Autumn is upon us and that can only mean one thing, time to gather leaves! My how to draw a maple leaf easily is one of my favorite drawing tutorials for this time of the year!
Unless you live in an area of maple trees it can be difficult to find some of the hugely popular maple leaves! I have the next best thing, a maple leaf drawing step by step for everyone!
Why does everyone love Maple leaves?
Below is my inspiration for teaching my kids how to draw a realistic maple leaf! My kids and I found some today outside the school!!
Maple leaves are the national symbol of Canada! So, I am guessing all Canadians love maple trees! But that is not the only reason, not only do they look pretty, especially when they turn orange/brown but they taste great too!
Who can resist some maple syrup on their pancakes or on their porridge, not me! Maple is also good quality strong wood! So, when you are helping your kids with this maple leaves drawing educate them a bit about the background of this leaf and tree also! I love making things educational for all my readers!
Before I go any further I would love all my readers to tell me why they are here, and if they found what they were looking for?! Perhaps you were searching for Fall drawing instructions? Maybe you were looking for maple leaf crafts? Or is there another reason?
By the way if you are looking for more Fall drawing ideas I can recommend my easy hedgehog drawing or my tutorial on how to draw a pumpkin easily. You can see a preview of these two below, don’t they look cute?! Maybe something to bookmark for another day!
What you need to Draw a Maple Leaf
If you have done lots of my other drawing tutorials you are likely to have these items already! Like most of these activities the materials are cheap!
- Art paper (Cold press)
- Pencil – HB and 2b
- Oil Pastel Crayons
- Tissue/ napkin
Why does this Maple Leaf Drawing Easy Rock
Perfect for Fall
Great for a themed learning week
17 Easy to follow step by step instructions
Suitable for the youngest of kids!
Printable version meaning you have it to hand for whenever you need it!
Use it for crafts or pretty house decor!
Below I will show you how to draw a realistic maple leaf. You can follow this right now but if you want to do this in the future skip to the bottom of my post for a printable maple leaf drawing instructions.
My Easy Maple Leaf Drawing Step by Step
I have tried to keep this as simple as possible so that kids as young as 5 and 6 can try and complete it. They will follow the step-by-step drawing pictures as opposed to the words!
Step 1:
Prepare a piece of paper, use cold press art paper for best result. Use 2b pencil. Start by drawing a cross as shown in the image of this step.
Step 2:
Draw 2 diagonal lines from the intersected point of the cross and towards the top, along the top side only. The diagonal lines should not exceed the vertical line. You can see how the maple leaf drawing looks so far, below.
Step 3:
Draw arrow heads near the open ends of each line except for the line at the bottom (bottom vertical line).
Step 4:
Draw 2 curve-lines at the bottom side, on both sides of the bottom vertical line.
Step 5:
Now, draw tiny inverted U shapes on both sides of the arrows. The U’s don’t need to be of the same size or pattern, keep them random to give the leaf a realistic look.
Step 6:
Draw U shaped pattern between the arrow patterns and join them.
Step 7:
One by one, join all 5 arrow patterns.
Step 8:
Select yellow crayon and fill the center of the leaf with it. Keep the tips of the maple leaf intact.
Step 9:
Now, fill the tips of the leaf pattern with orange crayon.
Step 10:
Fill all 5 tips nicely.
Step 11:
Add some light and random strokes on the center yellow part with the orange crayon.
Step 12:
Use a cotton swab or a cotton napkin or tissue paper to smudge the yellow center part.
Step 13:
Smudge the center evenly to blend the yellow color and the orange strokes neatly.
Step 14:
Now smudge the orange tips.
Step 15:
Fill the stem part with brown crayon.
Step 16:
Smudge the stem part as well. Use pencil to trace the veins of the maple leaf.
Step 17:
Trace the smaller veins as well to give the maple leaf a neat finishing.
What to do with your Completed Maple Leaf Picture
Why not make lots of drawings of maple leaves and attach them together with some string and turn it into a Fall garland or banner!
You could stick them onto some cardstock and turn them into a Birthday card for someone who has a Birthday in October or November.
Please print out my realistic maple leaf drawing instructions for another time if you are too busy to complete this activity right now!
Perhaps you would like more easy leaf drawing tutorials to follow? If so let me know.
Still want more leaf activities for kids? How about making some Fall leaf monsters or trying my paper plate tree picture craft.
How to Draw a Maple Leaf - Maple Leaf Drawing Step by Step
Autumn is upon us and that can only mean one thing, time to gather leaves! My how to draw a maple leaf easily is one of my favorite drawing tutorials for this time of the year!
Materials
- • Art paper (Cold press)
- • Pencil - HB and 2b
- • Oil Pastel Crayons
- • Tissue/ napkin
Instructions
Step 1:
Prepare a piece of paper, use cold press art paper for best result. Use 2b pencil. Start by drawing a cross as shown in the image of this step.
Step 2:
Draw 2 diagonal lines from the intersected point of the cross and towards the top, along the top side only. The diagonal lines should not exceed the vertical line.
Step 3:
Draw arrow heads near the open ends of each line except for the line at the bottom (bottom vertical line).
Step 4:
Draw 2 curve-lines at the bottom side, on both sides of the bottom vertical line.
Step 5:
Now, draw tiny inverted U shapes on both sides of the arrows. The U’s don’t need to be of the same size or pattern, keep
them random to give the leaf a realistic look.
Step 6:
Draw U shaped pattern between the arrow patterns and join them.
Step 7:
One by one, join all 5 arrow patterns.
Step 8:
Select yellow crayon and fill the center of the leaf with it. Keep the tips of the maple leaf intact.
Step 9:
Now, fill the tips of the leaf pattern with orange crayon.
Step 10:
Fill all 5 tips nicely.
Step 11:
Add some light and random strokes on the center yellow part with the orange crayon.
Step 12:
Use a cotton swab or a cotton napkin or tissue paper to smudge the yellow center part.
Step 13:
Smudge the center evenly to blend the yellow color and the orange strokes neatly.
Step 14:
Now smudge the orange tips.
Step 15:
Fill the stem part with brown crayon.
Step 16:
Smudge the stem part as well. Use pencil to trace the veins of the maple leaf.
Step 17:
Trace the smaller veins as well to give the maple leaf a neat finishing.
Do you now know How to Draw a Maple Leaf?
Hi there, I’m Laura an avid kids crafter with two little ones of my own to keep entertained! I have been doing kids crafts since 2018! Here at Easy Crafts for Kids you can find seasonal crafts for all age groups, as well as drawing tutorials, coloring pages and some other fun printables!