How to Draw Santa Claus and 7 Drawing Ideas for Inspiration

Learn to Draw Santa for Beginners

Drawing Santa Claus is so much fun, and there’s a ton of different styles to draw him in. Today we are going to learn how to draw Santa in a cartoon style.

We’ll take you step by step through the process and then show you several different ideas for finished drawings.

From there, you can express your own ideas and experiment with your Santa drawings.

Let’s begin by looking at some art supplies that we will need.

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Art Supplies

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How to Draw Santa Claus Step by Step

It’s much easier to draw things by breaking them down into basic shapes first. This is the best approach to learning how to drawing anything. So that’s how we’ll be starting out today on our Santa Claus drawing.

Start by drawing a circle for his face. Be sure to position it on your paper where you want it to be located.

Next, rough out the shape of his hat. You don’t need to draw a lot of details at this point. You want to get everything laid out first so you can get the placement and proportions right.

Draw another, larger circle, for his beard.

You can add some additional guidelines on his face to help you place his eyes and nose.

Now sketch out the details for Santa’s face. You can draw a circle for the nose, or make it more detailed.

Draw a couple of eyes. Then add a mustache and some more detail to his beard.

You can add a mouth or not. That’s up to you and depends on what you think looks good.

I like doing my drawings on artist trading cards to save time. This allows me more freedom to experiment and not feel so much pressure when I’m drawing.

They are the best way to produce more drawings in less time, and you can make your own blank card.

Santa Outline

After you’ve finished the rough sketch of your Santa drawings it’s time to add some finishing touches to it.

I like outlining my drawings using a thin black pen (PITT Artist Pens). But you can use whatever you prefer.

You can vary the thickness of your lines to make your drawing look more interesting if you’d like.

Or you could try using a different color other than black. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.

Santa Color with Markers

Now it’s time to add some color to your Santa Claus drawing. I prefer markers as my medium of choice. But there are many other options as well.

Regardless of which medium you choose, be sure to use more than one color on each area so that your drawing will look less flat.

For example, you can use a medium red and a darker red for his hat. Or use some gray to add darker areas. You could also use the color compliment for shadows.

Again, have fun and try new things.

You can finish up your drawing by adding some white highlights. This can be done using a white Gelly Roll pen. They are my favorite for adding white.

Santa Claus Drawing Ideas for Inspiration

The more you draw something the better you will get. And after drawing three or four of the same thing you’ll start feeling a shift in your creativity.

Give it a try for yourself. Download our FREE guide to Improving Your Art in 7 Days.

Here are a few drawings to get you inspired.