Caroline
A cactus brings a few images to mind. When you see a cactus, you might have the image of a blazing desert appear, or you may also be reminded of a classic scene from an old Western film.
No matter what comes to mind, they have come to represent hot desert adventures.
A cactus can come in pretty much any shape that you can imagine, which can make them fun yet challenging to draw.
This step-by-step guide on how to draw a cactus will show you how you can draw one of these prickly plants yourself, and then you can draw all manner of adventures around it!
How to Draw A Cactus – Let’s get Started!
Step 1
We’re going to be drawing a classic cactus design in this guide on how to draw a cactus. To start with, draw a vertical curved line like the one that appears in our reference image.
This will form the head of the cactus that you will add to in the next few steps.
Step 2 – Draw the first arm of the cactus
For this part of your cactus drawing, we shall draw the first arm of your cactus. This will be drawn with a curved arm that reaches upwards like the one in your reference picture.
You could also change the positioning of the arm if you would like to change the shape of your own cactus a bit.
As we mentioned earlier in this guide, a cactus can come in pretty much any shape imaginable, so that gives you lots of room to change up your cactus to make it even more unique.
Step 3 – Next, draw the body and the other arm of your cactus
We will draw the rest of the outline of the cactus in this step of our guide on how to draw a cactus.
Starting with the arm on our left, we will be making this one much smaller than the other one. Once again, however, this is an element that you could change up a bit if you prefer!
Once you have both arms of your cactus drawing, you can draw the body next. This will be thick and bulge out a bit near the top where the arms of the cactus are, however, it will get thinner the lower it gets.
With most of the outline drawn, we are ready for step 4!
Step 4 – Draw the base of your cactus
Your cactus drawing needs a base, and we will add one for this step. For our example, we drew some jagged lines at the base of the cactus for a grassy setting.
This is a look that you could go for, but you could also create other settings for your cactus if you prefer!
For example, you could use a flatter line for a dirt setting instead. What kind of setting do you think would suit your cactus drawing?
There are so many settings that you could use for your drawing, and we will be interested to see what creative settings you can think of.
Step 5 – Finish off the final details of your drawing
Now that you have most of your cactus drawn you can finish off the final details before you move on to the coloring.
A cactus is known for being prickly, so be sure to draw some small lines all over your cactus to make it nice and prickly!
With that, your drawing is almost complete. Before you move on to the final step, be sure to draw any extra details or elements that you would like.
Perhaps you could draw a buzzard sitting on the cactus, some big clouds or maybe even a cowboy taking a nap in the shade of the cactus!
There is plenty that you could do if you feel like being extra creative.
Step 6 – Finish off your cactus drawing with some color
Your cactus is drawn, and now comes the fun part of coloring in your amazing drawing! This is a step where you have the chance to show how creative you can be.
We have shown you one way that you could color it in with our example image, but you should feel free to let your imagination run wild!
Coloring the cactus in is just part of the fun you can have, and if you drew any extra details you can color those in as well.
Once you have chosen which colors you would like for your picture, the only thing left is to choose which art mediums you would like to use for the coloring!
If I were coloring this picture, I would use some nice watercolor paints for a more subtle, classic look to the image.
That’s just one of many options that you could choose, and any medium you choose will look great!
Acrylic paints or colored pens would be great for some brighter, more intense colors if you prefer that kind of look, while colored pencils and crayons would also work for a more muted, subtle look.
Which colors and mediums will you pick for your drawing?
5 Tips To Make Your Cartoon Cactus Drawing Even Better!
Here are some tips for making your awesome cartoon cactus sketch even better!
A cactus can come in many different shapes, sizes and forms. The one we created for this cactus sketch is a pretty standard one, but you could change the shape of it!
If you wanted to do this, the cactus could be based on a real one you may have seen in a photo or in real life. It could also be in any other shapes or poses you like.
The cactus doesn’t even necessarily have to follow the laws of gravity!
Another fun approach you could take with this drawing of a cactus would be to turn it into a cartoon character. Doing this could be as simple as adding some eyes or a face.
You could also combine adding a face with any fun poses you may have created before.
If you would like a more natural setting for this cactus, you may also want to draw a background.
The cactus is often found in a desert setting, so that would be an obvious choice for this cactus sketch.
What are some other settings you could use for this cactus sketch? Remember that you could do some wild and unrealistic ones if you like!
If you added a background, you could enhance it even further by adding some characters. For one example, you could add a cool cartoon cowboy posing by the cactus.
That would be another obvious choice, but it’s far from the only one you could go for. What other characters could you add to the composition you are creating?
The final step to making this cactus drawing look amazing would be by playing with colors and art mediums. We showed you some colors you could use in the guide, but you can really creative with it!
There are mediums like colored pens, markers and acrylic paints for brighter colors. You could also go for some watercolors or colored pencils for a subtler look.
What colors and art tools would best suit your vision?
Your Cactus Drawing is Complete!
You have reached the end of this guide on how to draw a cactus, and you should be really proud of your amazing drawing! We created this guide to break down this drawing into small, simple steps.
This is always the best way to take on a new drawing challenge, and we hope that it was simple and fun for you to use.
You may have finished your guide, but this doesn’t have to be the end of your drawing!
There is still plenty of room for you to express your creativity, and these ways include the extra elements and details that you have drawn along with the colors and art mediums that you use. We can’t wait to see how creative you can be!
There’s plenty more drawing fun in store for you on our website, as we upload new step-by-step drawing guides like this one frequently!
Be sure to check in often to make sure you don’t miss out on the fun.
We would also love to see your finished cactus drawing once it’s finished, so please share it on our Facebook and Pinterest pages for us to enjoy!
