60 doodles
Checked October 2026

Cactus Doodle

Press for a cactus doodle and its first strokes: a tall one, a round one or one in a pot.

Cactus Doodle

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Drawn: Cactus skin as a grid of small spine starsCactus skin as a grid of small spine starsUnit: a small bump with five short lines bursting from it. Repeat it in a neat grid and the grid reads as cactus.

Next step Whole landscapes to draw Doodle plants and leaves

All 60 doodles

Tall cacti 15

A cactus as a capsule with two bent arms A tall capsule. An arm leaves each side as an L with round corners, one set higher than the other.
A candelabra cactus with its arms in matched pairs A thick trunk. Each pair of arms leaves at one height, bends up in a U and stops a little below the top.
A clump of seven columns rising from one base, like pipes Draw the tallest column in the middle and step the others down each side. Every column gets its own rib lines.
A column cactus with spine clusters down each ridge Draw two ribs as tall bands. Down each ridge set small bumps, and from every bump a star of five short spines.
A leaning cactus with one arm grown straight up Tilt the trunk like a falling post. Its one arm ignores the lean and rises upright from the lower side.
A many-armed cactus whose arms have arms Draw the trunk and four arms. From two of the arms, grow a smaller arm that bends up the same way.

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Tall cacti, continued

A one-armed cactus in the shape of a small letter h Draw a tall column. From halfway up, send one arm out and straight up, ending level with the shoulder.
A tall cactus seen from below, arms spreading overhead Make the trunk wide at the bottom of the page and narrow as it climbs. The arms shrink the same way.
A tall cactus with a nest hole and a bird looking out Halfway up the column draw a small dark oval. In it, a round head with a beak and one bright eye.
A tall cactus with ribs that fan from the crown Draw the outline. Rule lines from the top center down the trunk, closer near the edges so it looks round.
A tall cactus with spines as tiny crosses Draw the column, then scatter small x marks down it in rows, a little closer together near the edges.
A two-armed cactus in one unbroken outline Start at the base, go up and round the first arm, over the top, round the second arm and back down to the base.
An armless cactus: one tall ribbed spear One tall column with a round top. Rule three lines from top to base for the ribs. A saguaro like this is a spear.
An old cactus with a scarred trunk and one drooping arm Draw the trunk with patches of rough hatching near the base. One arm bends down before it turns up at the tip.
Three finger cacti in a clump: short, tall, middle Three round-topped columns side by side, overlapping at the base. Short strokes down each for spines.

Round and paddle cacti 15

A ball cactus shaded like a sphere, spines left bare Pencil the spines first. Hatch the ball darker toward one side and work round each spine so it stays white.
A barrel cactus crowned by a ring of small cup blooms A ribbed barrel, taller than wide. Sit four or five small cup flowers in a ring right on the crown.
A cactus pad drawn edge on beside one drawn flat Draw one pad as a wide oval and the next, turned sideways, as a narrow leaf shape. Both carry the same dots.
A heap of ball cacti, small ones riding on large Three ribbed balls on the ground and two smaller ones resting in the dips between them. Spines last.
A paddle cactus hedge of a dozen overlapping pads Start with three pads at the front and add more behind, each half hidden. Spines only on the front row.
A paddle cactus shaped like a mitten, thumb pad to one side One large flat oval standing up. Add a smaller oval low on one side, tilted out like a thumb.
A paddle cactus spread like a hand: five pads on one rim Draw one big pad. Set five smaller ovals round its upper rim like the fingers of a spread hand. Dot them all.
A round cactus from above, its ribs a pinwheel A circle with a small tuft in the middle. Curve every rib line out from the tuft the same way, like a pinwheel.
A round cactus like a pincushion stuck with pins A dome on a flat base. Draw short straight lines with a dot head sticking out all over it, like pins.
A round cactus ringed by its own pups One large ribbed ball with five small balls pressed round its base, each with its own tuft of spines.
A round cactus under long white hair, drawn as fine arcs A dome. Cover it with long fine curved lines that all fall from the crown, like combed hair.
A single cactus pad with dots in curved rows A flat oval, wider at the top. Dot it in rows that bend with the outline, and add a short spine to each dot.
A squat cactus like a bun, creased into segments A wide low dome. From the middle of the top draw curved creases down to the base, like a peeled orange.
A star-shaped cactus from above: five fat ribs Draw a five-lobed outline like a flower with round petals. Rule a seam between lobes and dot each ridge.
A tiny round cactus covered in asterisk spines A circle. Cover it with small asterisks in rows and let the ones on the edge poke over the outline.

