60 ideas

Butterfly Drawing Ideas

Deal one butterfly by species, view or life stage, with its main colours and the marking that makes it that butterfly printed under it.

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Drawn: A butterfly head close up, proboscis coiled like a springA butterfly head close up, proboscis coiled like a springClubbed antennae and a long proboscis, coiled when not in use. Draw the coil as a tight flat spiral under the head.

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All 60 ideas

Named species 12

A blue morpho with wings open, blue running to black edges About 12 cm across; iridescent blue, black. Grade the blue from pale to deep, because it shifts with the angle.
A common buckeye with wings open, eyespots large and small Brown, orange, white. One large and one small eyespot on every wing; two orange bars and a white band on the forewing.
A European peacock basking, an eyespot at each wingtip Rusty red, black, blue, yellow. Four eyespots, one per wingtip, each built from black, blue and yellow rings.
A male eastern tiger swallowtail with four tiger stripes Up to 14 cm across; yellow, black. Four black stripes cross each forewing; yellow spots dot the black outer edge.
A marbled white with wings open, a black and white chequer 46 to 56 mm across; white and grey-black. Chequer the wing bases and outer edges; an oval white spot sits in each cell.
A monarch with wings open, black veins on tawny orange 9 to 10 cm across; tawny orange, black, white. Two rows of small white spots sit inside the black margin.
A mourning cloak with wings open, pale ragged border Ragged edges; dark maroon, pale yellow, blue. Bright blue spots sit in the black line between maroon and yellow.
A Rajah Brooke's birdwing with seven green teeth per wing 15 to 17 cm across; black, electric green, red head. Seven tooth-shaped green marks line each forewing.
A red admiral with wings open, one red band on each wing About 5 cm across; black, red-orange, white. A band crosses each forewing and edges each hindwing; white tip spots.
A small tortoiseshell with wings open, blue-spotted rim 4.5 to 6.2 cm across; reddish orange, black, yellow. Three black blocks with yellow between on each front edge.
A zebra longwing with its long wings spread flat Long wings, 72 to 100 mm across; black, white, yellow. Keep the narrow stripes thin and evenly spaced.
An Old World swallowtail with wings open, tails down Tailed hindwings, 65 to 86 mm across; yellow, black, blue. Below each tail sit one red spot and six blue.

Side view 12

A blue morpho with wings closed, brown with eyespots Browns and black. The blue is hidden; draw each eyespot as a dark circle inside a brighter ring.
A brimstone with wings closed, shaped like a pale leaf 60 to 74 mm across; sulphur yellow male or greenish-white female. A leaf mimic, with one orange spot in each wing.
A comma with wings closed, a white C on marbled brown Strongly notched, ragged edges; marbled browns, white. Folded, it looks like a dead leaf; add the small white comma.
A common blue in side view, underside dotted with rings 28 to 36 mm across; dust grey, black, orange. Black-centred white spots, about a dozen on the hindwing; orange rim.
A glasswing in side view, a leaf showing through its wings About 6 cm across; clear wings, dark brown borders tinted red or orange. Draw what is behind first, then the veins.
A green hairstreak perched on a twig with wings shut 26 to 30 mm across; bright green, white. A thin white line, often just a row of dots. It never rests with wings open.
A monarch in side view, wings closed, feeding on milkweed Tawny orange, black, white. The underside has yellow-brown tips and larger white spots; milkweed flowers are pinkish.
A painted lady with wings closed, five eyespots in a row Hindwing underside marbled olive-brown with white veins; five eyespots, the second and fifth largest. Reddish forewing.
An orange oakleaf with wings closed, posing as a dead leaf Leaf-shaped; buff, browns, black. A dark band runs from forewing tip to hindwing corner as a midrib, veins branching.
An orange tip settled on a flower head, underside mottled White, mottled green. The green and white underside is camouflage on flowerheads such as cow parsley; soften the edge.
An owl butterfly with wings closed, one huge eyespot shown Very large, with a cryptic underwing, so mute the colours. The eyespot is like an owl's eye: light iris, large pupil.
Butterflies puddling on wet sand, wings shut, packed close Mixed species on wet-sand brown. Butterflies gather on wet soil to sip salts, more often males; overlap the wings.

