Easy Step by Step Palm Trees
There are two basic types of palm tree drawings. One has the blocked in, fuller looking leaves. And the other has the wispy, flowing leaves. For the trunk there are also a few different ways you can draw them. I’ll explain all of this in the tutorial and show you examples as well.
Of course I’m being very general here, and in reality there are an endless number of ways you could choose to draw a palm tree. I’m intentionally being simplistic, just to get you started on some drawings. The last thing you want to do when beginning to draw anything is to stress out about trying to get them perfect.
Often time’s imperfections make for a more interesting drawing anyway. And the more you draw something, the more your own personal style will begin to develop. And above all else, drawing should be fun!
If you need some inspiration for your drawings, take a look at these photos of beautiful palm trees.
* Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.
Art Supplies
Pitt artist pen by Faber-Castell
Paper
How to Draw Palm Leaves
The first type of palm tree I’m going to show you how to draw has the fuller leaves. To me, this seems like more of a cartoon style and less realistic. I’ll show you the other style later in this tutorial.
Begin by laying out your guides for your leaves. I will typically start with five lines for my guides and then add more as needed.
These guides will become part of your leaves, so there is no need to worry about how lightly you draw them. For this art lesson, I used a Sharpie fine point marker.
Choose one of the five lines you have drawn and fill your leave shape around it. Which palm leaf you draw first doesn’t matter. The only difference is that you will typically be working front to back in regards to how your leaves with overlap each other.
When drawing out my individual leaves, I will usually draw them narrower at both ends and thicker towards the center. You will want your leaves to come to a point at the end as well.
I like to draw in some notches for variation in the leaf to make them look more interesting.
Continue to work your way around your guidelines until all of your leaves have been drawn in.
To finish off the top portion of your tree, draw in a few coconuts. A general rule in drawing and composition is to work in uneven numbers. So I added three coconuts to my drawing.
How to Draw Palm Trees – Trunks
Just like with the leaves, trunks can be drawn in a variety of ways as well. However, the basic shape of the drunk will usually be about the same. When drawing your palm tree trunk, you will want it to be more narrow at the top and wider at the bottom. And you will most likely want it to have a slight curve to it.
Drawing the bark is where most of the variation will come in. You will want to draw in some type of bark, but how you choose to draw it is up to you. For mine I used curve lines. When drawing the lines, you want to curve them to show that the trunk is round.
Here are some variations to drawing the trunk. I’m sure there are others as well.
How to Draw Palm Trees on the Beach
Since you don’t want your palm tree to look like it is floating in mid-air, add some grass or a sand hill at the bottom. You want to add in some extra bits of detail that make it look like your palm tree is on the beach.
You can do a complete drawing of a beach, sunset, or ocean. Or you can just add in some small pieces of the beach.
I also added another leave at the top left because I didn’t like how that big, empty space looked. Don’t be afraid to change your drawing as you go. Look at your palm tree drawing and decide if you need to make changes or if you are happy with how it looks.
If you don’t like something, change it.
How to Draw a Palm Tree Silhouette
So now I’m going to show you how I draw a palm tree silhouette. This is a really quick way to draw palm trees. They are a little less detailed, but actually look more realistic than the previous way we drew our palm trees.
Again, the first thing you’ll want to do is to draw in the guidelines for where your palm leaves will go. For this type of drawing, a brush pen works really well.
My favorite brush pen for palm tree drawings is the Pitt artist pen by Faber-Castell. I have several of these pens and they are the ones I use most often and I’ve been using them for years.
They are inexpensive, and last a really long time.
The next step is to add in the individual lines that will make up the palm leaf. This is where the brush pen really comes in handy. You’ll want your lines for your leaves to taper off at the end of each stroke. This will make your drawing look much better.
And make your palm leaves flow better.
When I draw this style of palm tree, my guidelines will remain as the top of each leaf for most of them. But this is really just a matter of personal style. You could add brush strokes to both sides as well.
You’ll also want to fill in the trunk with black since this will end up being a silhouette.
Continue working your way through each palm leaf until all of your guidelines are completed. Finish your drawing by adding in some grass at the bottom so your tree isn’t floating.
Most palm tree drawings will include a drawing of a beach. You can draw a complete beach, or just some elements of it.
Palm Tree Artwork
I hope you enjoyed this art tutorial on how to draw a palm tree and feel inspired to draw some of your own. The palm tree artwork shown at the beginning of this lesson were drawn on artist trading cards using a watercolor technique I’ve been playing around with recently. You can learn all about it at, Splashed Background ATC Tutorial.
The best way to get better at drawing palm trees is to practice. Why not try a palm tree drawing challenge. and see how many different designs you can come up with. This is a great way to push your creativity and develop your artistic style.
Get Your FREE Drawing Challenge Guide
How to Draw a Palm Tree | Easy Beginner Art Tutorial
Palm trees are easy to draw and fun to make. There’s a lot of room for variation and to add your own personal style. The more of them you draw, the better you will get.
After you learn how to draw palm trees the possibilities are endless for what you could use them for. You could even add some names and make a complete work of art for your loved one.
More Art Tutorials
- Pencil Shading for Beginners
- Artist Trading Cards Guide
- How to Blend Markers
- Graffiti Letters Art Tutorial
Love this post! On a design level, I really appreciate a great palm. Beautifully written post also 😊
Thank you so much Krystal. I’m glad you like it.