Potted cacti 15

A ball cactus in a flowerpot shaped like a bucket and band A pot is a wide band on top of a bucket shape that narrows. Sit the cactus so it hides the back of the rim.
A bird's-eye potted cactus: rings inside the pot rim The pot rim is a double circle. Inside it the cactus is a smaller circle with ribs like the cut face of an orange.
A cactus in a mug, the handle to one side A mug is a square with round bottom corners and a C for the handle. One round-topped column pokes out.
A cactus in a paper cup, the rim rolled and the sides ridged A cup wider at the top with a rolled lip and upright ridges down the sides. A small ball cactus sits inside.
A cactus in a pot banded with zigzags, dots and stripes Divide the pot into three level bands. Zigzag the top one, dot the middle and stripe the bottom.
A cactus in a pot wrapped in cloth, tied with a string bow Draw the pot as a bundle: folds gathered up to a tied neck, a small bow, and the cactus rising above the frill.
A cactus in a square pot standing on four small feet A box, a little wider at the top, with a short peg under each corner. Pebbles as small circles on the soil.
A cactus in a tin can, a band left blank for a label A can is a tall rectangle with two rings near the top and base. Leave a band blank across the middle.
A cactus in an egg cup, round as the egg it replaced An egg cup is a small bowl on a short stem and a foot. Sit one ribbed ball cactus in it like an egg.
A cactus planted in a watering can, handle arched above The can is a bucket shape with an arched handle and a long spout. One paddle cactus stands in the open top.
A cactus planted in an old boot A boot from the side: a tube for the leg, a rounded toe, a block heel. The cactus rises out of the leg.
A cactus tipped out of its pot, root ball and all Lay the cactus on its side. Its roots keep the shape of the pot, which lies empty beside it with crumbs of soil.
A cactus too big for its pot, leaning over the rim Make the pot small and the cactus three times its height. Tip the plant so its top hangs past the pot's edge.
A long trough planted with three cactus shapes A long low box. Plant the column at one end, the ball in the middle and the paddles at the other. Gravel between.
A potted cactus on a stand with three splayed legs A ring on three thin legs that lean outward. The pot sits in the ring, and one leg passes behind the pot.

Flowers, spines and scenes 15

A border of cacti: tall, round, paddle, repeat Unit: one column, one ball, one pair of pads, all on the same ground line with a pebble between each.
A cactus flower: a cup of pointed petals with a tuft inside Draw a ring of narrow pointed petals opening like a cup. Fill the middle with a brush of short straight lines.
A cactus looped three times with a string of lights Wind a loose line round the column three times. Dangle a small bulb from it every finger-width.
A cactus shadow stretched flat across dry cracked plates Stretch the cactus shape sideways along the ground and fill it. Break the soil round it into uneven plates.
A cactus stippled in dots only, with no outline Mark the outline in pencil. Build the form from pen dots, packed on one side and sparse on the other. Erase the pencil.
A cactus with a different doodle pattern between each rib Rule the ribs first. Fill the bands between them in turn: scales, zigzags, dots, waves, crosses.
A cactus with a small bird perched on one arm A round body, a tail tick and a beak, sitting where the arm bends. Two short lines for its feet.
A desert in three layers: far hills, cacti, near rocks Rule a low horizon of flat-topped hills. Stand the cacti in front of it and overlap their feet with big stones.
A garden path curving past a column, a ball and paddles Two lines that narrow as they climb the page make the path. Set the three cacti along its outer bend.
A lizard flat on a stone under a cactus, legs like elbows Draw the cactus tall. At its base, a flat stone with an S-shaped lizard on top, its tail hanging off the edge.
A skyline of cactus silhouettes along the foot of a page Rule a ground line across the page. Fill a row of cactus shapes solid along it: arms, balls and paddles, mixed.
A smiling cactus: two dots and a curve between the ribs Draw any round-topped cactus. Between the two middle ribs, a third of the way down, add two dots and a short curve.
A square tile of four cacti, one growing from each side Draw a square. Root one two-armed cactus on each side so all four point at the middle. Repeat the tile.
Cactus skin as a grid of small spine stars Unit: a small bump with five short lines bursting from it. Repeat it in a neat grid and the grid reads as cactus.
Three cacti on a wavy desert line, far ones smaller Draw a low wavy ground line. Stand a large cactus near the front and two small ones higher up the page.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-02: 60 cactus doodles in four kinds (tall cacti, round and paddle cacti, potted cacti, flowers, spines and scenes), each marked easy, medium or hard, with the shapes it is built from and the first strokes to draw. Kept apart from plant-doodles, which holds a few cacti among its pot plants (the two-armed cactus, the base shape of the subject, is on both lists in different words); no item repeats a title from any other list on the site. Four details were read on Wikipedia on 2026-10-02: a saguaro with no arms is called a spear and its branches are called arms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro), a prickly pear grows in flat rounded pads (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia), a barrel cactus is strongly ribbed and flowers only on its very top (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_cactus), and cactus spines grow in clusters from small bumps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areole). Licence: own work

How it works

A cactus doodle is a capsule with two arms, a ball stuck with pins or a flat pad shaped like a mitten. Each of the 60 here names its shapes and gives the first strokes.

Read the full guide

Cacti doodles by shape

Tall cacti are columns with ribs and arms. Round and paddle cacti are balls and flat pads. Spines grow in clusters from small bumps, so draw them as tiny stars or crosses in rows, not as single hairs.

Then put it in a pot

Potted cacti come in a mug, a tin can, an egg cup and an old boot. Draw the pot first and let the cactus hide the back of the rim.

Let a few spines cross the outline. Spines that all stop at the edge look printed on.
A saguaro with no arms is called a spear, so a plain column still counts.

Questions and answers

How do I draw a cactus mug doodle?

A mug is a square with round bottom corners and a C for the handle. One round-topped column pokes out of the top. It is the first of the Potted cacti.

What is the easiest cactus to doodle?

A cactus as a capsule with two bent arms: a tall capsule with an L-shaped arm on each side, one set higher than the other. Easy, under More filters, holds 20.

What is a doodle art cactus?

A cactus outline with a small pattern in every band. Rule the ribs first, then fill between them in turn: scales, zigzags, dots, waves, crosses. It is one of the hard ones in Flowers, spines and scenes.

Where do the flowers go on a cactus doodle?

On a barrel cactus, right on top: it flowers only on its crown. One doodle here is a barrel cactus crowned by a ring of small cup blooms.