31 Christmas Bow Drawing Ideas With XL Velvet Bows, Gingham Ribbons and Striped Satin

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Christmas bow drawing has a way of turning one loose, glossy loop into the whole point of a picture, and that is exactly what this list leans into. Every idea here takes that oversized bow trend you keep seeing everywhere and ties it onto something real: a front door, a champagne bottle, a sleeping dachshund, a stack of books by the tree.

Scroll through and pick whichever bow is calling to you right now. Each one is sized to finish in a single sitting, with watercolor folds, crisp highlights and just enough of the scene around it to feel styled rather than sketchy.

Before You Start

• Sketch the loops in pencil first, very lightly, so the ribbon folds read as soft shapes before any paint goes near them.
• Mix your red and tartan colors a shade darker than you think you need, since watercolor always dries lighter on the page.
• Leave the brightest fold of every loop untouched by paint, so the white paper itself becomes the glossy highlight.
• Test any new color mix on a scrap corner first, especially dark greens and navy, which can turn muddy fast if overmixed.
• Paint the object the bow sits on (door, bottle, cushion) before the ribbon, so the loops can overlap it cleanly at the end.
• Keep a damp brush and a paper towel nearby to lift color off a fold the moment it pools or goes too dark.

Start big: sketch a door panel filling most of the page, then center a bow across it with loops wider than the door is tall, because that oversized scale is the whole point of this trend. Pencil the two main loops as soft triangles with rounded tips, a small knot square in the middle, and two tails dropping past the bottom edge.

Paint the door in a flat pale color first and let it dry completely before you touch the bow, so the red does not bleed into it. Load your brush with cherry red and paint each loop in one confident stroke, leaving a thin curved strip of white paper untouched along the top of every fold for the velvet sheen.

The common mistake here is painting every loop the same flat red. Mix a second, darker red for the shadowed side of each loop and a touch of water for the lit side, so the ribbon reads as thick fabric rather than paper.

No watercolor paper on hand works too: gouache on cardstock gives the same opaque, velvety finish.

You Will Need

• cold press watercolor paper
• round brush size 10
• cherry red watercolor
• white gel pen
• pencil for the sketch

Palette: Cherry Red,Deep Crimson,Soft White,Pale Door Grey

Photograph your own front door at an angle for reference, since a slight perspective on the panel sells the scale of the bow far better than a flat-on view.

Swap the usual star for this gingham bow perched right at the top of a Christmas tree, a fun twist once the velvet door bow feels familiar. Pencil a simple triangle tree shape first, loose and a little uneven at the edges, then draw a smaller bow sitting at the very peak where a star would normally go.

Paint the tree in two greens, a mid emerald first and a darker shade dropped into the lower branches while still wet, so they blend softly. Once that dries, paint the gingham bow using a pale blush base, then add the check pattern last with a fine brush, small squares only where the ribbon catches the light.

Eye level matters here: sit low so you are looking up into the tree, which makes the bow at the top feel grander and the branches fan out below it. If gingham feels fiddly, a plain blush bow with no pattern still reads perfectly well against the dark tree.

Keep your checks slightly uneven rather than ruled, it looks hand-tied instead of printed. For more ways to build the tree itself, this tree pencil drawing guide has plenty of shapes to borrow.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• emerald green watercolor
• blush pink watercolor
• fine liner brush for checks
• pencil

Palette: Emerald Green,Forest Shadow,Blush Pink,Warm White

Try a tiny gold bell or two tucked near the bow once the paint dries, dotted on with a fine brush, to catch the eye without competing with the gingham pattern.

Move from soft branches to crisp geometry with this striped satin bow sitting on a stack of plain white gift boxes. Draw three or four rectangles stacked slightly off-center, varying the sizes so the stack feels styled rather than stiff, then a wide bow draped across the whole pile at a gentle diagonal.

Leave the boxes as bare white paper and only paint the thin grey shadow lines where they stack, so the bow stays the star of the page. Paint the bow’s base color first, a soft cherry, then once dry add the stripes in white gel pen rather than paint, since a pen gives you a cleaner satin line than a brush will.

Ten minutes gets you the bow and boxes alone on white paper. Give it forty and add a looped curl of ribbon trailing off one box corner, plus a cast shadow beneath the whole stack to ground it.

Satin wants sharp highlights, so once the red is dry, drag a slightly damp clean brush along the top of each loop to lift a thin streak of color back to white.

You Will Need

• white gel pen
• cherry red watercolor
• grey watercolor for shadows
• round brush size 6
• ruler for box edges

Palette: Cherry Red,Soft Grey,Paper White,Blush

Try gold stripes instead of white on one loop for variety next time, a thin metallic gel pen reads as satin ribbon just as well as the classic white.

