A barrel drum on its side with a smear of pink on the skinA cylinder lying down, a circle at each end, one bright handprint.
A bookmark of stacked colour bands with fingerprintsA tall strip, seven bands, a row of fingertip dots down the middle.
A border of splashes round a space for a messageSplashes are a blob with pointed arms and a few loose dots. Keep the middle clean.
A child's first Holi: one careful dot on the noseA round face, wide eyes, a single spot of colour, a cloud of powder far behind.
A cloud of pink powder caught in mid-airNo outline. Smudge pastel or dab a sponge, thickest in the middle and ragged at the edge.
A face with a stripe of colour on each cheekKeep the face to a few plain lines so the colour does the talking.
A pattern page of teardrop splashes in four coloursRepeat one drop shape in rows, turning each a quarter. No two neighbours alike.
A plate of gujiyaGujiya are sweet fried pastries offered at Holi, shaped like a half moon. Draw six on a round plate.
A water squirter drawn as a tube and plungerOne simple kind is a pump: a long barrel, a rod and a handle. Add a jet of coloured water.
Colour handprints all over a wallA dozen hands at every angle, overlapping, no two the same colour.
Five bowls of powder seen from aboveFive circles in a ring, a different colour in each, a fingertip dent in every heap.
The full moon that starts Holi, over flat roofsHoli begins on the evening of a full moon, around the middle of March. One white disc, dark roofs.
Goggles pushed up on a pink foreheadThe skin round the eyes is the only clean part of the face. Draw two pale ovals.
Happy Holi in letters dripping with colourBlock capitals in pencil, then let each letter run at the bottom as if wet.
Paper splashes on a string for a windowCut splash shapes from coloured paper, draw a face on each, hang them like bunting.
Two cupped hands of powder, one yellow, one bluePalms up, a small heap in each, dust spilling between the fingers.
Powder and water 10
A burst of powder in five rings of colourRings inside rings, darkest in the middle. Flick paint from a toothbrush for the dust.
A colour wheel made of powder heapsTwelve small cones in a circle, running red to violet and back round to red.
A pale shirt after an hour of HoliDraw the shirt flat, then cover it in handprints, streaks and one clean patch under the collar.
A rainbow puddle in a laneColours run together where the water collects. Let felt-tip lines bleed into wet paper.
A steel bucket of coloured water with a hand dipping inThe bucket in side view, a bright surface, drops flying off the fingers.
A trail of footprints in three coloursBare prints crossing a courtyard, each a different hue, fading as the colour runs out.
A water balloon at the moment it burstsWater-filled balloons are part of the play. Draw the torn skin and a crown of drops.
Heaps of gulal on a market stallGulal is the coloured powder thrown at Holi. Draw a row of cones, each a different hue.
Palash flowers beside a bowl of orange dyeHoli colours were traditionally extracted from palash flowers. Orange petals, orange water.
Thrown powder above a crowd of raised handsHands as simple shapes along the bottom. The top two thirds of the page is drifting colour.
Festival scenes 13
A balcony of spectators staying clean, and one who did notA row of neat figures at a rail. The one on the end is bright green and delighted.
A blossoming tree above a street partyHoli celebrates the arrival of spring. Blossom in the top half, clouds of colour below.
A doorway with shoes lined up and coloured footprints going inPairs of sandals on the step, prints on the tiles beyond, a clean mat nobody used.
A drummer leading a group down a laneGroups carry drums from place to place. The dhol is a barrel drum with a skin at each end.
A group photo where nobody can be recognisedSix figures arm in arm, every face and shirt a patchwork. Only the grins are white.
A lane after the partyEmpty now. Powder on every step, a lost sandal, wet footprints leading to one door.
A parent dabbing colour on a child's cheekTwo profiles facing each other, one tall and one small, one careful finger.
A rooftop ambush with bucketsSeen from the street: three heads over a parapet, one bucket tipping, a walker about to find out.
A scooter and its rider, both multicolouredDraw the scooter in side view, then throw colour across it as if it rode through the party.
A tray of sweets passed over a garden wallPeople visit family and friends through the day. Two pairs of hands, one tray.
The bonfire on the eve of HoliThe night before, bonfires are lit and people gather to sing and dance. Figures in silhouette.
Two friends making up, both covered in colourHoli is a time to mend quarrels. A handshake drawn from the elbows down, every finger a different colour.
Washing the colour off at a tapHands under running water, stripes of pink, green and yellow spiralling into the drain.
Cards and lettering 9
A card front in five stripes of colour with pale handprintsPaint the stripes first. Print the hands in white or leave their shapes blank.
A pop-up card with a cloud of colourCut a cloud shape on a folded tab so it stands when the card opens. Colour both sides.
A thank-you card for the hostA plate, one sweet left on it and a pink thumbprint in the corner.
A three-panel strip: clean, surprised, colourfulThe same figure three times. Only the colour and the expression change.
An invitation with the date inside a full moonThe date follows the moon, so it moves: usually March, sometimes late February.
Festival of Colours lettered along a rainbow arcDraw the arc first in seven bands, then fit the words to the top band.
HOLI with each letter built from a heap of powderFour soft-edged letters in four colours, dust drifting off the tops.
The word SPRING growing out of a splashLetter the word in green with leaves on the ascenders, a burst of colour behind.
Your name written in splatter dotsPencil the letters lightly, fill them with flicked paint, then rub the pencil out.
How it works
Holi is the Hindu festival of colours and of spring, and these Holi drawing ideas start from what happens on the day: powder in the air, water, drums, sweets and visits. Each hint gives the first lines. The customs were checked.
Read the full guide
Draw the colour, not the outline
Powder has no edge. Draw people and streets in plain pencil or pen, then add colour last and loosely: smudged pastel, a dabbed sponge, paint flicked from a brush. Let it cross the lines. A page that looks tidy does not look like Holi.
Two days, two moods
The festival lasts a night and a day. The eve is firelight: a bonfire, dark figures, a full moon. The day is bright and wet. The Festival scenes group holds both, along with the sweets and the visits that follow.
Work on grey or tan paper. Chalk and pastel colours show far brighter than on white.
Leave the grins and the eyes clean. A face covered in colour reads because of the two white parts.
Questions and answers
When is Holi?
It follows the moon, so the date moves. Holi starts on the evening of the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, which usually falls in March and sometimes in late February. Check this year's date before you letter it on a card.
What is Holi about?
It marks the arrival of spring and the end of winter, and it is a day for mending quarrels and visiting family and friends. In Hindu tradition it also celebrates the love of Radha and Krishna and the victory of good over evil.
What is the coloured powder called?
Gulal, or abir. People throw it and smear it on each other, dry or mixed with water. The colours were traditionally made from plants such as palash flowers.