Let’s have a look at how to make a swoopy and stylish dragonfly for a touch of beauty and life to your artwork.
Sketching the Outlines
Before you dive into your drawing, it’s important to think about the perspective you’d like to approach your dragonfly from. An easy way to start is to draw a line from left to right, at the angle you’d like the wings to rest. Then, draw two smaller lines at the sides connecting to the main line, to represent the wing outlines. Place dots at the top and sides of the lines, to act as your guide for the wings.
To draw the body and head, sketch a slightly curved line made of two inclines. Start with a line of five dashes, and fill in the areas with the shapes and outlines of the head and abdomen.
Adding Definition and Detail
Your sketch gives you the basics for a great dragonfly drawing – now, you get to make it shine with a few details! Start by cleaning up your lines to get neater outlines around each body part. Then, start filling in details. Here’s what to focus on: add an eye and antennas to the head, midsection curves to the abdomen, and pattern shapes to the wings.
For bonus points, draw some shimmery, colorful highlights on the wings. Feel free to use a variety of colors to make your dragonfly glimmer in the sun.
Time to Color In
The coloring in of a dragonfly only takes a few supplies, including a few colored pencils or markers to fill in the details you’ve just sketched! You can stick to black or, if you’d like to capture the full range of color and texture that a real dragonfly displays, pick a few light greens, blues, purples, and pinks.
To make sure you have a perfectly symmetrical drawing, you can even trace it onto a fresh piece of paper and color in the second version. This prevents any mid-drawing mistakes!
Finishing Touches
You made it! Here, you get to add a few final touches to really pull your drawing together. Consider adding a few details and lines to the wings and antennas to make them look more life-like, and choose a shade of white or brown to draw the dragonfly’s feet. You can also draw a few grassy hints of the environment in the margins.
Once you’re done, display your dragonfly in an area that can enjoy its beauty and take it for a test flutter over your artwork!
Making the Dragonfly Move
Next, you can make your dragonfly look like it’s taking off in flight! Start by writing a curved wavy line for the wings, as if it’s fanning out. Place three circles to represent the joints. Then, draw a few lines around the circles between the wings and appendages to connect them.
Finally, draw two curved lines that come to a point behind your dragonfly’s head and draw four sections into them. These are the legs, which help the dragonfly with maneuvering in the air. With your little touch of realism, your dragonfly is ready to take flight!
Adding Texture and Color Highlights
To really add to the realism of your dragonfly, you can add texture in the form of highlights and shadows around the body and wings. This can help your artwork look more vibrant and realistic. You can even use a metallic marker or colored pencil to add some metallic highlights to the wings, making it glitter in the sun!
Once you’re done with your drawing, you can use it to decorate your walls, add life to your notebook doodles, or just admire its beauty!