Trade boxes for glass with a velvet bow tied around the neck of a champagne bottle, a lovely one for a New Year’s page too. Pencil the bottle’s tall silhouette first, narrow at the neck and rounded at the shoulder, then wrap the bow around that narrow part with the loops sitting just below the cork.

Paint the bottle in a transparent wash of pale gold or green, leaving two or three vertical streaks of white paper untouched to suggest glass catching light. Once that dries fully, paint the bow in deep emerald or cherry over the neck, letting the loops overlap the glass edge slightly so it looks tied on rather than pasted flat.

Glass trips people up because it looks too solid. Keep your bottle wash thin and uneven, almost patchy, and add one small white gel pen highlight dot near the shoulder for the classic glass gleam.

No gold watercolor on hand works fine: a yellow ochre wash gives champagne the same warm glow.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• yellow ochre or gold watercolor
• emerald or cherry watercolor
• white gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Yellow Ochre,Emerald Green,Cherry Red,Glass White

Keep the bottle’s glass wash very thin and layer it twice in places instead of once solid, since real glass never paints as one flat even color.

Bring in some life with a pink bow perched on a sleeping dachshund’s collar, curled up as if by the tree. Sketch the long low body first as a simple sausage shape with short legs tucked under, then add the pointed ears and a small collar band around the neck where the bow will sit.

Paint the dog in warm browns, a lighter tan wash first and a deeper mahogany layered into the shadowed side of the back and ears while the first layer is still slightly damp, so the fur blends softly instead of banding. Once dry, add the pink bow on the collar last, small and neat compared to the oversized bows elsewhere on this list, since a dog’s bow reads better modest in scale.

Getting the proportions right matters most here: measure the body length against the head, a dachshund’s body runs roughly four head-lengths nose to tail, which keeps the breed recognizable. If browns feel tricky to mix, a single burnt sienna wash alone still reads as a convincing dachshund coat.

If you enjoy drawing dogs, there is a whole set of dog pencil drawing ideas worth exploring next.

You Will Need

• burnt sienna watercolor
• mahogany or dark brown watercolor
• pink watercolor for the bow
• round brush size 6
• pencil

Palette: Burnt Sienna,Mahogany Brown,Blush Pink,Warm White

Look at a real dachshund photo for the ear shape, which droops forward rather than hanging straight down, a small detail that makes the breed instantly recognizable.

Scale back up dramatically with a huge bow wrapped around an entire vintage car, loops as tall as the roofline, which is the most playful oversized idea on this list. Sketch the car’s rounded silhouette loosely first, a classic curved body and fat tires, then draw the bow sitting across the hood with loops rising above the windshield.

Paint the car body in one solid color, a deep navy or cream, leaving a streak of white paper along the top edge for the shine, then let it dry completely before the ribbon goes anywhere near it. Paint the bow in cherry red last, big simple loops with the darker shadow mix tucked into each fold’s underside so it reads as thick fabric wrapping around a curved surface.

The light source decides everything on a curved car body: pick one side as lit and keep every shadow, on both car and bow, falling to the same side, or the whole scene looks flat. A cream or pale blue car instead of navy works just as well if that is the palette you prefer.

You Will Need

• round brush size 8
• navy or deep cream watercolor
• cherry red watercolor
• white gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Deep Navy,Cherry Red,Cream,Paper White

Try a pale blush or cream car body next time instead of navy, it lets the red bow pop even harder against a lighter background.

Zoom into a styled dinner table where bows sit tied on the back of every chair, a lovely one if you like drawing a whole small scene rather than one object. Sketch a simple row of three or four chair backs in a gentle row, slightly overlapping in perspective so the nearest chair is largest and the furthest smallest.

Paint the chairs in a pale neutral wood tone first and let them dry, then add a bow to each chair back in the same cherry red so the repetition ties the row together visually. Vary each bow slightly in tilt and loop size as you go, since identical bows in a row look stamped rather than tied by hand.

Quick version: two chairs and two bows, done in ten minutes with no table visible. The forty-minute version adds a hint of a table edge and a few plates or candles sketched loosely in white and gold to suggest the rest of the setting without painting it all in detail.

For more full table and room scenes like this one, this Christmas scene drawing roundup is worth a look.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• pale wood brown watercolor
• cherry red watercolor
• gold gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Pale Wood,Cherry Red,Soft Gold,Warm White

Keep the furthest chair back smaller and paler than the nearest one, that size and value drop is what sells the row as going back into the page.

Slow back down to a single still life with a bow sitting atop a wreath made of dried orange slices, a favorite cozy motif worth owning here. Pencil a simple circle wreath shape first, then draw five or six overlapping orange slice circles around it with a small bow perched at the top where a wreath hook would normally hang.