Life cycle 12

A butterfly head close up, proboscis coiled like a spring Clubbed antennae and a long proboscis, coiled when not in use. Draw the coil as a tight flat spiral under the head.
A butterfly's life in a four-panel strip, egg to adult Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult. Keep the same leaf in every panel so the four stages read as one story.
A monarch caterpillar banded in white, yellow and black White, yellow and black bands cross the body; a larger pair of black tentacles at the front, a smaller pair behind.
A monarch chrysalis gone clear, the wings showing inside Just before emerging it turns transparent, showing the black and orange inside. Keep the gold dots and the rim.
A monarch chrysalis hanging, pale green with gold dots Opaque pale green, gold, black. Small golden dots near the bottom, a gold-and-black rim near the top.
A newly emerged butterfly, wings still crumpled and damp It cannot fly until the wings are inflated with fluid and dried. Draw them small, soft and folded by the empty case.
A patch of wing enlarged to show rows of tiny scales Wings are covered in scales. Blacks and browns are pigment; many blues and greens are structural. Tile it like a mosaic.
A peacock caterpillar on a nettle, black with white dots Glossy black, six rows of barbed spikes, a line of white dots on every segment. It feeds on nettle.
A swallowtail caterpillar with its orange fork pushed out Green with black and orange markings; the osmeterium is a large orange fork behind the head, a smelly defence.
A swallowtail chrysalis held head up by a silk girdle A spun silk girdle keeps the pupa head up against the stem, like a climber leaning on a rope. Match it to the stem.
A young tiger swallowtail caterpillar posing as a dropping The first three stages are brown with a large white saddle, a bird-dropping disguise. Keep it small on a big leaf.
One monarch egg under a young milkweed leaf Cream or light green, an oval cone with ridges running top to bottom, laid singly. Draw it tiny against the leaf.

Pattern and design 12

A butterfly built from a capital B and its mirror image Draw a tall B, mirror it on the left, run a body down the join. Two flat colours; the bumps of the B are the wings.
A butterfly in solid black, its spots left as white paper Black marker only. Leave two rows of small white dots round the margin, as a monarch has, and keep the edge crisp.
A butterfly landing on a fingertip, wings in a V Seen from the front the wings make a V. Show the bright upper side on one wing and the duller underside on the other.
A butterfly seen three-quarters on, near wing foreshortened The far wings look narrower and tuck behind the body. Bend the pattern with the wing surface. Pencil first.
A butterfly traced through a fold so both sides match Fold the paper, draw half in soft pencil against the fold, refold and rub to transfer. Ink both sides, then colour.
A row of five butterflies, each with one simple pattern One outline five times: stripes, spots, checks, zigzags, plain. Two colours each, and mirror every mark.
A specimen page of nine butterflies, a name under each Wings open in three rows of three. Keep sizes in proportion: a 12 cm morpho dwarfs a 3 cm common blue.
Butterflies lifting out of an open jar, small to large Simple rounded wings in one warm colour family. Let them grow and overlap as they rise so the swarm has depth.
Half butterfly, half flowers, split down the body One side true wings, the other built from petals and leaves inside the same outline. Black pen plus two colours.
One butterfly wing with a new pattern in every cell Use the veins as walls and fill each cell differently: stripes, dots, scales, waves. Fineliner and one accent colour.
One forewing close up, veins and cells filling the page Veins fan out from the wing base. Fit the pattern into the cells between them. Black plus two colours.
Three butterflies feeding on a butterfly bush spike Buddleja: long panicles of small lilac to purple flowers, lance-shaped leaves. Set the three at different angles.

