28 Christmas Gnomes Drawing Ideas for Scandi Tomte Getting Ready for the Holidays

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Christmas gnomes drawing is the kind of project that fits on your lap on the sofa with the lights on and a mug going cold beside you. Every tomte here is busy with one small holiday job, baking, sledding, knitting, waving from a mailbox, so you get a finished page in one sitting instead of a sprawling scene you never get back to.

Below you will find 28 of them, ordered from the simplest shapes to the fuller folk scenes, all built the same soft-outline marker way so your set matches when you line them up. Pick whichever one makes you smile first and work down from there whenever you want another.

Start the easiest way in: a gnome carrying a tiny tree through snow is really just a cone hat, a rounded coat and one little pine tree held against his chest. Pencil the hat as a tall triangle that leans slightly forward, the coat as a soft bell shape underneath, and keep the beard a simple white triangle peeking out.

Once the pencil lines feel right, go over the outline in a warm cocoa brown fineliner before adding colour, so the marker has a clean edge to sit inside. Block the hat and coat in red first, then add the sage tree last so it reads as the smallest, brightest shape on the page.

The most common slip here is making the tree bigger than the gnome, which flips who the drawing is about. Keep the tree no taller than his arm, and if your marker skips on the first pass, let it dry and go over it once more rather than scrubbing while it is wet.

Compare the hat height to the body height before you ink: a tomte reads right when the hat is about as tall as the body below it.

You Will Need

• smooth marker paper
• red and sage alcohol markers
• cocoa brown fineliner
• white gel pen
• kneaded eraser

Palette: Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown,Cream

Dot a little white gel pen snow on his boots and the tree’s base once the marker is fully dry, it grounds him in the scene without extra drawing.

Gnomes baking cinnamon buns gives you two little characters instead of one, which sounds harder but actually just means repeating the same simple shapes twice at different sizes. Sketch one gnome standing at a small round table and a second peeking over it, both built from the same triangle hat and bell coat you have used before.

Draw the buns first as a row of spiral shapes on the table, since getting that coil right matters more than the gnomes themselves. Ink the buns in cocoa brown with a cream swirl left white, then move on to the two hats and coats in red and sage so the whole page stays in the same four colours.

If the spirals come out lumpy, a single curved line is enough, you do not need a perfect snail shape for it to read as a bun. Swap a rolling pin prop for a simple wooden spoon shape if circles feel easier to draw than a cylinder.

Tip for today: draw the buns at half the size you think they need, tiny buns read as more charming than big ones.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa brown and cream markers
• fineliner
• pencil for the spiral guides

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

Add a thin trail of steam above the buns with a few short curved pencil lines left uncoloured, it instantly makes them look warm from the oven.

Stringing lights on a mushroom house moves you from gnome-only subjects into a tiny gnome home, so give yourself a bit more of the page for this one. Pencil the mushroom first, a round cap on a thick stem, and let the gnome stand beside it on tiptoe reaching up with a string of lights.

Here is where eye level matters: draw the mushroom cap slightly above the gnome’s own hat line so he genuinely looks like he is reaching, and keep the string of lights as a gentle loop rather than a straight row. Colour the cap in red with cream dots, the classic toadstool pattern, then work the gnome’s coat in sage so he does not blend into the roof.

The lights themselves are just a wavy fineliner line with small cream dots along it, no need to draw bulbs. If circles for the mushroom spots feel fiddly, a white gel pen flicked on after the red dries gives the same dotted effect with less pencil work first.

Draw the string of lights last, after both the mushroom and gnome are coloured, so you can see exactly where it needs to curve to connect them.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red, cream and sage markers
• fine white gel pen
• fineliner

Palette: Poppy Red,Cream,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown

Leave a few mushroom spots as plain white paper instead of cream marker, the contrast makes the cap look like it is catching candlelight.

A gnome riding a fox asks you to think about how two bodies sit together, so this is a good place to slow down on proportion. Sketch the fox first, low and long with a curved tail, then sit the gnome’s rounded coat shape directly over the fox’s shoulders rather than floating above it.

Measure the gnome’s hat against the fox’s head before inking: if the hat tip reaches about the same height as the fox’s ears, the scale reads correctly and nobody looks like they are hovering. Colour the fox in warm cocoa brown with a cream belly and tail tip, saving the red for the gnome’s hat so he still stands out as the main character.