Paint each orange slice in warm orange with a slightly darker ring at the rind edge, letting a few slices dry lighter and patchy since dried fruit is never a flat uniform color. Once the slices are dry, tuck in a few loose sprigs of green between them with a dry brush dragged lightly over the paper, which gives a textured, twiggy edge rather than a solid painted line.

Add the bow last in a soft tartan or plain cherry red sitting over the top slices, small enough that the oranges still read as the main subject. No orange watercolor on hand works fine: yellow ochre and a touch of red mixed together makes a convincing dried orange tone.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• orange or yellow ochre watercolor
• sap green watercolor
• dry flat brush for texture
• pencil

Palette: Warm Orange,Rust Rind,Sap Green,Cherry Red

Drag a nearly dry brush over the orange rinds for that dried, slightly crackled texture, much more convincing than a smooth even wash.

Keep the cozy textures going with a tartan bow sitting on a woven basket filled with pine cones. Draw the basket shape first as a simple wide bowl, then sketch three or four overlapping pine cone ovals rising out of the top, each one slightly different in size and angle.

Paint the basket in a warm tan with a few curved lines added once dry to suggest the woven texture, then build the pine cones in layers: a base brown wash first, then individual scale marks added with the tip of a fine brush once that first layer is fully dry. Add the tartan bow last, laid across the pine cones near the front, with the navy and green crossing lines painted only after the base cherry red of the bow has dried completely, or the pattern will bleed into a muddy mess.

The common mistake with tartan is painting the lines while the base color is still wet. Wait for it to dry fully, test your tartan lines on scrap paper first, and you will keep the crisp crossed-line look this pattern needs.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• tan watercolor for basket
• burnt umber watercolor
• navy and green watercolor for tartan
• fine liner brush
• pencil

Palette: Warm Tan,Burnt Umber,Navy Tartan,Cherry Red

Test your tartan crossing lines on a scrap of paper first, since the gap and thickness of the lines is what makes a tartan pattern read correctly.

Bring a figure into frame with this bow tied onto the back of a girl’s ponytail, seen from behind as she stands near the tree. Sketch the back of a head and shoulders first, simple and loose, with the ponytail falling as one soft curved shape down the back, then draw the bow sitting where the hair tie would be.

Paint the hair in one warm brown or soft blonde wash, leaving two or three thin streaks of white paper untouched along the ponytail’s length for shine, then once dry add the bow in cherry red over the top of the hair so it overlaps convincingly. A hint of tree in the background, loose green dabs with the brush rather than drawn branches, is enough to place her without needing a full scene.

Measuring the head against the shoulders keeps this from looking odd: the head sits roughly one head-width wide and the shoulders span about two head-widths, a quick comparison that stops the proportions drifting. If figures feel difficult, there is a whole set of girl pencil drawing ideas to build confidence with first.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• warm brown or blonde watercolor
• cherry red watercolor
• sap green for background dabs
• pencil

Palette: Warm Brown,Blush Highlight,Cherry Red,Sap Green

Keep the background tree as loose green dabs and nothing more, any added detail there will compete with the bow for attention.

Move from a figure to a quieter still life with a bow tied around a stack of old books, lovely for anyone who loves a reading corner vignette. Draw three or four books lying flat and stacked, slightly staggered at the edges so each spine shows, then wrap the bow around the whole stack vertically with the knot sitting on top.

Paint each book in a different muted color, a dusty green, a faded burgundy, a cream, so the stack has variety before the bow goes on. Let every book dry fully, then paint the ribbon in cherry red wrapping over the top and down both sides, adding the darker shadow mix only where the ribbon dips into the gap between books.

Ten minutes gets you a simple two-book stack with a plain bow. The forty-minute version adds gold-painted page edges with a fine brush and a tiny sprig of pine tucked under the ribbon knot for extra styling.

If the books feel flat, add one thin pencil line along each spine edge once the paint is dry to suggest the page block.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• dusty green and burgundy watercolor
• cream watercolor
• cherry red watercolor
• gold gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Dusty Green,Faded Burgundy,Cream,Cherry Red

Add a tiny sprig of pine tucked under the bow knot once everything dries, a small detail that turns a simple stack into a styled little scene.

Sweeten things up with a bow sitting on a frosted cake topped with cherries, a fun one if you enjoy painting food as much as ribbon. Sketch a simple round or layered cake shape first, then dot in a few cherries along the top edge before placing a modest bow just off-center on the frosting itself.

Paint the frosting in soft white and cream with a dry brush dragged lightly across for texture, then add the cherries in deep red with one tiny white gel pen dot on each for shine. Once the frosting is fully dry, paint the bow last directly over it in cherry red, small and slightly tucked rather than huge, since a cake calls for a daintier scale than a front door does.

