• 60 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Tree of Life Drawing Ideas

One way to draw a tree of life per press: mirrored, in a circle, with new leaves or in knotwork.

Tree of Life Drawing Ideas

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  1. A tree folded on the ground line: roots copy the branchesDraw the top half, then repeat every fork upside down below the ground. The trunk is the hinge.

Next step More symmetry to draw: mirror, radial, turning

All 60 ideas

Roots and branches that mirror 15

  • A day tree above and a night tree below, sharing one trunk Upper half: dark lines on white paper. Lower half: fill the ground dark and leave the roots white.
  • A great ash on three roots, each root ending at a pool The world tree of Norse myth is an ash held up by three roots, each reaching a well or a spring.
  • A lakeside tree whose reflection stands in for its roots The water line is the mirror. Break the reflected boughs into short wavy dashes.
  • A seed on the ground line sending one shoot up and one root down Start with the seed. One curl rises and one sinks, both the same length. The motif in two lines.
  • A slice of ground showing roots as deep as the tree is tall Cut the soil away like a slice of cake. For the motif, give the roots the full height of the trunk.
  • A tree folded on the ground line: roots copy the branches Draw the top half, then repeat every fork upside down below the ground. The trunk is the hinge.
  • A tree that still stands when the page is turned upside down Rotate the sheet half a turn and the roots become the crown. Draw a little, turn, repeat.
  • A tree whose limbs and roots both fork in twos, four times over Each limb splits into two thinner ones: 2, 4, 8, then 16 tips. Do exactly the same below ground.
  • A tree with a sun in its branches and a moon in its roots A full circle sits in the fork above. Below, the roots cradle a crescent of the same size.
  • A tree with every branch on the left matched on the right Trees of life from ancient Urartu split the branches evenly left and right, with one leaf on each.
  • A world tree in three bands: sky, ground and underground Crown in the sky band, trunk in the middle, roots below. That three-part split is the world tree layout.
  • An ash with an eagle on top, a dragon below and a squirrel between In Norse myth a squirrel runs the trunk, carrying words between the eagle and the dragon.
  • An hourglass tree: crown and roots as two matching fans Two fans meet at a narrow waist of trunk. Make them the same width at their widest point.
  • Five boughs above the ground line, five matching roots below Count them. Each root leaves the trunk at the same angle as the bough straight above it.
  • Two matching birds facing each other across the trunk An old layout for the motif stands two matching figures face to face with the tree between them.

Inside a circle 15

  • A circle tree inside a square, a leaf spray in each corner The four corner spaces each take a spray of three leaves, all pointing out from the middle.
  • A circle tree whose boughs all end in curls that touch the rim Every bough ends in a curl. Pack the curls so they touch each other and the ring, never overlapping.
  • A ring cut in half by the ground: crown above, roots below Rule a line across the middle of the circle. The crown fills the top half and the roots the bottom.
  • A ring drawn first, then a tree grown to touch it at twelve points Mark twelve dots round the ring like a clock face. Six twigs and six roots each end on a dot.
  • A ring that is the trunk itself, with boughs growing inward The circle is the wood. Boughs leave the rim, grow toward the middle and meet in a knot of leaves.
  • A round paper-cut tree with every part joined to the rim Nothing floats. Each leaf touches a twig, each twig a bough, and the tips and roots hold the ring.
  • A round tree with stars in the gaps between its boughs Leave the crown open. Drop a small star into each gap and keep them all inside the ring.
  • A small round tree held between two cupped hands The hands make the lower half of the circle. Fingers curl up where the roots would be.
  • A tree in a ring with a border band of one repeated leaf Draw a second ring just inside the first. Fill the band between them with one leaf, repeated.
  • A tree in a wreath of its own leaves The ring is a wreath: overlap one leaf shape all the way round, every tip pointing clockwise.
  • A tree of life as a round window, each pane outlined in lead Draw every outline twice as thick as usual, like the lead of a window. Leave no shape open.
  • A tree of life pendant: a wire tree in a ring with a loop on top Draw it as jewelry: a ring, a small loop for the chain, and every branch a single line.
  • A tree seen from above with roots to north, south, east and west Trunk as a dot, four roots to the compass points. Mesoamerican world trees stood for the four directions.
  • A tree standing inside a crescent moon The crescent's inner curve is the frame. Let two or three twigs cross over it.
  • A wheel of eight small trees with their roots meeting at the hub Divide the circle into eight wedges. One tree stands in each, crown at the rim, roots at the center.

With leaves that are something else 15

  • A crown of leaves that turns into a flock of birds at the edge Leaves near the trunk, birds at the rim. Change one into the other over five or six steps.
  • A golden apple tree with a small dragon asleep at its foot In Greek myth a dragon guards the golden apples of the Hesperides. Curl it round the trunk like a cat.
  • A tree hung with feathers in place of leaves Each feather has a center shaft and slanted barbs. Hang them tip down from the twigs.
  • A tree hung with keys, no two cut alike Every key has a round bow, a long shank and its own pattern of teeth. Hang each one by a thread.
  • A tree whose leaves are raindrops, with a pool at the roots Each drop is a point above a round belly. Let three fall and ring the pool where they land.
  • A tree whose leaves are small birds, all facing the trunk Perch one bird where each leaf would grow. Beaks point inward, tails hang outward.
  • A tree whose leaves are tiny houses, a village in the crown Each house is a square and a roof on its own twig. Light one window in every third house.
  • A tree with a heart in place of every leaf A bare tree plus one shape repeated. Tilt each heart a little so no two sit the same way.
  • A tree with a letter of the alphabet on every leaf Twenty-six leaves, big enough to letter in. Run the alphabet from the lowest bough to the top.
  • A tree with butterflies settled where the leaves should be Wings closed on most, open on a few. Two lifting off tell the viewer they are not leaves.
  • A tree with coins for leaves Each leaf is a small disc on a short stalk. A Han dynasty tree found in Sichuan has leaves that stand for coins.
  • A tree with music notes for leaves Hang the notes by their stems from the twigs. Mix single notes with joined pairs.
  • A tree with one peach on its highest branch One fruit, right at the top. In a Taoist story a tree bears a peach of immortality every 3,000 years.
  • A tree with stars for leaves and a moon caught in the fork Five-point stars at the twig tips, largest near the trunk. The moon rests where the trunk splits.
  • A tree with twelve different fruits, one on each bough Twelve boughs, twelve fruits, none repeated. The Book of Revelation describes a tree with twelve kinds of fruit.

Knotwork 15

  • A knotwork oak with an acorn tucked into every loop Lobed leaves at the bough tips, an acorn in each loop. The oak is prominent in many Celtic cultures.
  • A knotwork tree in a ring, where the ring is part of the cord One band makes the ring, dips in as a root, rises as the trunk and returns to the ring as a bough.
  • A rope trunk that unravels into four boughs and four roots Twist four strands into the trunk. Above and below, each strand leaves the rope on its own.
  • A small plain tree inside a two-strand knot border Keep the tree simple and spend the time on the frame: a rope twist along all four sides.
  • A three-loop knot tied where the trunk forks Three pointed loops woven through each other, sitting in the fork like a nest.
  • A tree whose boughs end in closed loops instead of twigs Every bough turns back and rejoins itself as a teardrop loop. No loose ends anywhere.
  • A tree whose lowest bough loops round to become its widest root Take the lowest bough on each side out, round and down until it joins the outermost root.
  • A tree whose roots weave a square mat beneath it Six roots run left and six run right, plaited like a basket. Shade each strand where it dips under.
  • A trunk plaited from three strands that part into three boughs Stack Y shapes up the trunk. At the top, let each strand peel away as a bough.
  • A trunk with a heart-shaped knot at its middle Two strands part, cross at the dip of the heart and join again below its point.
  • A whole tree woven from one endless line Trace it with a finger: the path should come back to its start, going over and under in turn.
  • Branches drawn as ribbons that pass over and under each other Give every branch two edges. At each crossing take turns: over, then under, then over.
  • Roots and boughs plaited into a round braid about the trunk Six strands leave the trunk above and six below. Braid them round until the two sets meet.
  • Roots tied in one overhand knot under the trunk One root passes over, under and through a loop. Erase the line that hides at each crossing.
  • Two trees side by side with their inner boughs knotted together The boughs that meet in the middle cross and interlock like clasped fingers.

How it works

Sixty tree of life drawing ideas, all one motif: a tree whose roots mirror its branches. Each comes with a hint on where to start or what to match, and some name the myth or place that version comes from.

Read the full guide

Tree of life drawing ideas, easy ones first

The easy tree of life things to draw are built on a fold. Rule a ground line, draw a bare tree above it, then repeat each fork upside down below. A seed sending one shoot up and one root down is the whole motif in two lines. Twenty-three of the sixty are marked Easy.

Where the motif comes from

The tree of life turns up in many of the world's mythologies and religions. Its relative, the world tree, often carries a bird on top and a snake among the roots.

  • Draw the trunk as two lines that flare at both ends, so roots and boughs start from the same curve.
  • In knotwork, give every strand two edges first, then erase where one passes under another.
  • For tree of life art ideas beyond pencil, cut the paper-cut tree from black paper or color the round-window tree pane by pane.

Questions and answers

What does the tree of life mean?

The motif is often tied to immortality or fertility. As a world tree it joins sky, earth and underworld through crown, trunk and roots. This page gives ways to draw it, not a teaching.

How do you draw a tree of life in a circle?

Trace a plate for the ring and rule a ground line across its middle. Stand the trunk on the center, take the boughs up to touch the rim, then take the roots down to touch it at matching points.

What is an easy tree of life to draw?

An hourglass tree, its crown and roots two matching fans, needs no leaves at all. A tree with a heart in place of every leaf is a bare tree plus one repeated shape.

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