Fur texture trips people up here. A few short, light fineliner strokes along the fox’s back and tail do more than heavy scribbling, so keep your pen pressure light and let white paper show through as highlights.

If a fox feels like too much animal anatomy for today, a round-bodied hare works with the same simple oval shapes.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• fineliner for fur texture
• pencil

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

Angle the fox’s body slightly uphill across the page, it suggests motion and keeps the drawing from looking like a stiff portrait.

Wrapping presents with twine keeps the whole drawing close to the ground, a seated gnome surrounded by a few small wrapped boxes. Pencil the gnome sitting cross-legged or kneeling, then add two or three boxes stacked beside him at different sizes so the grouping does not look like a straight row.

Work the boxes first in cream and sage with a thin brown line for the twine wrapped around each one, crossing at the top the way a real bow would sit. Once the boxes are settled, bring in the gnome’s red hat and coat so he reads as the figure tying everything together.

Twine lines are easy to overdo. One or two brown lines per box, crossing once, is plenty, more than that and the boxes look scribbled on rather than wrapped.

If you have ten minutes, stop at one box and the gnome. With forty, add a second and third box at different heights plus a tiny pinecone or sprig tucked under the twine on one of them.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream, sage and red markers
• fine brown fineliner for twine
• pencil

Palette: Cream,Sage Green,Poppy Red,Cocoa Brown

Vary the box sizes by at least a third so the stack reads as a pile rather than matching gift-wrap samples lined up.

Two gnomes ice skating brings in a bit of leg and arm movement, more than you have drawn so far, so keep both figures simple even as the pose gets busier. Sketch each gnome leaning slightly to one side with one leg extended back, like a gentle glide rather than a dramatic spin.

Draw the ice first as a pale blue-grey oval patch beneath them, then place the two gnomes on it, one slightly ahead of the other so the composition has depth instead of two figures side by side. Colour one hat red and the other sage so they read as separate characters at a glance.

Balance is the trap here: if both feet touch the ground evenly the pose looks static. Lift the back leg clearly off the ice line on each gnome, even just a small gap, and the glide reads instantly.

No pale grey marker on hand, leave the ice as plain white paper with a few thin curved fineliner lines for skate marks instead.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red and sage markers
• pale grey or blue-grey marker
• fineliner

Palette: Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown,Pale Ice Blue

Curve a few thin lines behind their back skates to show the path they carved in the ice, it sells the movement more than the pose alone.

Reading by a candle turns the lesson toward light, so before you pencil anything decide where the candle actually sits, close beside the gnome’s book rather than across the page. Sketch the gnome seated with a small open book on his lap, the candle on a stand just to one side, flame leaning slightly away from him.

Shade the side of his hat and coat nearest the candle lighter, almost leaving it as cream, and deepen the red and cocoa on the far side so the light source actually reads. Keep the flame itself tiny, a narrow cream and red teardrop, and let a soft yellow glow ring sit behind it if you have a pale yellow marker.

The common mistake is lighting the whole gnome evenly, which flattens the cozy mood this scene depends on. Even a rough light and shadow side, nothing precise, is enough to make the candle feel like it is actually glowing.

No yellow marker, a few light pencil hatching lines around the flame suggest glow just as well.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red, cream, cocoa markers
• pale yellow marker optional
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Poppy Red,Cream,Cocoa Brown,Pale Yellow

Dot a tiny cream highlight on the side of the gnome’s nose and hat closest to the flame, it is a small touch that makes the candlelight believable.

After a page of reds, a gnome in a pink hat holding a bouquet is a nice colour break, and it is one of the simplest poses in this list: standing, both arms wrapped around a small bunch of flowers. Pencil the hat and coat as usual, then sketch the bouquet as three or four simple round flower heads with a sage leaf or two poking out between them.

Colour the hat in a soft dusty pink rather than true red so it stays in the gentle Scandi palette, and keep the coat a cream or cocoa so the pink does not have to compete with another bright colour. Build the bouquet last, cream and red flower heads with sage leaves, since it is the smallest shape and easiest to lose if you colour it too early.

Overworking the flowers is the usual pitfall, a few dots and simple rounded petals read as a bouquet better than tightly drawn individual blooms. If pink marker is not in your set, a light pencil blush over white paper, smudged gently, gives a close effect.

