• 60 ideas

Father's Day Drawing Ideas

Deal three things to draw for Dad with hints for the first lines, then sort by easy, cards, his hobbies, Dad and me or paint.

Father's Day Drawing Ideas

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  1. A spanner and a screwdriver crossed like a crestTwo long thin shapes making an X. The spanner ends in a C and the screwdriver in a fat ribbed handle.
  2. A thumbs-up handA fist drawn as a rounded square with four finger lines, and a thumb like a short sausage pointing up.
  3. A heart with Dad on a ribbon across itA plain heart, a ribbon wrapped across the middle and three capitals. Shade under the ribbon so it lifts.

Next step More subjects built from plain shapes

All 60 ideas

Easy 21

  • A Best Dad rosette with two ribbon tails A circle inside a ring of small folds, with two tails cut to a V. Letter the centre last, in capitals.
  • A big hand holding a small hand Start with two mitten shapes, the large one wrapped round the small, and add the fingers afterwards.
  • A canvas of diagonal tie stripes Navy, maroon, mustard, white. 6 x 6 in canvas. Lay masking tape in diagonals and paint between the strips.
  • A claw hammer beside a jar of mixed screws A long handle with a T on top, one end of the T split into a V. The jar is a cylinder of tiny lines.
  • A father and daughter walking hand in hand, in silhouette Two solid shapes, one twice the height of the other, joined at the hands. Let one of her feet skip.
  • A heart with Dad on a ribbon across it A plain heart, a ribbon wrapped across the middle and three capitals. Shade under the ribbon so it lifts.
  • A high five, frozen just before the hands meet One large palm and one small, a finger-width apart, with short lines bursting out of the gap.
  • A kettle barbecue with smoke curling up A half-circle bowl, a half-circle lid and three straight legs. Two S-curves of smoke rise from the vent.
  • A key ring with a house key and a photo fob A circle of wire, a key made from a ring and a toothed bar, and a small square frame with a face in it.
  • A necktie covered in tiny doodles of his favourite things A long kite shape with a small knot on top. Fill it with balls, fish, notes or cogs, each under 1 cm.
  • A pair of loud socks Two clashing colours plus white. 5 x 7 in board. Paint two L shapes, let them dry, then add stripes or dots.
  • A seahorse father with a rounded pouch Male seahorses carry the eggs in a pouch on the front of the tail. Horse head, bent neck, curled tail.
  • A shirt-and-tie card front with a folded collar Two triangles for the collar and a long kite for the tie. Tie makers helped promote the day in the 1930s.
  • A spanner and a screwdriver crossed like a crest Two long thin shapes making an X. The spanner ends in a C and the screwdriver in a fat ribbed handle.
  • A stack of his books with reading glasses on top Three or four flat boxes, each turned a little. The glasses are two rounded squares and a bridge.
  • A thumbs-up hand A fist drawn as a rounded square with four finger lines, and a thumb like a short sausage pointing up.
  • A World's Best Dad mug with steam A cylinder and a C handle. Curve the lettering with the mug so the middle word sits lowest.
  • An emperor penguin father with a chick on his feet The male emperor balances the egg on his feet for about two months. Black back, bright yellow ear patch.
  • Breakfast in bed on a tray, seen from above From above everything is flat: an oval tray, a round plate, a ring for the mug and a flower in a glass.
  • His armchair, empty, with the cushion still dented A box with a rounded back and two fat arms. One curved line across the seat shows where he sits.
  • Matching big and small boots by the door The same boot twice, one pair half the size of the other. Let a small boot lean against a big one.

For cards 8

  • A gold trophy cup engraved Number One Dad A wide U on a stem and a stepped base, with two ear-shaped handles. Leave one white streak for shine.
  • A row of medals for Dad, Grandad and a stepdad or uncle The same medal three times on different ribbons, each with its own word. Nobody who does the job is left out.
  • A speech bubble holding his worst joke One big bubble fills the card front, with the joke lettered inside and the family groan written small below.
  • A strip of five hand-drawn coupons Ticket shapes with dotted tear lines. Promise things you can do: one car wash, one breakfast, one walk.
  • An award certificate for something he really does A border, a star seal and a big title: Best Pancake Flipper, Finder of Lost Shoes. Sign it and date it.
  • Happy Father's Day lettered across a banner scroll Father's Day takes its apostrophe before the s. Pencil the scroll first, then fit the words to its curve.
  • His initial as a block letter filled with his hobbies Black outline and three colours he wears. 8 x 8 in canvas. Pencil the letter edge to edge, then fill it.
  • The word DAD built from his tools Bend a tape measure into each D and open a stepladder for the A. Keep all three letters one height.

His hobbies 13

  • A barbecue at dusk under a string of lights Indigo, orange, yellow, black. 11 x 14 in canvas. Dot each bulb yellow with a smaller white dot inside.
  • A chessboard mid-game, seen from his side of the table An 8 by 8 grid that narrows toward the far edge. Each player has a light square in the right-hand corner.
  • A fish leaping from a lake Teal, silver grey, white, olive. 9 x 12 in canvas. Curve the fish like a C and ring the water below it.
  • A fishing rod, a float and a tackle box on a jetty One long diagonal for the rod. The float is an egg, red on top and white below, hanging on a thread.
  • A frying pan with a pancake mid-flip An ellipse with a handle and a wobbly disc in the air above it. Three short curves show the toss.
  • A guitar on a stand beside a small amp A figure eight with a long neck. Rule the six strings lightly and let them fade before the bridge.
  • A pair of worn gardening gloves and a trowel Floppy mitten shapes creased at every knuckle. The trowel is a pointed leaf on a short wooden handle.
  • A tent glowing under the stars Navy, orange, yellow, black. 8 x 10 in canvas. Paint the tent lightest at its base, as if lit from inside.
  • A tent, a camp stove and two tin mugs A triangle tent with one flap folded back, a squat stove and two cylinders. Make one mug child-sized.
  • A workbench with a half-built birdhouse in the vice A thick table top, a vice made of two blocks, and a little house whose roof still lies beside it.
  • His bicycle leaning against a fence Two circles, a diamond frame between them and a post up to the saddle. Tilt the whole bike a little.
  • His pocket still life of keys, wallet and watch Ask him to tip out what he carries every day. Draw it life size and overlap the three into one group.
  • His toolbox, open, with three tools laid out in front Draw the box as a brick seen from one corner. Lay a hammer, a spanner and a tape measure at odd angles.

