Let’s Draw a Winter Angel

This week, we draw a winter angel step by step!

The angel begins with a simple outline sketch. The hands and feet are hidden behind the dress, so it’s easy! The skirt is big so that you can treat it as a blank canvas for winter scenery.

Step 1 – Make an Outline Sketch

Pick an A4-size or US letter-size paper and a regular pencil.

Draw a horizontal center line and then another line that divides the upper part in half.

Place a head right above the upper line and draw a simple body and a long hem.

Add a circle for the halo behind the head, some marks for facial features, wings, and curves to divide the upper body into two parts.

Erase the sketched lines so that you can see them only vaguely. Compare the wings in the picture above with the next picture. After erasing, the pencil sketch is visible only barely.

Step 2 – Add Foundational Ideas

Change to colored pencils. Start with the face and color lightly. Get connected with the character that you are drawing. Add some skin tone and hair. You can also draw facial features, but do it with a light hand, aiming for a connection rather than perfection at this stage.

With neutral colors, add ideas for a winter feel. I draw fur on the top part of the dress and then sky and trees on the skirt.

Step 3 – Color Beyond the Outlines

Get more creative by breaking the outlines. Think about the air that rises from the cold and circulates around the dress. Imagine winds, polar lights, and layers of snow, but also immaterial things: thoughts and feelings and their liveliness.

You can now use more colors but keep the coloring light and progress gradually layer by layer.

Step 4 – Add Details by Coloring

Go through the angel many times and add more details and shadows at every go.

The more details you add, the more your imagination grows. For example, the wings can have decorative motifs.

Make the angel more interesting by adding more asymmetry.

Draw elements like ice so that it’s placed differently on the two sides of the angel.

Step 5 – Cut Out and Finish

Cut the angel out of the paper and make final adjustments, especially near the cut-out edges. Now it’s also the time to make final adjustments to the facial features.

I added more decoration and cut a notch to the halo so that it’s like a glamorous hat.

Step 6 – Play with the Winter Angel!

Combine other items with the doll, and enjoy making the settings! I like to pull out stuff from my boxes of hand-drawn elements – boxes of joy, as I call them!

I drew this little Christmas Girl one evening when I was too tired to do anything else. I think it looks lovely with the winter angel!

Doll World – Sign Up Now!

Come to draw more dolls and other beautiful items for your box of joy!

Doll World begins on January 1st, 2023. Watch the video and sign up here!