How to Draw a Landscape

Landscapes can be truly breathtaking, but they aren’t an easy subject to draw. The artist must utilize value changes and color variations to set the scene with their large open spaces. Landscapes give us a lot to look at, whether it’s looking at plants, houses, or mountains. But what do you do if you want to be an artist? All those elements that make up a landscape will not create themselves. You will have to learn what makes them up and then put them together on paper. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but this article can guide you to learn how to draw a landscape.

Drawing a landscape can be very difficult. Sometimes it is hard to get the trees and mountains to look right. So, you want to draw a landscape, but you don’t know how? We will teach you how to draw a landscape in this lesson, but you need patience and practice. First, you need to know what you want to draw. There are many different landscapes that you can draw. For your convenience, we also included 20 landscape drawing ideas. Some examples of landscapes are mountains, valleys, castles, beaches, cities, bridges, and forests.

What is Landscape Drawing

A landscape drawing is an extensive term used to group any type of artwork that focuses on depicting natural scenery, such as mountains, cliffs, forests, trees, valleys, rivers, and the like. In essence, a landscape drawing refers to any artwork where nature plays a key role in determining the piece’s composition.

Landscape drawing is an ancient art form that was popularized during the Renaissance period. People interested in this drawing style will often look to classical masterpieces such as those by Claude Lorraine and Nicholas Poussin or turn to artists like Turner and Constable. They have influenced their own take on the landscape art formula.

Drawing landscapes is the most enjoyable drawing practice. Figures, portraits, and still life need a lot of attention with details. Under torrential rain and fog, artists may spend a long day waiting for the scenery in their view to clear. Landscapes are different. It’s not an exaggeration to say that there are countless mountain peaks in the world ready to be drawn at any time.

Landscape drawings are a popular art form enjoyed by millions of people, particularly professional art students. However, you don’t need to be an artist to enjoy them. So, you want to learn how to draw landscapes? Great! Drawing landscapes may seem intimidating at first, but don’t worry – it’s not as hard as you think it is. Use the steps below to create an incredible landscape. So, get ready to draw lots of trees, mountains, and clouds.

How to Draw a Landscape: Methods

We are here to show you how to draw a landscape. You will learn the most basic information, but it’s an excellent and important foundation for the topics that will come later. You can always find advanced tutorials and drawings when you are more advanced, but the basics are the fundamentals. It’s important to know them well.

If you are looking for a new project to try drawing landscapes. This is also something that you can do with your children. Children love nature, and the great thing about a drawing project like this is that it will help your child learn about geometry and proportions as well.  It will also engage their imagination and help them be more creative in other aspects of their lives.

Landscapes are relatively simple to draw. However, because of their complexity and variety, it is difficult to explain exactly how one should take the first steps in creating a landscape. The description below offers an easy step by step instructions for drawing a landscape. Simply follow these steps, and you will be able to create your own landscape drawings with ease.

How to Draw a Landscape: Method 1

Step- 1: Draw a horizontal line.

At first, you will need to draw a horizontal line. Also, draw a vanishing point on this line, on the right.

Step- 2: Draw rectangle & triangle.

You should now draw a rectangle on the left between the horizontal line. After drawing the rectangle, draw a tall triangle above.

Step- 3: Draw 3 lines.

Draw three lines towards the vanishing point.

Step- 4: Make house shape.

Copy the angle of the front roof to the back and draw a vertical line to connect the house’s bottom.

Step- 5: Draw another rectangle.

Draw a rectangle to the right, lower and longer than the first.

Step- 6: Draw more lines.

Draw two more lines towards the vanishing point.

Step- 7: Make a house.

Draw a vertical line and then a horizontal line from the center of the first roof. Then draw a triangle.

Step- 8: Erase the guidelines.

Draw a short straight line, at the same angle as the original triangle. Then draw another short straight line at the same angle as the second triangle and erase the guidelines.

Step- 9: Draw chimney.

You could draw a chimney using the vanishing point for lines going away into the distance. You can also draw a second chimney as well.

Step- 10: Draw windows.

Draw windows on walls facing us, the windows will be rectangles.

Step- 11: Draw a door.

Draw a door on the side and use the vanishing point for the top line of the door.

Step- 12: Add shading on the house.

You have to add shading and more details as shown in the image above to make the landscape drawing more realistic.

Step- 13: Draw grasses.

You could add some sketch marks for grasses at the side of the river. As you draw the grasses, you could draw their reflection too.

Step- 14: Draw the house’s reflection.

