Subscribe for $1/week
Sign In
Subscribe for $1/week
Sign In

  • Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    , , , , ,

    Christmas is coming up, but rest assured that you’ve still got some time to send out holiday mail art and enjoy making holiday-themed projects! In today’s tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw three simple snowflakes that will add festive fun to whatever you’re working on this holiday season!

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    Want to make an envelope into instant holiday mail art? Draw a snowflake. Feel like giving your sketchbook page a dose of festivity? Draw a snowflake. Want to practice using your dip pen in a fun and seasonally appropriate way? Yep — you can draw a snowflake. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make three simple but impressive snowflakes that will add holiday cheer to any project!

    Basic Guidelines for Every Snowflake

    Before you draw a snowflake, you’ll need to make pencil guidelines. Ideally, you’ll draw these guidelines with a ruler and a pencil. You’ll want to make these guidelines before creating any of the three snowflake tutorials in this article! First, draw a symmetrical cross.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    My horizontal and vertical lines here measure 3″. The number, however, isn’t important. What is important is that both lines are the same length!

    Next, intersect your cross with two slightly shorter lines. These lines should make an “X”.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    Both of the new lines that I drew here measure 2″. Again, the number doesn’t matter as long as these lines are shorter than the first lines that you drew!

    You’re now ready to tackle any of the snowflake tutorials below!

    1. Flourishes and Diamonds Snowflake

    This snowflake features a classic “S” flourish motif plus wintery icicle-inspired diamonds! It’s a classically beautiful snowflake suitable for any elegant project.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    To make this snowflake, begin by creating your basic pencil guidelines. Then, position your pen in the center of the snowflake, and draw an “S” flourish along one of the longer pencil lines. The flourish should get progressively bigger, then progressively smaller.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    In this example, the fifth “S” is the largest because it falls in the middle of the line.

    Next, draw several evenly-spaced waves along one of the shorter lines.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    I managed to fit five waves on this short line. Don’t worry if you end up with more waves or less waves!

    Finally, “close” the waves by drawing another set of waves on the opposite site of the line.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to work your way around the snowflake, drawing “S” flourishes along the long lines and waves along the shorter lines.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    The more consistent you can be, the better! Notice that in this snowflake, there are always nine “S” flourishes and five diamonds.

    Wait for your ink to dry, then gently erase your pencil lines!

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    Congratulations; you’ve made a lovely snowflake!

    2. Geometric Snowflake

    I love this non-traditional snowflake because of its various sizes of squares — they remind me of ice crystals! This is a great snowflake to include on funky holiday projects.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    To make this snowflake, start with your basic snowflake pencil guidelines. Then, simply draw several different sizes of overlapping diamonds along each guideline.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    I used a dip pen to draw these diamonds, but a dip pen isn’t required. You could easily use any fine-tipped pen to make this snowflake!

    Continue to draw various sizes of diamonds until all of the pencil guidelines are covered.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    Don’t worry about all of your diamonds being consistent in size or arrangement. This snowflake will look good no matter what!

    Wait for the ink to dry, then erase the pencil guidelines.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    This snowflake is super cool and simple!

    3. Stitches and Loops Snowflake

    This snowflake boasts tiny snowflake-shaped “stitches” and generous loops! It’s a great fit for both elegant and playful holiday projects.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    As with the previous two snowflake tutorials, you’ll want to start by drawing your basic snowflake pencil guidelines. Use your dip pen to make several “phone cord” loops along one of the longer guidelines. The loops should start off small, peak in size in the center, then diminish again.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    If you’d like to practice drawing loops and swirls before attempting this snowflake, try filling out the Not Your Average Calligraphy Drills printable!

    Next, draw a series of evenly-spaced “X”s along the a shorter guideline. Intersect each of those “X”s with a short line that follows the pencil guideline. The crossed X’s should start off small, get large in the center, then end small again.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to draw loops along the longer lines and X’s along the shorter lines.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock

    Once you finish and the ink dries, erase the pencil guidelines!

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    This snowflake is versatile because it has an elegant yet modern feel to it!

    What to Use These Snowflakes For

    You can, of course, put these snowflakes on any holiday/winter project that you like! These would be great to include on chalkboards, in sketchbooks, bullet journals, or mail art!

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    Here’s the Flourishes and Diamonds snowflake in the corner of an envelope. I used a white mechanical pencil to make the guidelines for it!

    So far, I’ve enjoyed putting these snowflakes on envelopes. You’ll notice in the envelope below that I made up a super funky snowflake on the left, and I used Finetec Moon Gold to draw little diamonds throughout the piece.

    Three Different Ways to Draw a Snowflake | The Postman's Knock
    It’s a good thing I used a plastic envelope to protect this Janet Style mail art! It rained and snowed the day that the envelope waited outside for the postal worker to pick it up.

    Regardless of what project you decide to incorporate these snowflakes into, I know that you’ll enjoy drawing them! I think they’re just great — simple, quick, and fun! If you have any questions about how to make them, please feel free to ask in the comments. 🙂 In the meantime, enjoy these last few days leading up to Christmas/New Year’s! As always, thanks so much for reading TPK, and enjoy your weekend!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock