• 64 designs
  • Checked October 2026

Henna Drawing Ideas

Three henna-style designs at a time for pen and paper, each with the strokes it is built from.

Henna Drawing Ideas

Show all 64
  1. A traced hand planned in pencil zones before any inkLines. Pencil round your hand, then mark it into zones: a wrist band, a palm round, finger bands. Ink comes after.
  2. Fine-line fill: a round flower ringed eight timesDot, petals, humps, lines. Keep adding thin rings round the flower, each ring a new mark, until there are eight.
  3. A trail along the top of the foot from the big toe to the ankleS curve, petals, leaves. On a traced foot, slantwise from the big toe to the outer ankle, one flower at the bend.

Next step Draw the hand itselfMore patterns to draw

All 64 designs

Motifs 16

  • A butterfly with a paisley for each wing Teardrops, line, dots. Two large paisleys above, two small below, curled tips outward. A line body, two dotted feelers.
  • A chain of ovals with a dot in each link Humps, dots. Humps above a faint guide line and matching humps below it close into ovals. One dot per oval.
  • A diamond lattice with a dot in every window Lines, dots. Slanted lines one way, then the other, evenly spaced. One dot in the middle of each diamond.
  • A half flower fanning from a straight line Line, petals, humps, dots. Five petals fan from the middle of the line. Cap them with humps, a dot in each gap.
  • A leaf trail that climbs in an S S curve, leaves. Draw the S first, then leaves in pairs along it, each pair smaller toward the tip.
  • A lotus from the side with five pointed petals Petals, line. One tall petal in the middle, two leaning out each side, a short line under them for the water.
  • A paisley with a scalloped edge and a flower inside Teardrop, humps, petals. Curl the tip over, edge the outline with small humps, set a five-petal flower in the belly.
  • A peacock with a teardrop body and a three-dot crest S curve, teardrop, lines, dots. The S is the neck, the teardrop the body. Three short lines tipped with dots: a crest.
  • A round flower built in four rings Dots, petals, humps, line. Round a center dot: a ring of petals, a ring of humps, a plain line ring, a ring of dots.
  • A row of hearts made from pairs of teardrops Teardrops, dots. Two teardrops leaning together, points down, make each heart. A dot sits in every notch.
  • A spiral that unwinds into a stem and one leaf Line, leaf. Start at the center of the spiral, let the last turn swing out as a stem, end on a pointed leaf.
  • A sun with a flower for its center and teardrop rays Dots, petals, teardrops. A small flower with a ring round it, then teardrop rays pointing out, a dot between each two.
  • A teardrop bud with a split tip, just opening Teardrop, lines, leaf. One teardrop with a short split at its point, a stem, and a single leaf low on one side.
  • A vine with a tight curl beside every leaf S curve, leaves, lines. One long wavy stem, a leaf at each bend, and a small curl springing from the same spot.
  • Three teardrops fanned out with a dot beyond each point Teardrops, dots. Round ends together, points outward. One dot past each point, then a smaller dot past that.
  • Two paisleys facing each other, tips touching Teardrops, dots. Mirror the pair so the curled tips meet at the top. A row of dots follows each outer edge.