Now draw the house’s reflection to the river too. Copy the vertical lines down into the river, using soft line stocks.

Step- 15: Draw more plants.

Add more plants at the edge of the river.

Step- 16: Add trees.

Draw some tall thin trees next to the house. Two thin trees on the right side of the house and one slightly thin tree on the left side of the house.

Step- 17: Draw river bank.

Now you have to draw the right side of the river’s bank. Also, add more grasses and tinny trees around the drawings, as shown in the image above.

Step- 18: Draw shade tree’s body and trunk.

Shade all of the tree’s body and trunk and draw the reflections on the river also.

Step- 19: Add detail on trees.

As you drew those trees’ bodies and trunks only, you have to draw their leaves. So roughly draw those tree leaves.

Step- 20: Finally add more details.

Finally, add more details to look more realistic as the image above, and you are done drawing a landscape.

How to Draw a Landscape: Method- 2

Step- 1: Draw a house and pathway lines.

Drawing a light horizontal line along the horizon is a good start. Make it about midway across the drawing area. Now you need to draw a rectangle along the long side of the church buildings. In order for the front of the cover to be visible, add a rectangle that has three sides and is open at the top. The vertical lines need to be parallel.

You can use a slanted rectangle to indicate which side of the roof is visible. Complete the outline by connecting the top of the roof with the top of the slanted line on the left. Using two curved lines that connect near the side of the church building, mark the start of a road.

Step- 2: Draw doors and windows.

Make the horizon line gentler by adding some gentle curves. Rectangles should be used on the church windows, doors and steeple. The front windows should be rectangles with a half circle at the top. Add another set of lines along the roadway to depict the beginnings of a stone wall.

Step- 3: Draw some trees.

To add depth to the landscape, draw a couple of trees. The first tree should have a thick trunk and two large branches. Make an oval of leaves by making squiggly lines on both trees. The gravestones should be shaped as U-shapes upside-down. You can add a curved line to the right side of each to give them depth.

The church’s details should be added now. Make two upside-down V shapes side by side at the top of the steeple. Put six parallel lines on the roof, equidistant from each other. Create shrubs by using squiggly lines shaped like flattened ovals. Then draw vertical and horizontal lines down the center of the doorway and under the windows.

Step- 4: Draw stone as pathway wall.

Using irregular ovals of different sizes, draw the outline of the stones on the wall. Give the trees the appearance of bark by using mostly vertical lines along the sides. Make the distance appear deeper by adding a tree line.

After that, also draw some short rounded lines to represent birds in the sky. Make ruts in the road by drawing long curving lines. Finish the church by adding small rectangles for the door, handles with short vertical lines, and intersections for the windows. The door should be adorned with a cross.

Step- 5: Add Detail

Shade the trees in the background in dark shades. Draw a series of crooked horizontal lines on the side of the church to create a shadow. Grass clumps should be placed closely together in the areas around the gravestones and tree.

As tufts of grass, the spiked, jagged shapes appear on the sides of the road and randomly throughout the nearby fields. Finish off the long rectangles extending beyond the windows by adding short vertical lines. Lightly shade parts of the wall with diagonal lines.

You have finished drawing your landscape! Keep practicing until you are pleased with your drawing, regardless of whether you get it right the first time.

20 Landscape Drawing Ideas

As an artist, it is often frustrating to have your creativity limited. This is especially true when you are striving to draw something specific but have difficulty getting that realistic look you’ve always wanted. At times like these, the best approach is to use a little imagination when drawing landscapes. While this may sound like cheating, it’s easier than some people make it out to be.

There are a plethora of landscape drawing ideas out there. It’s nice to know that your imagination is not the only thing limiting your ability to draw landscapes. To help you start brainstorming landscape drawing ideas, we have compiled this list of 20 landscape drawing ideas.

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Final Words

We hope you enjoyed this short and sweet lesson. This is a fundamental breakdown into a few simple steps to drawing a landscape but could say more. Don’t despair if you don’t get it right the first time. Keep at it, and you will eventually become proficient with your drawing techniques. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that because you cannot achieve the same results as others, it is due to some form of such as lack of talent or other failings on your part. It might be true if you cannot learn how to draw landscapes, but in reality, all it takes is practice. Keep practicing, keep experimenting on your own and with different methods until you find one that you are comfortable with, then stick with it until you are happy with your results.

We hope you found that helpful! The most important thing to remember when drawing a landscape is to take your time and really look at what you’re drawing. Take notes, make sketches, and then use those as guides. Your efforts will pay off when you can sit back and admire the finished product.