How to Draw a Snowflake

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Every snowflake is different, but they all follow rules of fractal geometry in a way, so we can use these rules to draw a realistic snowflake with just a few steps. It's easier than you think!

But if you want a beautiful snowflake without drawing it, skip right to the end of the tutorial for some high-quality resources from GraphicRiver and Envato Elements.

1. How to Plan a Snowflake

Step 1

Draw a vertical line and mark its center.

Step 2

Cross the center with two lines. Imagine that it's a circular pie you want to cut in six parts. You can draw that circle lightly, or just keep it in memory.

Step 3

Sketch (or imagine, if you want to keep it clearer) a smaller circle in the middle. This will help us create a nice composition.

Step 4

Connect the lines near the center to create a small hexagon.

Step 5

Cross each line with a short horizontal line and a dot above it.

Step 6

Use these marks as guide lines to expand the middle of the snowflake.

Step 7

The main "body" of the snowflake is done, so we can now add the "arms". Keep them symmetrical!

Step 8

Add more arms to the arms outside of the small circle.

2. How to Draw a Snowflake

Step 1

The basic construction is ready, so we can now build on it to create a beautiful snowflake. You can put a new sheet of paper over the guide lines to create a clean drawing, or just take a darker tool to create the final lines.

Outline the body of the snowflake. Feel free to add some details here.

Step 2

Outline the arms, giving them thickness and crystal shapes.

Step 3

Add the little arms using the same shapes.

Step 4

Finish the arms with more interesting shapes.

Step 5

You can leave it this way, but you can also add more crystals within the smaller circle.

Step 6

Add any final details you can think of.

Good Job!

This method of drawing a snowflake can be easily modified to achieve various results. Just keep it symmetrical!

Recommended Snowflake Resources

Do you need a whole set of various snowflakes, or maybe just one, but made of jewels? Or maybe you want a 3D snowflake to use in your project? We've got you covered: