{"title":"How to Draw a Christmas Tree","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/crafts/how-to-draw-a-christmas-tree","category":{"slug":"crafts","name":"Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Art for Kids Hub","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5XMF3Inoi8R9nSI8ChOsdQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBVQ8yZlC5E"},"tldr":"Draw a Christmas tree in 10 easy steps: zigzag branch tiers, trunk, star and ornaments, then color it with oil pastels for a real fir look.","totalDurationSeconds":1120,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["black fine point permanent marker","pencil and eraser (optional)"],"materials":["drawing paper or sketch pad","oil pastels (dark green, light green, brown, red, yellow)"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Draw the Christmas Tree's Pointed Top Tier With a Zigzag Edge","text":"Turn your paper the tall way. Put a small dot in the middle, about an inch from the top, so the star has room later. From that dot, draw an upside-down V, but curve both sides as they drop. Close the bottom with a zigzag. Make it a crazy zigzag: mix big points and little ones, and let a few lean. That uneven edge looks like real branches."},{"number":2,"title":"Add Three More Zigzag Branch Tiers Down the Christmas Tree","text":"Start a little inside the bottom corner of the top tier. Draw a curved line out and down on each side, a bit wider than the tier above. Close it with another crazy zigzag. Repeat this two more times so you have four tiers in all, each one wider than the last. Stop the bottom tier well above the edge of your paper so the trunk and skirt fit underneath."},{"number":3,"title":"Draw the Christmas Tree Trunk and an Oval Tree Skirt","text":"Under the middle of the bottom tier, draw two short lines down for the trunk. Now draw a wide oval around the base of the trunk. This is the tree skirt, where the presents would sit. Add a second curved line along the bottom half of the oval, running parallel to it. That double edge makes the skirt look like folded fabric."},{"number":4,"title":"Draw a Five-Point Star on Top of the Christmas Tree","text":"Draw the star without drawing through it. Start with a small upside-down V right above the tip of the tree. From each side, draw a short straight line out for the side points. Come back in and down to make the bottom points, then meet in the middle with one more upside-down V. Five points, one clean outline, no lines crossing inside."},{"number":5,"title":"Draw Round Ornaments Across the Christmas Tree Branches","text":"Draw small circles all over the tree. These are glass ball ornaments. Put two or three on the top tier and more as the tiers get wider. Spread them out so no two touch, and tuck a few right up against the zigzag edges. Leave the trunk and skirt bare. Count them when you are done. Fifteen to twenty fills a tree this size."},{"number":6,"title":"Color the Christmas Tree Top Tier With Dark Green Fan Strokes","text":"Grab a dark green oil pastel and start at the top tier. Color in short lines that fan out. On the left side, curve them to follow the edge. In the middle, go straight down. On the right, curve them the other way. Go around the ornaments, not through them. Press harder near the top of each tier and lighter as you get to the zigzag."},{"number":7,"title":"Blend Light Green Oil Pastel Over the Christmas Tree Branches","text":"Switch to light green and color right on top of the dark green. Press firmly. The light layer smooths out the strokes and fills the little white gaps you missed. Keep going in the same direction as the dark green, fanning out across the tier. If you go sideways, you lose the needle texture. You can add another pass of dark green and blend again."},{"number":8,"title":"Add Dark Green Shadows Under Each Christmas Tree Tier","text":"Move down to the second tier and repeat the fan strokes. Before you blend, press a thicker band of dark green right under the zigzag of the tier above. That is a shadow. Blend light green over it, then go back in with dark green to deepen it. The top branches now look like they stick out over the lower ones. Do the same for every tier."},{"number":9,"title":"Color the Christmas Tree Trunk Brown and the Tree Skirt Red","text":"Color the trunk with light brown. Add a dark brown, or a touch of black, right under the bottom branches so the trunk looks shaded. Fill the tree skirt with solid red. Then run a little brown along the top edge of the skirt where the tree would cast a shadow. It makes the skirt look like it sits on the floor."},{"number":10,"title":"Color Shiny Red Ornaments and a Yellow Star on the Christmas Tree","text":"Color each ornament red, but leave a small white circle in the top-left corner. That highlight makes them look like glass. Put it in the same spot on every ornament. Use dark green to add a little shadow on the bottom-right of each one so it looks like it hangs off the tree. Finish by coloring the star yellow, then sign your drawing."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-02T13:39:07.890Z","published":"2026-10-01T15:20:51.071Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}