Dad and me 14

  • A bedtime story with both faces lit by one lamp Put the lamp beside the pair. Light the near cheeks and the open book, and leave the rest in shadow.
  • A child riding on Dad's shoulders, seen from behind Draw the tall figure first, then sit a small one on top with both legs hanging down over his chest.
  • A father and child fishing at sunset, painted in silhouette Orange, magenta, violet, black. 8 x 10 in canvas. Blend the sky wet, let it dry, then add the black shapes.
  • A father and daughter dancing, her feet on his shoes Her shoes sit on top of his, toes pointing the same way. She looks up and he looks down.
  • A father plaiting his daughter's hair before school She sits, he stands behind, both facing you. A plait is a column of stacked Y shapes between his hands.
  • A four-panel comic of a day out together Panel one shows the place, two the plan, three what went wrong and four the laugh. Stick figures are fine.
  • A height chart on a door frame with Dad's mark at the top A tall strip with pencil marks, names and dates. The children's lines climb and his never moves.
  • A portrait of Dad copied from a favourite photo An egg for the head with the eyes halfway down. Get his hairline, glasses or beard right and it is him.
  • A side-by-side of Dad at your age and you now Two portraits in matching frames. Copy his old school photo on the left and draw yourself on the right.
  • A three-panel comic of a joke only your family gets Set-up, pause, punchline. Draw the same two heads in every panel and change only mouths and eyebrows.
  • Dad asleep on the sofa with the cat on his chest A long lying-down shape, one arm hanging to the floor, a loaf of cat on top and a row of Zs.
  • Dad running behind a child's first bike ride He leans forward with one hand just off the saddle. The child looks ahead, mouth open, feet on the pedals.
  • Large and small footprints along a beach Sand, white, turquoise, brown. 8 x 10 in canvas. Two trails side by side, fading toward the top edge.
  • Two figures stargazing on a hill, painted at night Navy, violet, black, white. 8 x 10 in canvas. Flick white stars from a stiff brush before adding the hill.

To paint 4

  • A family tree with fingertip leaves Brown and three greens. 11 x 14 in canvas. Paint the bare tree, then everyone in the family dabs on leaves.
  • A mountain range in five flat layers for a dad who hikes Navy, slate, blue-grey, pale blue, white. 11 x 14 in canvas. Paint the far range first and palest.
  • A portrait of his dog or cat on a bright ground The fur colours plus one bold ground. 8 x 8 in canvas. Eyes and nose go in first; they carry the likeness.
  • His car or truck in side view on a block of colour Body colour, black, grey, one bright ground. 8 x 10 in canvas. Two circles first, then the body over them.

How it works

His tools, his chair, his worst joke: these Father's Day drawing ideas are for one particular man. Each of the 60 subjects has a hint for the first lines, and 13 add a palette and a canvas size. Deal three, then pick a group: Easy, For cards, His hobbies, Dad and me or To paint.

Read the full guide

Things to draw for Father's Day that only fit him

Things to draw for your dad work best when nobody else could receive them. His hobbies holds 17 still lifes to set up from his own things. His pocket still life of keys, wallet and watch starts by asking him to tip out what he carries every day. Stuck on what to draw for Father's Day? Deal any item and swap in his version: his bike, his mug, his books.

Father's Day painting ideas on a stock canvas

To paint holds 13 subjects whose hints name the colours and a stock canvas size, enough Father's Day canvas painting ideas for an afternoon each. A father and child fishing at sunset, painted in silhouette takes orange, magenta, violet and black on 8 by 10 inches. Blend the sky wet and let it dry before the black shapes go on.

  • The US, Britain and Canada keep the third Sunday of June. Australia and New Zealand use the first Sunday of September; Spain, Italy and Portugal, 19 March.
  • Dad and me holds the father daughter drawing ideas: a dance with her feet on his shoes, a walk in silhouette, a plait before school.
  • Lettering the card? Father's Day takes its apostrophe before the s, one father at a time. Pencil the words before you ink them.

Questions and answers

What can a young child draw for Dad without help?

Most of the 21 under Easy are objects, with no face to get wrong: a mug, a pair of boots, a tie. A Best Dad rosette with two ribbon tails is a circle, a ring of folds and two ribbons.

When did Father's Day start?

The American holiday was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington, and first celebrated there on 19 June 1910. Her father had raised six children alone. Tie makers helped promote the day from the 1930s, which is why A shirt-and-tie card front with a folded collar still reads as Father's Day at a glance.

Do these work for a grandad, a stepdad or an uncle?

Yes. A row of medals for Dad, Grandad and a stepdad or uncle gives each man his own ribbon, and the rosette takes any word. The two animal fathers suit anyone: a male emperor penguin balances the egg on his feet, and a male seahorse carries the eggs in a pouch.

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