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How to Draw a Cattail
Draw a cattail in 9 easy steps, about 7 minutes. Free, with a printable worksheet.
Each picture adds one red line. Draw that line, then scroll to the next picture. Rub out any dashed helper lines at the end. First up: tall stem.
Step 1: Tall stem
Start near the bottom middle. Draw a slightly bent line up, stopping in the top third. Draw another beside it.
Tip Cattail stems are thin, and a little wider at the bottom.
Step 2: Sausage head
On top of the stem draw a tall fat sausage standing up, round at both ends.
Tip Like a hot dog standing on the stem, as tall as your hand.
Step 3: The spike
From the very top of the sausage draw one short thin line straight up, like a pin.
Step 4: Shorter cattail
On the left, start near the bottom. Draw a thin stem up, stopping lower. Add a smaller head and spike.
Step 5: Third cattail
On the right, start near the bottom. Draw a stem up to a middle height. Add a head and spike.
Tip Three heights look natural: tall, short, middle.
Step 6: Blade leaves
Beside the stem bottoms draw 4 blade leaves, 2 bending out and 2 standing up, each ending in a point.
Tip Cattail leaves are long flat straps, wide at the bottom and pointy at the top.
Step 7: The water
Along the stem and leaf bottoms draw a water line across the page. Add 3 small ripples below.
Step 8: Blue water, green leaves
Colour the water blue. Colour the stems and blade leaves green.
Step 9: Brown heads
Colour the 3 sausage heads brown. Go over your lines and your cattails are done!
Your finished drawing
Follow the steps above and this is where you end up: a cattail, drawn by you.
Every step in one picture