Where it goes 16

  • A band at the ankle with drops hanging from it Line, teardrops, dots. On a traced foot: one line at the ankle, teardrops hanging below, a dot under each.
  • A cuff at the wrist, three bands deep Lines, humps, dots. Two lines across the traced wrist, a row of dots between them, humps along both outer edges.
  • A flower on the back of the hand chained to one finger and the wrist Petals, dots, lines. A flower mid-hand. Dots run up the middle finger to a ring and down to a line at the wrist.
  • A flower on the back of the hand with a leaf pointing at each knuckle Petals, leaves, dots. Flower in the middle, four leaves aimed at the four knuckles, dots carrying on up each finger.
  • A panel up the forearm in three stacked bands Lines, petals, humps. Trace past the wrist. Stack a band of flowers, a band of lattice and a band of humps.
  • A ring round one finger with a flower on top Lines, petals. Two lines between the knuckles of the traced ring finger, one small flower sitting on them.
  • A round design in the center of the palm, fingers left bare Dot, petals, humps. Begin at a center dot and add rings until the design is as wide as the traced palm.
  • A round on the top of the foot with dots running to each toe Dots, petals. Rings round a center dot on the traced foot, then a line of shrinking dots toward every toe.
  • A slanted band of lattice across the back of the hand Lines, dots, humps. Two slanted lines from thumb side to little-finger side, lattice between, humps outside.
  • A stripe and a row of dots across every finger joint Lines, dots. On a traced hand, one stripe across each joint with a row of dots just above it. The palm stays bare.
  • A trail along the top of the foot from the big toe to the ankle S curve, petals, leaves. On a traced foot, slantwise from the big toe to the outer ankle, one flower at the bend.
  • A trail from one corner of the wrist to the opposite fingertip S curve, petals, leaves. Slantwise across the traced palm: flowers ride the curve, leaves fill between them.
  • Caps on all five fingertips Lines, dots. On a traced hand, fill each fingertip above the top knuckle with stripes. One dot under each cap.
  • Five fingers, five different fills Lines, dots, humps. One fill per traced finger: stripes, dots, zigzag, humps, lattice. The palm stays empty.
  • Half a round on each hand, joined when the hands sit side by side Dot, petals, humps. Trace both palms, little fingers touching. Half of every ring goes on each palm's edge.
  • The thumb alone, filled from tip to base Lines, humps. Bands across the traced thumb, a row of humps in each, a plain gap between one band and the next.

Styles 16

  • Fine-line fill: a grid with a tiny flower in alternate squares Lines, petals. Rule a small grid. A four-petal flower in one square, the next left empty, like a chessboard.
  • Fine-line fill: a lattice cuff with a different mark in each row Lines, dots, petals. A wide lattice across the traced wrist. Dots in the first row of diamonds, flowers in the next.
  • Fine-line fill: a palm packed edge to edge Lines, dots, humps, petals. Divide the traced palm into bands and give each a small pattern. No gap wider than a line.
  • Fine-line fill: a round flower ringed eight times Dot, petals, humps, lines. Keep adding thin rings round the flower, each ring a new mark, until there are eight.
  • Fine-line fill: fingers banded in rows of tiny humps Lines, humps. Close-set lines across each traced finger with a row of small humps sitting on every line.
  • Fine-line fill: one paisley holding five smaller patterns Teardrop, lines, dots. Split a large paisley with curved lines and fill each part differently: dots, lattice, stripes.
  • Floral trail: a rose that starts as a spiral Line, petals. A small spiral in the middle, then petals wrapped round it, each one overlapping the last.
  • Floral trail: a vine with a lace edge down one side S curve, humps, dots. A wavy stem with a row of humps along its outer side and a dot hanging inside each hump.
  • Floral trail: bold petals with fine lines at their bases Petals, lines. Outline each petal thickly, then fan short thin lines up from where it joins the center.
  • Floral trail: paired leaves, each with a center vein S curve, leaves, lines. Leaves in pairs along a stem, a single line down the middle of every leaf.
  • Floral trail: three big flowers on one curve, open paper between S curve, petals, leaves. Large flowers spaced along the curve with a few leaves. Leave the paper round them empty.
  • Geometric: a band of triangles, one pointing up, the next down Lines, dots. Two lines with a zigzag between them make the triangles. A dot in each triangle that points up.
  • Geometric: a diamond on the back of the hand with a line to each finger Lines, dots. One large diamond mid-hand, a straight line from it up every traced finger, a dot at each end.
  • Geometric: a square grid in the palm with a dot in each box Lines, dots. Four lines down and four across in the middle of the traced palm, one dot in every closed box.
  • Geometric: fingers ringed with plain stripes and dots Lines, dots. Three stripes across each traced finger, a row of dots between the first two. Nothing curved.
  • Geometric: zigzag lines from the wrist to the fingers Lines. Four zigzags side by side up the back of the traced hand, each one ending at the base of a finger.

