Step by Step Palm Tree Drawing

Step 1 - The Trunk
Your palm tree drawing should start off the trunk. Get a good image to use as reference if you are not familiar with how this tree looks. The trunk is really simple, but notice that it is slightly curved which is different than other trees. At the top of the tree there are some spiky parts that you should add. Try to keep in mind that the trunk is circular, so when you're adding the 'spikes' at the top they should appear to point in all directions.

Step 2 - Branches
The next part of the palm tree drawing that you should make is the branches. These trees don't have as many branches as some other trees and they should fan out from the spikes. Make sure to leave quite a bit of room between the branches because the leaves are quite large and it will be difficult to draw if you have too many overlapping parts. The example image has seven branches which is enough to make the tree look quite full. Depending on the angle of the branch some of them should appear smaller than others.

Step 3 - Leaves
We'll add leaves to this palm tree drawing in two steps. In the first step draw the leaves that are facing towards you. Think of the branch as having leaves on only 2 sides - one that faces you and one that faces away from you. The leaves that face you should appear in front of the ones that don't.

The shape of the leaves is just simple curves that have a pointed end on them. Make sure to leave some spaces between the leaves so that you have some room to draw the back facing leaves in the next step. Draw the leaves for all of the branches just like in the example image.

Remember to keep in mind which branches appear in front of other branches so that you can let the leaves of those naturally fall over top of the other branches.


Step 4 - Leaves and Trunk Details
In the last step you'll draw the back facing leaves. These are colored black in the example image. These leaves are naturally in shadow, so you'll want to make sure that they are colored or shaded darker than the front facing leaves. Look closely at the example image and notice how full the branch and leaves looks now that you've added everything together. Add the back facing leaves to all the branches.

You should also add some details to the trunk of your palm tree drawing here. Some lines running across the trunk and some detail lines around the roots where the tree meets the ground will finish off this drawing nicely.

Add some more detail into the shading of the tree for a more realistic look, or leave it without shading for a cartoon feeling - it's up to you.