Watch the frosting edges, the usual mistake is painting them perfectly smooth. Dab the brush rather than stroke it along the cake’s top rim, which gives that soft swirled buttercream look instantly.

For more cake and dessert ideas in this same pretty style, this cake drawing aesthetic guide is worth a browse.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• cream and white watercolor or gouache
• deep red watercolor for cherries
• white gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Soft Cream,Cherry Red,Deep Berry,Blush Bow

Dab the brush rather than drag it along the frosting edge, the irregular texture that leaves behind reads instantly as soft buttercream.

Widen the frame now with a garland of bows strung across a mantel shelf, a satisfying one to let loose and fill more of the page. Sketch a simple horizontal mantel ledge first, then draw a loose swag of greenery dipping below it with three or four bows spaced along the swag at different heights.

Paint the greenery first in two layered greens, letting them dry before adding the bows, which keeps the ribbon colors crisp against the foliage rather than blending in. Paint each bow a touch differently, one cherry, one blush, one tartan, so the garland feels gathered over time rather than mass produced, and vary the loop sizes slightly bow to bow.

Working wide like this is a good one to vary next time: try the same garland draped along a staircase banister instead, or looped around a window frame, using the same swag and bow technique in a new setting.

Keep the mantel ledge itself plain and pale, the garland and bows are doing all the work here.

You Will Need

• round brush size 8
• sap green and emerald watercolor
• cherry red, blush and tartan watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Sap Green,Emerald,Cherry Red,Blush Pink

Vary the loop sizes and tilts across the garland on purpose, a row of identical bows looks printed rather than tied by hand along real greenery.

Strip things back after that busy garland with a few bare branches in a simple vase, each one hung with a small bow instead of an ornament. Draw a tall narrow vase first, then three or four thin branches rising out of it at slightly different angles, bare of leaves, with a small bow tied partway along each one.

Paint the branches in a single thin brown wash using the tip of a fine brush so the lines stay delicate, and leave the vase itself mostly white paper with just a thin grey shadow line to suggest the glass or ceramic edge. Add the bows last in small dabs of cherry red and blush, each one no bigger than a thumbnail, so the overall feel stays airy and minimal rather than crowded.

This is the fastest piece on the whole list. Ten minutes gets you branches and bows done, and the forty-minute version only adds a soft grey shadow pooling beneath the vase to ground it on the surface.

If brown ink feels easier than a brush, a fine brown fineliner for the branches works just as well before the watercolor bows go on.

You Will Need

• fine round brush size 2 or 4
• brown watercolor or fine liner
• cherry red and blush watercolor
• grey watercolor for shadow
• pencil

Palette: Thin Brown,Cherry Red,Blush Pink,Soft Grey

Keep every bow smaller than a thumbnail here, the bare branches need visible white space around them to keep the whole piece feeling light.

Return to a cozy object with a bow tied around the handle or spout of a vintage teapot, a sweet one for anyone who loves a kitchen vignette. Sketch the teapot’s rounded body first with its curved spout and handle, then draw the bow looped around the handle with the knot sitting just above it.

Paint the teapot in a soft floral or plain cream color, leaving a curved streak of white paper along the body’s widest point for the classic ceramic shine, then once dry add the bow in cherry red or tartan looping through the handle. Painting the handle gap correctly matters here: leave a clean white sliver of paper between the handle and the body before the bow covers part of it, or the teapot will read as solid rather than having an open handle.

No floral pattern feels manageable on a first try, a plain cream or sage green teapot with just the bow added looks just as charming and takes half the time.

For a deeper look at shapes like this, this teapot drawing guide covers plenty of styles worth trying.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• cream or sage watercolor
• cherry red watercolor
• fine brush for pattern detail
• pencil

Palette: Cream,Sage Green,Cherry Red,Paper White

Leave the handle’s inner gap as clean white paper before painting the bow over it, that small white sliver is what reads as an open handle.

Keep the tabletop mood going with a bow tied around the stem of a tall candlestick holder, candle still standing in it. Draw the thin candlestick base and stem first, then the candle rising out of the top, and wrap the bow around the stem partway down with the loops sitting out to one side.

Paint the candlestick in a metallic gold or silver wash, adding one streak of white paper left untouched down the center of the stem for the metal shine, then paint the candle itself in cream with a small warm flame dabbed at the top in yellow and orange. Add the bow last in cherry red, keeping the loops fairly small and neat since this is a slim, delicate object rather than a big one.

The light source decides where that metallic streak goes: if the light comes from the left, the white highlight sits slightly left of center and the shadow side darkens to the right, which is what makes the stem look round rather than flat.