Practice on paper 16

  • A border of one motif down the edge of the page Line, humps, dots. Rule a faint line near the edge. A hump with a dot inside, repeated the same size to the bottom.
  • A circle cut into eight slices, a different fill in each Lines, dots, humps, petals. Draw round a cup, divide it like a pie, and try a new fill in every slice.
  • A line of dots growing from small to large Dots. Evenly spaced along a ruled line, each a touch bigger than the last. Then run it back down to small.
  • A page of the seven strokes, one row of each Dot, line, teardrop, S curve, petal, hump, leaf. Fill a whole row with one stroke before starting the next.
  • A row of teardrops shrinking to a dot Teardrops, dot. Start large at the left and make each one a little smaller, until the last is only a dot.
  • A strip of paper as wide as a finger, filled end to end Lines, dots, humps. Rule a narrow strip and treat it as one finger: bands across it, a new mark in each band.
  • A traced hand planned in pencil zones before any ink Lines. Pencil round your hand, then mark it into zones: a wrist band, a palm round, finger bands. Ink comes after.
  • A trail drawn without lifting the pen S curve, leaves, humps. One continuous line that loops into leaves and humps and stops only at the page edge.
  • Humps in three sizes on three stacked lines Lines, humps. Big humps on the top line, medium on the next, small on the last. Keep each row one height.
  • One flower drawn in five sizes Dot, petals. The same five-petal flower from coin-sized down to as small as the pen allows, in a line.
  • One leaf drawn ten ways Leaves, lines, dots. Plain, veined, striped, dotted, split down the middle, curled at the tip, and four of your own.
  • One paisley outline filled six different ways Teardrops, dots, lines, petals. Draw six matching paisleys in pencil, then give each one its own filling.
  • Petal rings of five, eight and twelve round a dot Dots, petals. Three separate flowers. More petals means narrower ones: mark the spacing before you draw them.
  • S curves in mirrored pairs S curves. Draw one S, then its mirror image beside it, so the pair makes a vase shape. Repeat along the row.
  • Thick outlines with thin lines inside them Petals, lines. Draw a flower twice: once all in one weight, once with a heavy outline and hair-thin fill. Compare.
  • Two traced hands with one design mirrored across them S curve, petals, leaves. Finish the left hand first, then copy it onto the right in reverse, stroke by stroke.

How it works

Every design here is built from seven small strokes: dot, line, teardrop, S curve, petal, hump and leaf. These 64 henna drawing ideas are for a fine pen and a traced hand on paper, with 20 marked Easy.

Read the full guide

Trace your hand first

Lay a hand flat on the paper, fingers slightly apart, and pencil round it past the wrist. Now a placement means something: caps on all five fingertips, a round design in the center of the palm, a cuff at the wrist. Three of the placements are for a traced foot.

Three styles of henna design

Wikipedia's article on mehndi describes South Asian designs as small, intricate patterns and lines, Middle Eastern designs as typically floral, and African designs as simpler and geometric. Styles follows that with fine-line fill, floral trails that leave open paper, and geometric bands.

  • These designs are for paper. In the United States the FDA approves henna only as a hair dye, not for direct application to the skin.
  • A brown fine-tip pen comes closest to the look of henna, whose stain ends up reddish brown.
  • Start a round design at its center dot and turn the paper, not your wrist, as each ring goes on.

Questions and answers

What are easy henna designs to draw?

Start with a design built from one or two strokes: three teardrops fanned out with a dot beyond each point, a leaf trail that climbs in an S, caps on all five fingertips, or a line of dots growing from small to large.

How do you draw henna designs on paper?

Work in pen from the largest shape to the smallest: the main flower or paisley first, the trail that joins them next, and dots and humps last to fill the gaps.

What is the difference between henna and mehndi?

Henna is the plant, Lawsonia inermis, and the paste made from its powdered dry leaves. Mehndi is the skin decoration drawn with that paste. Wikipedia notes that mehndi is the term used in the Indian subcontinent, while henna is more common in the Middle East.

Is black henna safe?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the ingredient used to blacken henna is often a hair dye containing p-phenylenediamine, which can cause dangerous skin reactions in some people and is not permitted by law in cosmetics applied to the skin.

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