How to draw nature

If you're anything like our crew at Linearity, you love being outdoors and exploring the various creatures and plants for design inspiration.

Okay, sometimes we like to explore these on Google, but you get what we mean!

Drawing from nature is the oldest art form in history: think of all those astonishingly accurate cave paintings featuring elephants, bison, buck, bird species, and even mystical creatures.

Humans have also been decorating their bodies with tattoos of animals and plant-like patterns for thousands of years.

If you're looking for easy guides on creating beautiful nature-inspired designs, check out our list below of simple step-by-step tutorials on how to draw nature:

How to draw nature: animals

1. How to draw a bat

Bats have a bit of a bad rep, but we love them! Try this super easy step-by-step instruction for creating a cute bat face that you can use for holiday-themed decorations or to help create awareness of how unique these beautiful creatures are.

2. How to draw a cat (Ginger)

If you want to know how to create structural sketches of cats, this tutorial shows you how to turn a hand-drawn drawing into an accurate cat illustration.

3. How to draw a cat (Siamese)

Siamese cats have a very particular fur color pattern. This guide explains how to use gradients effectively to create this specific coloring effect and how to create an interesting background for your animal designs.

4. How to draw a chick

If you're into more expressive or abstract digital paintings, try this drawing of a baby chick. This design will also work well for Easter marketing material.

5. How to draw a deer

One of the most delicate subjects of nature, deers always represent a sense of calm strength, agility, and endurance. We love the step-by-step demonstrations in this drawing tutorial that also celebrates the coming of spring.

6. How to draw a dog (illustration)

Want to make some doggy patterns? This easy tutorial shows you how to incorporate our canine friends into your designs.

7. How to draw a dog (portrait)

If you want to create a more accurate depiction of your beloved pooch, or you've just found a couple of adorable dog pics online, this drawing guide takes you through the steps to create a dog portrait.

8. How to draw a dragon

If you can't train them, draw them! We know that technically dragons are mythical creatures (or maybe shy?), but you can still use your imagination and combine other reference images to create some fantastic creatures.

9. How to draw a fish

Want to deep-dive into some aquatic illustration? Follow this tutorial on how to draw a delicate and graceful goldfish.

10. How to draw a monkey

Learn how to create a monkey drawing from reference images and design a strikingly simplistic jungle scene.

11. How to draw a moth

Our tutorial on drawing a moth shows you how to turn a pencil sketch into digital art but also how to bring your design to life as an enamel pin.

12. How to draw a polar bear

Bring more awareness to the strength and vulnerability of this endangered species by learning how to create your polar bear drawings and designs.

13. How to draw a rabbit

Rabbits play an essential role in many folklore tales and holidays, not to mention in Beatrix Potter's books! Check out this fun tutorial on how to draw a cute and fluffy bunny.

14. How to draw a red panda

We're big fans of the movie Turning Red, so we decided to learn more about these cute creatures (which are not pandas at all, by the way!). In this lesson, you'll also learn to give your animal a bit of attitude by adding a frowny facial expression.

Don't forget to download the red panda template assistant file !

15. How to draw a rooster

If you haven't had enough bird imagery yet, download the Rooster template file and try this drawing tutorial that shows you how to draw nature's alarm clock – the rooster!

16. How to draw a snake

One of our favorite drawing tutorials, this one is something between an illustration and a tattoo design. Whereas you might not want to find this drawing subject while resting under a canopy of trees, we know you'll enjoy drawing this snake.

17. How to draw a tiger

Tigers are the largest cats in the world. Follow these steps to create a kawaii version of these graceful creatures.

18. How to draw a toucan (natural)

If you enjoy a variety of bird drawings and love using bright colors, this tutorial shows you how to create an illustration of one of the most popular and common birds of the South American rainforests: the Toucan.

19. How to draw a toucan (party)

Once you've mastered the previous Toucan drawing, why not try something more fun and challenging? This Toucan drawing tutorial has a party vibe and is great for a themed party invitation.

How to draw nature: Plants and other

20. How to draw a christmas tree

Christmas is always around the corner if you're working in marketing! Why not brush up on drawing a Christmas tree and preparing your designs before the silly season?

21. How to draw a diamond

Learn how to create the intricate facets of a shaped diamond and add realistic sparkles.

22. How to draw planet earth

Something a little different, learn how to create Earth designs that can be used for multiple applications, such as celebrating Earth Day, National Arbor Day, and World Water Day, or bringing more awareness to environmental issues.

23. How to draw a flower

What's more pleasing than walking on a beautiful trail and finding lovely field flowers? This drawing tutorial shows you how to draw a daisy from three perspectives.

24. How to draw floral typography

This step-by-step guide uses flower designs to convey a message in custom typography.

25. How to draw a landscape (Starry Night)

Learn how to turn Van Gogh's famous painting into a paper cut-out style landscape drawing.

26. How to draw a leaf

In this drawing tutorial, we show you how to draw various leaves that will look stunning on product packaging, web designs, brochures, vinyl decals, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

27. How to draw a pumpkin

Create a cute Jack-O'-Lantern drawing to delight your social following!

28. How to draw a rose

Learn how to construct a complex rose design from individual petals to create a breathtaking digital drawing.

Wrapping up

We hope you enjoy these excellent step-by-step drawing guides our in-house design team and other outstanding illustrators created!

Whether you're a marketing designer, freelancer, graphic designer, or professional artist, you'll always be able to find inspiration from animals and plant life to create stunning designs.

The animal studies in the list above show you how to turn complex sketches of animal anatomy into colorful illustrations and impactful graphic designs.

The wide variety of step-by-step projects for drawing plants and other natural elements teach you how to make beautiful illustrations for decorative designs, floral typography, or even a book for kids.

If you have more ideas for tutorials on how to draw nature that you'd like to see here, reach out to us on the Linearity Community.

We hope you enjoyed our simple nature drawing tutorial – share your minion drawings with us in the Community Art Galley and on social media!

Don't forget to download Linearity Curve, so you have all the tools you need to create these fantastic illustrations.