In this post, I will show you how to draw a river, I’ve included a video tutorial as well as written instructions so you can learn from scratch.

How To Draw A River

Step 1 – Gather your supplies. You will need paper, pencils, erasers, and a ruler.

Step 2 – Draw a horizon line across your paper. This will help you establish the perspective of your drawing.

Step 3 – Draw a line along the horizon to represent the horizon of the river. This line should be slightly curved.

Step 4 – Draw a line along the bottom of the paper to represent the shoreline.

Step 5 – Draw a river bank along the shoreline. Follow the curve of the horizon line to give the riverbank a natural shape.

Step 6 – Outline the river with a pencil. Make sure to use light strokes. This will be the base of your river.

Step 7 – Draw the main body of the river. Use a ruler to draw a straight line from the shoreline to the horizon line.

Step 8 – Start shading the river. Use a pencil to lightly shade in the areas where the water is deeper.

Step 9 – Add more depth to the river. Use a darker pencil to shade in areas where the water is even deeper.

Step 10 – Add ripples to the river. Use a light pencil to draw small waves along the shoreline.

Step 11 – Add details to the river. Use a pencil to draw small rocks and pebbles along the shoreline.

Step 12 – Add shadows to the river. Use a pencil to add shadows to the rocks and pebbles to make them look three–dimensional.

Step 13 – Add a few trees along the shoreline. Use a light pencil to draw simple shapes for the trees.

Step 14 – Erase any extra lines or mistakes. Use an eraser to clean up your drawing.

Step 15 – Color in your drawing. Use colored pencils or markers to add color to your drawing.