For our winter journal pages and bullet journal spreads, it's great to learn how to draw a snowflake doodle. Snow elements like snowflakes is a great way to add some fun to our pages and embrace the chilly (and sometimes dreary) months of the year. Good news is, even though snowflakes look complex and geometrical, they are one of the easiest doodles to draw!
Before learning how to draw a snowflake
Let's talk first about the snowflake anatomy. The classic snowflake has six sides and is hexagonal or a hexagon as its basic shape. But there are many more shapes that snowflakes can have. There are also several main types of snowflakes. These are just a few...
- triangular
- columns & needles
- capped columns
- stellar (stars) dendrites
- fern-like stellar dendrites
You can probably envision what some of these look like. But did you know that it all depends on the weather conditions (temperature, moisture levels, etc.) as to what type will form? Plus, like human fingerprints, no two snowflakes are exactly alike. For more snowflake facts, check out this Caltech physics professor's website. He's a snowflake expert and has tons of fun details on the fascinating topic!
While total snowflake anatomy accuracy is not essential when learning how to draw a snowflake, it can help us get creative when doodling them. To create the a beautiful snowflake shape on paper, it's good to know how they form in real life.
Supplies needed for drawing a snowflake
If you don't already have a journal or pen in mind for these doodles, we recommend our favorites:
- Great journal for doodling (Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Journal on Amazon)
- Best pens for drawing (Sakura Micron on Amazon)
- Ruler set for bullet journaling (Mr. Pen Steel Rulers set on Amazon)
If you need more supplies ideas for journaling in general, check out our gift guide for someone who loves to journal.
How to Draw a Snowflake - 4 Different Doodles To Try
The most important step in our snowflake tutorial is the basic snowflake shape. Every snowflake version we've included in our step by step guide starts with the same simple snowflake outline. You create your snowflake design first by drawing six intersecting lines.
To break it down even further, you can start by drawing an "X" shape with straight lines. Then add both the horizontal line and vertical line through the center. This is an easy step but the most essential for establishing your snowflake drawing shape.
An easy snowflake drawing starts with six intersecting and straight lines.
Now you can add embellishments to your first line, your second line, and so on and so forth. We've broken these down into simple steps for each snowflake design. That way you can see the details you need to add to make beautiful snowflakes for your bullet journal or planner.
Easiest snowflake drawing with straight lines
The easiest of all the snowflake doodles, this one just uses straight lines.
If you're not confident with your drawing skills, then this is the easiest snowflake for you.
Start with the first easy step of your snowflake drawing outline. Then add small "V" shapes at each of the six points of the snowflake. You can then draw bigger "V" shapes down the lines, closer to the center of the snowflake point. And voila! Can you believe you just learned how to draw a snowflake that easily and quickly?
Snowflake drawing with dots and curves
Just a few half-moon curved lines and some open dots give this snowflake drawing some flare!
Start by adding circles to all six points of this snowflake drawing. This makes a simple but fun snowflake doodle. You can then add half-moon shapes or little "U" shaped curves along each of the six straight lines of the snowflake. At the tips of these curves, add more open dots or small circles. Your finished drawing looks like the familiar snowflake ornaments that hang on a Christmas tree or wreath during the winter season.
Snowflake with a star center
Star center snowflakes are surprisingly easy to draw!
Upping the complexity just a little bit, this snowflake drawing with a star center is perfect for our winter season planner pages and snow-themed bullet journal spreads. But don't get too overwhelmed! It looks harder than it is to actually draw. Follow these simple steps.
Start first with your six lines for the basic snowflake shape. Then draw an outward-facing "V" in between each of the lines. Try to keep these consistent. You want it to look like each point connects to make the start shape center. Then add more smaller, inward-facing "V" shapes along the lines to create that "fern-like" effect that you see in real snowflakes. Easy!
Stylistic snowflake doodle
Add whatever style, shapes, dots you want for a beautiful snowflake drawing.
This particular snowflake drawing tutorial is a little more free-range. While we do still have symmetry and a pattern to this snowflake design, we let our creative juices flow. This snowflake doodle is great for improvising and adding whatever elements you want.
Start with your essential six sides of the snowflake. Then out from the center, draw shorter new lines in between each of the six main lines. At the end of all your straight lines, add a "V". And wherever you like, you can add some dots for flare. This really creates the illusion of a dusty, lacy snowflake form.
If you liked our easy snowflake drawings, broken into smaller steps for an easy guide, let us know in the comments below!
And for more easy journal doodles with drawing tutorials (like an easy lavender drawing) and other topics, head over to the Silk+Sonder blog!