You Will Need

• round brush size 4
• gold or silver watercolor
• yellow and orange watercolor for flame
• cherry red watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Soft Gold,Cherry Red,Flame Orange,Cream Candle

Pick one light direction before you start and keep the metallic highlight and every shadow consistent with it, that single choice makes the stem feel round.

Add some motion with a cat mid-pounce, one paw batting at a long trailing silk ribbon rather than a finished bow. Sketch the cat’s body first in a simple crouched pose, one paw raised and reaching, then draw a long wavy ribbon trailing from the top of the page down past the paw, with one loose loop near the cat’s paw where a bow has half come undone.

Paint the cat in soft grey or tabby brown, building the fur in two layers so the second darker layer only goes into the shadowed areas under the chin and along the back while the first layer is still slightly damp. Paint the ribbon last in cherry red, letting it curve and twist rather than sit straight, since the whole appeal of this idea is the sense of movement.

Getting the paw and ribbon to connect well is the trick: angle the ribbon so it passes directly under the raised paw, almost touching, which reads instantly as mid-swipe rather than two separate shapes. Explore more animal subjects over in this roundup of dog pencil drawing ideas if you enjoy painting pets.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• grey or brown watercolor for cat
• cherry red watercolor for ribbon
• fine brush for whiskers
• pencil

Palette: Soft Grey,Tabby Brown,Cherry Red,Warm White

Angle the trailing ribbon so it passes directly beneath the raised paw, almost touching it, which instantly reads as a mid-swipe rather than two unrelated shapes.

Move outdoors with a bicycle basket overflowing with wrapped gifts, a bow tied across the front of the basket itself. Sketch the bicycle’s front wheel and handlebars first, loose and simple, then the woven basket sitting just behind the handlebars with two or three gift box corners poking up out of it.

Paint the bicycle frame in a soft sage or cream color and the basket in warm tan, letting both dry before the gifts go in, since overlapping wet washes here will bleed together fast. Paint each gift box a different color, cherry, blush, cream, then tie the bow across the front rim of the basket last in whichever color is missing from the gifts so it stands apart.

Quick version: just the basket and bow, cropped close, skips the whole bicycle and still works in ten minutes. The forty-minute version adds the full bike with its wheel spokes and a hint of a snowy path beneath the tires.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• sage or cream watercolor
• tan watercolor for basket
• cherry, blush and cream watercolor for gifts
• pencil

Palette: Sage Green,Warm Tan,Cherry Red,Blush Pink

Crop in close on just the basket and bow if the full bicycle feels like too much, the gifts and bow alone still tell the whole story.

Settle into a cozier, flatter subject with a navy tartan bow sitting on a plump cushion, nice for practicing pattern after all the outdoor motion. Draw a simple square cushion shape first with slightly rounded, puffy corners, then the bow sitting centered near the top edge.

Paint the cushion in a solid base color, cream or emerald, leaving the corners a touch lighter where the fabric would catch light, then once fully dry add the tartan bow with the cherry base first and the crossing navy and green lines added only afterward with a fine brush. Keep the tartan lines slightly uneven rather than ruler straight, since hand-tied ribbon never has perfectly even stripes.

If the cushion looks flat, add one soft grey shadow line along its lower edge once everything else is dry, which lifts it off the white background and gives it some weight.

No navy watercolor on hand works fine: mix ultramarine blue with a touch of black for a close match.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• cream or emerald watercolor
• cherry red, navy and green watercolor for tartan
• fine liner brush
• pencil

Palette: Cream Cushion,Cherry Red,Navy Tartan,Emerald

Add one soft grey shadow line beneath the cushion once the paint is dry, it lifts the whole shape off the white page and gives it real weight.

Bring in some fresh flowers with a bow tied around the stems of a bouquet of red tulips, gathered as if just picked up from a florist. Sketch five or six tulip heads first, simple rounded cup shapes at varying heights, then the stems gathered below into one bundle where the bow will wrap.

Paint the tulip heads in cherry red with a touch of deep crimson at the base of each cup for depth, then the stems in a fresh green once the heads have dried so the colors stay separate and clean. Tie the bow around the gathered stems last in blush or cream, a lighter color than the tulips so it stands out rather than disappearing against all that red.

Comparing stem lengths keeps the bundle believable: the stems should all meet roughly at the same point where the bow sits, even though the flower heads above sit at different heights, which is what makes a bouquet look gathered rather than scattered.

If red tulips feel repetitive next to all the cherry ribbon elsewhere on this list, try the same bouquet in white or soft pink tulips instead.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• cherry red and deep crimson watercolor
• fresh green watercolor for stems
• blush or cream watercolor for bow
• pencil

Palette: Cherry Red,Deep Crimson,Fresh Green,Blush Bow

Try the same bouquet in white or soft pink tulips next time, a change of flower color against the same bow technique keeps the idea fresh.

Head back into the kitchen with a glass jar filled with cookies, a bow tied around the neck where a lid would screw on. Draw a simple cylindrical jar shape first, then a row of overlapping cookie circles stacked inside it, visible through the glass, with the bow sitting at the jar’s narrow neck above the lid line.

Paint the cookies in warm browns first, each one slightly different in tone so the stack does not look repetitive, then paint the glass jar around them in a very thin transparent grey wash, leaving two vertical streaks of white paper untouched for the glass shine. Add the bow last in cherry red at the neck, small and neat, overlapping the jar’s rim slightly so it reads as tied rather than floating.

Glass is the easy part to get wrong: keep that grey wash thin and patchy rather than solid, since a jar painted too opaquely stops looking like glass at all and starts looking like a solid grey cylinder.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• warm brown watercolor for cookies
• thin grey watercolor for glass
• cherry red watercolor
• white gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Warm Brown,Thin Grey,Cherry Red,Cookie Cream

Keep the grey glass wash thin and uneven rather than one flat layer, an overly solid wash stops reading as glass and starts looking opaque.

Expand into another wide scene with a staircase banister lined in small bows along the handrail, echoing the mantel garland from earlier but running on a diagonal instead. Sketch the banister as a simple diagonal rail rising across the page, with a few vertical spindles below it, then space four or five small bows evenly along the top of the rail.

Paint the rail and spindles in a soft wood brown first, keeping the whole thing loose and slightly sketchy rather than architectural, since the bows are what matter here, not a precise staircase. Once dry, paint each bow in cherry red, varying their size slightly larger near the bottom of the diagonal and smaller near the top, which helps sell the sense of the staircase receding into the distance.

That size change along the diagonal is the trick worth remembering: objects further up a rising staircase appear smaller, so scaling the bows down as they climb keeps the whole perspective convincing without any complicated drawing.

For more cozy staged interiors like this, the Christmas aesthetic drawing lessons are worth a look.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• wood brown watercolor
• cherry red watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Wood Brown,Cherry Red,Warm White,Soft Grey

Scale the bows smaller as they climb the diagonal rail, that size drop alone is enough to make a loosely sketched staircase feel like it recedes properly.

Bring in some winter sport with a pair of ice skates hung by their laces, a bow tied where the laces cross. Sketch the two boot shapes first, simple and rounded, with the thin blade beneath each one, then draw the laces crossing up the front of each boot and the bow sitting where they meet near the top.

Paint the boots in cream or soft tan leather tones, leaving the blade itself as bare white paper with just a thin grey line along its edge for the metal shine, then once the boots are dry add the laces in white gel pen criss-crossing up the front. Tie the bow last in cherry red, sitting over the laces at the top of the boot where they would normally knot.

Ten minutes gets you one skate and bow alone, which still makes a full composition. The forty-minute version adds the second skate crossed behind the first and a dusting of white gouache flicked on for falling snow.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• cream or tan watercolor
• white gel pen
• cherry red watercolor
• grey watercolor for blade
• pencil

Palette: Cream Leather,Soft Grey,Cherry Red,Blade White

Leave the skate blade as bare white paper with only a thin grey edge line, painting the blade solid grey makes it look dull rather than metal.

Return to a classic with a velvet bow pinned to the cuff of a hanging Christmas stocking, one of the few familiar motifs on this list but worth including for how well it suits a big glossy bow. Draw the stocking’s curved shape first, wide at the top cuff and tapering to a toe, then the bow sitting at the top where the cuff meets the leg of the stocking.

Paint the stocking body in a solid cherry or emerald, leaving a lighter cuff section at the top in cream or white for contrast, then once dry add the bow over that cuff line in the opposite color so it stands apart clearly. Build the velvet texture by varying your pressure with the brush, pressing harder for the shadowed folds and lighter for the lit ones, rather than mixing a dozen separate shades.

If cream feels flat for the cuff, swap in a faux fur texture instead: dab the brush in small irregular strokes rather than one smooth wash, which reads as soft fuzzy trim.

You Will Need

• round brush size 8
• cherry red or emerald watercolor
• cream watercolor for cuff
• round brush with varied pressure
• pencil

Palette: Cherry Red,Emerald Green,Cream Cuff,Deep Crimson

Dab small irregular strokes for the stocking cuff instead of one smooth wash, that broken texture reads instantly as soft faux fur trim.

Narrow back in on a small, elegant object with a bow tied around the neck of a perfume bottle, perfect for practicing glass and glossy ribbon together at a smaller scale. Sketch the bottle’s shape first, a simple rectangular or rounded body with a narrow neck and cap, then the bow wrapped around that neck with small neat loops.