Paint it 12

A blue morpho in acrylic on black paper Wet-in-wet acrylic. Blend three blues while wet across each wing so the colour seems to shift; leave black edges.
A butterfly shape masked out of a sunset wash Wet-in-wet. Tack down a paper butterfly, wash sunset colours over it, peel it off, then vein the white shape.
A dark butterfly over a dried wet-in-wet sky Wet-in-wet. Flood the page with two sky colours, let it dry, then paint one dark butterfly crisply on top.
A fold-and-press butterfly from blobs of three colours Fold-and-press. Blob paint on one half, close to the fold; press, open, and add a body and antennae when dry.
A fold-and-press butterfly in metallic paint on black card Fold-and-press. Blob metallic acrylic near the fold, press once, open slowly, and leave the texture alone.
A fold-and-press butterfly made with a paint-soaked string Fold-and-press. Loop a painted string on one half with its tail hanging out, fold, press, and pull the string.
A fold-and-press print worked up into a European peacock Fold-and-press in rusty red. When dry, paint four eyespots on top, one per wingtip, in black, blue and yellow rings.
A glasswing painted with almost nothing on its wings Wet-in-wet. Paint the soft background straight through the wings; when dry add dark brown borders and hairline veins.
A monarch in watercolour: orange wash first, veins last Wet-in-wet for the tawny orange, then let it dry fully. Add black veins and margin; dot the white spots last.
A wet-in-wet butterfly, two colours meeting in each wing Wet-in-wet. Wet one wing with clean water, touch in yellow then orange, let them spread. Paint the body last.
A white crayon butterfly revealed by a watercolour wash Wax resist under wet-in-wet. Press hard with white crayon for the veins, then float two colours over them.
An Old World swallowtail in watercolour, yellow kept clean Wet-in-wet yellow first. When bone dry add the black veins, then six blue spots and one red below each tail.

How it works

These butterfly drawing ideas are sorted by what you look at: named species from above, butterflies at rest from the side, life-cycle close-ups, pattern designs and twelve to paint. Each of the 60 has a hint with the size or wing shape, the main colours and the marking that makes it that butterfly.

Read the full guide

Wings open or wings closed

Named species shows twelve butterflies from above, where the pattern is a mirrored pair, such as A small tortoiseshell with wings open, blue-spotted rim. Side view shows twelve at rest, when most butterflies hold their wings shut above the body and only the underside shows. The two views can look like different insects: A blue morpho with wings closed, brown with eyespots hides every trace of blue.

Life cycle, designs and the Paint it group

Life cycle runs from one monarch egg to a newly emerged adult, with close-ups of wing scales and a coiled proboscis. Pattern and design is for invented butterflies: half flowers, a wing of patterned cells, a swarm leaving a jar. Paint it holds the twelve butterfly painting ideas, and every hint opens with its method, wet-in-wet or fold-and-press. Paint it plus Easy holds four, among them a white crayon butterfly under a wash.

Draw the body first in three parts, then hang both pairs of wings from the middle part, the thorax.
Pencil one side, then measure each mark across the body before inking, because the pattern mirrors.
Run the five-minute timer on a side view first. One closed pair of wings is half the work of four.

Questions and answers

Which butterfly is easiest to draw?

Among the named species, try A zebra longwing with its long wings spread flat: black wings with narrow white and yellow stripes. The red admiral and the male eastern tiger swallowtail are easy too, each built from a few bold bands. Eighteen are in Easy.

How do I make a morpho's blue look as if it shines?

Do not fill it flat. Many butterfly blues and greens come from the structure of the wing scales, not from pigment, so the colour shifts with the angle. Grade each wing from pale blue to deep and run it into the black edges. In paint, A blue morpho in acrylic on black paper blends three blues while wet.

How does the fold-and-press method work?

Fold a sheet and open it. Blob paint on one side near the crease, fold it shut, press outward and open it again. The print mirrors itself, which is why it suits a butterfly. Four of the Paint it ideas use it, from three plain blobs to a European peacock.