Inside: How to Draw A Cactus in 6 Easy Steps.

Hello Artists!

Today we are drawing a cactus, both a small one and a large one. So that’s 2 actually… making it cacti.

Cacti are a very popular plant, and fun to draw.

How to draw Cactus

There are many species of cactus. The two most popular, in my opinion, are the Paddle cactus and the Saguaro cactus.

Fun fact: both of these species of cactus produce flowers. The Paddle cactus can even bear fruit! How cool is that?

Many people line the windows of their homes with this cool plant.

They are perfect for those of us who don’t necessarily have a green thumb, seeing as they are hard to kill. Hard…but not impossible.

If you don’t trust yourself to have a live cactus you might have to settle for the next best thing: A Drawing!

Drawing a cactus can be so much fun. They are simple in shape and detail, but they can really come alive with color. What are we waiting for…Let’s dive in.

Supplies You’ll Need:

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Colored pencil or crayons

  Supplies for drawing

Artist tip: Knowing how much space you have to draw on is important. A simple trick to get a lay of the land(so to speak) is to place a dot in the center of your paper. This will help you gauge how much room you have!

Let’s get started:

How To Draw A Saguaro Cactus

1. First, draw a tall thin rainbow shape.

How to draw a saguaro cactus

2. Off of this shape, draw another rainbow shape. This time it curved upward. This is an arm.

drawing Cacti arms

3. Repeat on the other side, either higher or lower than the first arm, and erase the separating lines where the shapes connect.

Cactus sketching

How to draw a paddle Cactus

1. Start by draw a small rainbow shape.

How to draw a paddle cactus

2. Off of this shape, draw 2 more arms. Paddle cactus can grow off of each arm.

Outlines of Cacti

How to draw succulents

3. Paddle cactus bear fruit, these Cactus Fruit look like little ovals off the top of the paddle. They are pink in color when ripe.

Cacti flowers step by step drawing

4. Saguaro Cactus flower: This cactus usually only produces one or two flowers. These are also on the top of the plant.

saguaro cactus flower

5. Other details: Saguaro cacti have lines in their trunk and arms. Paddle cacti have dots.

sketching details of cacti

6. The best part: Color! This part is completely up you the artist, so color them as you please!

Artist tip: Use different shades to create highlights and shadows to make it look more realistic.

How to color a cactus

Look at that, you’ve drawn a cactus…well 2 so you’ve drawn cacti!

Which one was your favorite to draw?

Let’s see what else we can draw together next time. 

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