Paint the bottle in a transparent pale pink or amber wash, leaving two thin vertical streaks of white paper untouched for the glass shine, then paint the cap separately in gold once the bottle has dried. Add the bow last in blush or cherry, keeping the loops proportionally small since this whole object sits in the palm of a hand, not on a door.

Comparing the bow size to the bottle cap is the proportion check that saves this one: the bow should sit roughly the same width as the bottle’s shoulder, no wider, or it will look like it belongs on a much bigger object entirely.

You Will Need

• round brush size 4
• pale pink or amber watercolor
• gold watercolor for cap
• blush or cherry watercolor for bow
• white gel pen
• pencil

Palette: Pale Pink,Amber,Soft Gold,Cherry Red

Keep the bow no wider than the bottle’s shoulder, going bigger makes a small elegant object suddenly look like it belongs on something much larger.

Go big again with a giant bow stretched across an entire shop window, echoing that oversized door bow but set into a storefront with glass panes behind it. Sketch a simple window frame first, divided into two or three panes, then the bow spanning the whole frame with loops as wide as each pane.

Paint the window panes in a very pale blue-grey wash to suggest glass, leaving the frame itself as bare white paper or a thin painted outline, then once dry add the oversized bow across it in cherry red, letting the loops overlap the frame edges slightly so the bow feels tied around the whole window rather than painted flat onto it.

Depth is the trick with any window: add one soft warm glow behind the glass, a pale yellow wash dabbed loosely in the center of each pane, which suggests light coming from inside the shop and keeps the window from reading as a flat grey rectangle.

For more cozy window and storefront scenes, this Christmas scene drawing collection has plenty more to try.

You Will Need

• round brush size 8
• pale blue-grey watercolor
• pale yellow watercolor for glow
• cherry red watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Pale Blue Grey,Warm Glow Yellow,Cherry Red,Frame White

Dab a soft warm yellow glow loosely in the center of each window pane, that small touch of light suggests a cozy shop inside and stops the glass looking flat.

Bring back some sweetness with a bow tied onto the roof peak of a gingerbread house, sitting in place of the usual candy cane trim. Sketch a simple triangular roof over a square house base first, then the bow perched right at the top ridge of the roof where the two slopes meet.

Paint the house walls in warm gingerbread brown and the roof in white icing, using a dry brush dragged over the icing for a slightly textured, drizzled look rather than one smooth coat. Add candy details in small dabs, little dots of red and green along the roofline, then paint the bow last at the peak in cherry red so it reads as the finishing touch rather than competing with all the candy below it.

If icing swirls feel fussy, white gel pen zigzags along the roof edge give the same drizzled effect with far less brush control needed, and dry much faster than a wet wash.

For more holiday house and gingerbread ideas, the step by step Christmas drawing lessons cover plenty of ground.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• gingerbread brown watercolor
• white gouache or gel pen
• cherry red watercolor
• small brush for candy dots
• pencil

Palette: Gingerbread Brown,Icing White,Cherry Red,Candy Green

Swap a wet icing wash for white gel pen zigzags along the roof edge, it gives the same drizzled effect with far less brush control and dries instantly.

Settle into something small and warm with a bow tied around the handle of a mug filled with cocoa. Sketch the mug’s simple rounded body and handle first, then a soft mound of marshmallows peeking over the rim before the bow gets tied around the handle itself.

Paint the cocoa as a dark brown wash inside the rim, then the marshmallows in white gouache dabbed in small puffy clusters on top, since gouache sits opaquely over the dark cocoa in a way thin watercolor cannot. Paint the mug itself in whatever solid color suits, cream or sage, then tie the bow around the handle last in cherry red, small and neat to match the mug’s modest scale.

Steam is the easy extra touch many skip: two or three loose curved pencil or white gel pen lines rising from the cocoa instantly suggest warmth, and take seconds to add once everything else is dry.

No gouache on hand works fine: a thick, less diluted dab of regular watercolor white can stand in for the marshmallows.

You Will Need

• round brush size 6
• dark brown watercolor for cocoa
• white gouache for marshmallows
• cherry red watercolor
• cream or sage watercolor for mug
• pencil

Palette: Dark Cocoa Brown,Marshmallow White,Cherry Red,Sage Green

Add two or three loose curved lines rising from the cocoa in white gel pen or light pencil, that small touch of steam instantly reads as warmth.

Frame a doorway next with a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the top, held up by a bow tied just above the leaves. Sketch a simple arched or square doorway edge at the top of the page first, then a short string hanging down with a small cluster of mistletoe leaves and berries at the bottom, the bow sitting where the string meets the frame.

