Step-by-Step — Summer Drawing Ideas to Brighten Your Sketchbooks and Greeting Cards
Summer is the perfect time to start a new sketchbook and hone your drawing skills!
In this blog post, you will find various summer-themed drawing ideas. Some of them can be a bit challenging for beginners, but I tried to include something for all skill levels. There are a couple of coloring tips in this blog post as well!
If you are drawing traditionally, I recommend sketching the drawings first with a pencil so you can erase some of the lines when necessary.
Sunflower
Let’s start by drawing a vibrant yellow sunflower!
When I draw sunflowers, I sometimes struggle with drawing the petals. Rotating the paper/canvas while drawing them helps a lot.
Coloring tip! When coloring the petals with colored pencils or markers, start with a bright yellow color.
Rather than using a black color for shadows, grab a darker yellow and an orange color instead. Color both ends of the petals with dark yellow and then add a little bit of orange.
Leave the middle of the petals bright yellow, or use a yellow gel pen to make the highlights!
The petals that are at the back can be colored with dark yellow and orange as well, since they are mostly in shadow.
Peony
These gorgeous peonies are the perfect flower to draw on a birthday card or a Mother’s/Father’s Day card.
Roses
In my opinion, a rose is a very complicated flower to draw. When you learn how to draw them, you can make stunning greeting cards. Adding a few leaves really brings the roses to life!
Strawberry
What else comes to mind when thinking about summer? Strawberries! I love the complementary color scheme.
Watermelon
Another refreshing fruit to draw.
Sunglasses
Time to draw and color some stylish shades!
Ice cream cones and popsicles
Cool and delicious things to draw on a hot summer day. There are so many vibrant color combinations to try!
Seashells
Three different seashells that you can add to your beach and ocean drawings, for example.
Sea turtle
The sea turtle’s shell pattern can be tricky to draw, so hopefully this step-by-step tutorial will help.
I used realistic colors for this turtle, but I think it would look amazing with an unrealistic color palette as well.
Palm trees
A nice bright scene with palm trees, an island, and a shimmering ocean.
When you color the sky, try to make a smooth gradient from a light blue to a darker blue.
Butterfly
If you are having trouble choosing colors for your butterfly, you can look up pictures of real butterflies. Pinterest is an excellent site for color inspiration as well!
Of course you can let your own imagination fly and come up with your own pretty color scheme!
I hope these summer drawing ideas will help you fill your sketchbook this summer and give you inspiration for your next crafting project!
Five free printable butterfly coloring pages and a few ideas on how to color them.