Hold the bouquet slightly off-centre rather than dead middle, it keeps the pose from looking too stiff.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• dusty pink and cream markers
• sage marker
• fineliner

Palette: Dusty Pink,Cream,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown

Try this gnome again later in a different hat colour, the same simple pose becomes a whole new card design with one marker swap.

Feeding birds is a quiet little scene, a gnome standing still with one hand outstretched and a bird or two nearby, so the challenge is less about shapes and more about where everyone looks. Sketch the gnome first, arm extended with a small handful of seed, then add one bird perched on his hand and a second mid-flight just above it.

Angle both birds’ heads toward the gnome’s hand, not away from him, since that single choice is what makes the scene feel connected rather than three separate drawings on one page. Colour the birds in cocoa brown and cream, small and simple, leaving most detail for the gnome’s red hat and coat as the main shape.

Wings are where beginners tense up. Keep each wing a simple curved triangle rather than trying to draw individual feathers, and the bird will still read clearly at this scale.

If you want more birds without more work, repeat the same simple wing shape smaller in the background rather than drawing a new pose each time.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

Scatter a few tiny cream dots near his feet for fallen seed, it is a small detail that explains the whole scene without extra drawing.

A gnome on a sled with a dog is one of the liveliest scenes in this set, and you have already drawn foxes and birds, so a simple dog shape should feel familiar now. Sketch the sled first as a low curved base, the gnome sitting on it gripping the front edge, and the dog pulling from in front on a simple rope line.

Quick version, ten minutes: a plain sled, gnome, and dog outline in flat colour, done. The forty minute version adds motion lines streaking behind the sled, snow spray at the dog’s paws, and a scarf trailing off the gnome’s neck, all small additions that make the same basic drawing feel full of speed.

Keep the dog’s body low and stretched rather than upright, that is what reads as running instead of standing. If a realistic dog breed feels like too much, a simple round-eared sled dog shape in cocoa and cream works just as well as any specific breed.

Draw the rope between dog and sled as one single taut line, a loose wavy one breaks the sense of pulling.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

A scarf trailing behind the gnome in the wind is a quick way to add motion without redrawing the whole pose.

For the gingerbread house scene, let the house take up roughly half the page so the gnome has something properly large to work against for once. Pencil a simple peaked-roof house first, cocoa brown walls with a cream icing trim along the roofline, then add the gnome standing beside it holding a small piping bag or candy piece.

Build the house in layers: walls first, then the icing trim lines, then a few round candy dots along the roof edge, letting each layer dry before the next so the colours stay clean rather than muddy. Add the gnome last in red and sage so he stands out clearly against all that cocoa brown.

Too many candy details at once is the easy trap, three or four dots and one simple trim line read as “gingerbread” without turning the house into clutter. For a quick swap, a plain roofline of cream dots does the same job as individually drawn candies.

Keep the gnome smaller than the house’s door, that scale comparison is what makes the house feel appropriately large and sweet.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream, red and sage markers
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

For more step by step holiday house drawing, the guide at step by step drawing christmas works well alongside this scene.

A gnome sipping coffee in a mug bigger than him is a fun scale joke to draw, and the trick is committing fully to the size difference rather than making the mug only slightly oversized. Sketch the mug first, wide and tall, then draw the gnome sitting on its rim or peeking over the edge so his whole body is smaller than the cup itself.

Colour the mug in cream with a simple sage or red stripe pattern around it, a classic folk motif, then add the gnome last in red so he pops clearly against the pale cup. A little steam curling up from the coffee, just two or three light curved lines, finishes the mood.

If the size contrast feels subtle once it is drawn, shrink the gnome again, the joke only works when the difference is obvious at a glance. Mug pattern stuck, plain cream with no stripe still reads perfectly well as long as the scale is right.

Sit him with his legs dangling over the rim rather than standing stiffly, it makes the whole pose feel more relaxed and cozy.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream and red markers
• sage marker for pattern
• fineliner

Palette: Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown

Add a small heart or star shape to the mug’s pattern instead of a plain stripe for a sweeter, more personal touch.

Hanging a wreath on a red cottage brings back the small-scene approach from the mushroom house, this time with a proper little building. Pencil the cottage as a simple square with a peaked roof and one round window, then add the gnome reaching up beside the door with a wreath in hand.