Paint the mistletoe leaves in a dusty sage green, overlapping two or three oval leaf shapes, then dot in the white berries last with a small round brush or the end of a cotton swab dipped in white gouache for a rounder, more dimensional dot than a pen gives. Tie the bow above the leaves in cherry red, keeping it compact since this whole hanging cluster is meant to be small and tucked into a doorway rather than filling the page.

Comparing leaf sizes against each other keeps the sprig believable: make two or three leaves clearly larger than the rest, since real mistletoe clusters are never perfectly even in size.

You Will Need

• round brush size 4
• dusty sage watercolor
• white gouache for berries
• cherry red watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Dusty Sage,Berry White,Cherry Red,Soft Grey

Dab the white berries with the rounded end of a brush handle or a cotton swab rather than a pen, it gives a rounder, more dimensional dot.

Take the most ambitious subject on this list with a horse standing in a snowy field, a bow tied into its mane. Sketch the horse’s body in simple large shapes first, a long neck, rounded body and slim legs, keeping the pose standing and calm rather than mid-motion, then draw the mane falling along the neck with a small bow tied partway down it.

Paint the horse in warm chestnut or grey, building the coat in two layers with the darker mix worked into the legs and belly while the first wash is still a little damp, so the shading blends rather than showing hard edges. Once the horse is dry, paint a simple snowy ground with a thin blue-grey wash and leave the rest of the page as bare white paper standing in for snow and sky together, then tie the bow into the mane last in cherry red.

This is the most involved piece here, so give it the full session: measure the leg length against the body, roughly equal to the body’s height at the shoulder, which is the single proportion check that keeps a horse looking like a horse rather than a dog on stilts.

You Will Need

• round brush size 8
• chestnut or grey watercolor
• blue-grey watercolor for snow ground
• cherry red watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Chestnut Brown,Warm Grey,Snow Blue Grey,Cherry Red

Check that the horse’s leg length roughly matches its body height at the shoulder, that one comparison keeps the whole animal looking correctly built.

Close the list on something small with a single silver bell hanging from a bow, a quiet finish after the horse. Sketch the bell’s simple rounded dome shape first with a small loop at the top, then the bow tied through that loop with the loops sitting above the bell and a short tail or two hanging beside it.

Paint the bell in a thin silver-grey wash, leaving one curved streak of white paper untouched down its side for the metal shine, then once dry outline the rim and the small clapper line inside with a fine brush in a slightly darker grey. Tie the bow last in cherry red, small and neat, looping through the top of the bell so it reads as genuinely hung rather than floating beside it.

If silver feels tricky to mix, swap in gold instead: the same thin metallic wash technique works for either, just with yellow ochre and a touch of brown instead of grey.

Whichever bow from this whole list you try first, keep the ribbon’s darkest shadow mix ready before you start, since that one dark value is what turns a flat loop into a glossy fold every single time.

You Will Need

• round brush size 4
• silver or grey watercolor
• fine brush for rim detail
• cherry red watercolor
• pencil

Palette: Silver Grey,Deep Grey,Cherry Red,Warm White

Mix your darkest ribbon shadow color before you begin painting, having it ready to drop into a fold the moment you need it keeps the gloss looking fresh rather than muddy.

What to Do Next

Pick whichever bow caught your eye first, pencil it in lightly on a scrap of cold press paper, and paint the object underneath before the ribbon goes anywhere near it. One finished bow today is plenty, the rest of the list will still be here tomorrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What paper works best for christmas bow drawing in watercolor?

Cold press watercolor paper at a reasonably heavy weight works best, since it handles repeated wet layers without buckling. Thinner paper can warp or pill under the second and third washes that give bow loops their glossy folds.

How do you paint a bow so it looks glossy and three dimensional?

Leave a clean streak of white paper untouched along the top of every loop before you paint, then add a darker shadow mix only into the underside of each fold. That contrast between untouched white and a deeper shade is what reads as shine on fabric.

What colors work for a tartan bow pattern?

Navy and emerald crossing lines over a cherry red base give the classic tartan look used across this list. Paint the crossing lines only once the red base has dried fully, or the colors bleed together into a muddy patch instead of a crisp pattern.

Can these christmas bow drawing ideas be done without watercolor paint?

Yes, gouache or colored pencil both work as a swap, since gouache gives the same opaque velvety finish and colored pencil allows the same light-to-dark layering. Each idea notes a specific swap where one helps.

How big should the bow be compared to the object it sits on?

Oversized is the whole point of this trend, so bows on doors, cars and windows can span most of the frame. Smaller objects like a perfume bottle or a mug call for a bow roughly the same width as the object’s neck or shoulder, not wider.