Eye level matters again here: place the wreath at the same height as the gnome’s raised hand, not above his head, so the reach looks natural rather than impossible. Colour the cottage in red with cream window trim, then build the wreath in sage with a few tiny red dot berries so it stands out clearly against the wall.

Windows are the usual stumble, keep it a simple circle or square with a cream cross for the frame rather than trying to draw glass reflections. If red feels like too much with the cottage already that colour, swap the gnome’s hat to sage so the two reds do not fight each other.

Add one small sage sprig at the cottage door handle to tie the wreath colour into the rest of the scene.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red, cream and sage markers
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Poppy Red,Cream,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown

For more cozy window and cottage scenes to pair this with, see christmas scene drawing.

Knitting a scarf is one of the calmest poses here, a seated gnome with two knitting needles and a long scarf trailing across his lap. Sketch him sitting cross-legged first, then draw the needles as two simple crossed lines held in his hands, with the scarf as a long rectangle striped in two colours draped down from them.

Build the scarf stripes in cream and sage, alternating evenly, before you add the gnome’s own red hat and coat, so the stripe pattern stays crisp and is not interrupted by overlapping colour later. Let the scarf trail off the edge of the gnome’s lap onto the ground a little, which makes it look like real knitting in progress rather than a flat finished prop.

Uneven stripe widths are the main giveaway of a rushed drawing here, pencil faint guide lines across the scarf shape before inking so each stripe stays a consistent width. No sage on hand, cocoa and cream stripes look just as cozy.

Try this same pose again later with a different stripe pattern, since the scarf is the easiest part of any gnome drawing to change up.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream, sage and red markers
• fineliner
• pencil for stripe guides

Palette: Cream,Sage Green,Poppy Red,Cocoa Brown

Curl the far end of the scarf slightly where it pools on the ground, a small curl reads as soft wool rather than a stiff flat strip.

Sleeping in a teacup is another scale-joke scene like the coffee mug, except now the gnome is curled up asleep rather than sitting upright, so the pose itself needs to look soft and relaxed. Sketch the teacup first, a simple rounded shape on a small saucer, then curl the gnome’s whole body inside it like he is tucked into a tiny bed, knees drawn up and hat drooping to one side.

Colour the teacup in cream with a thin red or sage rim line, a simple folk pattern if you like, then add the sleeping gnome last so his red hat is the warmest spot in the whole piece. A few short curved lines near his face suggest a soft snore or steam from the tea beneath him.

Stiff limbs are the easy mistake in a sleeping pose, round every curve more than feels natural and avoid straight lines anywhere on his body. If a saucer feels fussy to draw, the teacup alone sitting directly on the ground works just as well.

Tilt the hat so its point droops over one eye, that small detail does more to suggest sleep than a closed-eye expression alone.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream, red and sage markers
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown

Add two or three tiny curved lines above his head like gentle steam or breath, it is a quick way to suggest a cozy nap.

A gnome with a lantern in the forest shifts the light source to a handheld lantern rather than a fixed candle, which changes where the glow falls across the whole page. Sketch the gnome walking, lantern held slightly out from his body, then add two or three simple tree trunks behind him, taller than he is, to set the forest without drawing full branches.

Since the lantern is low and to one side, keep the trees and ground near it lighter in cream and the far corners of the page darker in cocoa, so the eye reads the lantern as the actual source of light. A small warm yellow or cream glow circle around the lantern itself finishes that effect.

Evenly lit backgrounds are the usual issue, resist colouring every tree the same shade and let the ones nearest the lantern stay paler than the ones further off. No yellow marker, a cream circle with light pencil hatching around the lantern reads as glow just as well.

Walk him diagonally across the page rather than straight on, it makes the forest feel larger than what is actually drawn.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• pale yellow marker optional
• fineliner

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Pale Yellow

Darken the tree trunks furthest from the lantern a touch more than the ones close by, that gradient alone sells the night forest mood.

Hugging a cat is a sweet, simple pose: a gnome with both arms wrapped around a seated cat roughly his own size. Sketch the cat first as a rounded triangle body with pointed ears and a curled tail, then wrap the gnome’s arms and coat shape around it so the two forms overlap naturally rather than sitting side by side.

Colour the cat in cocoa brown or cream with simple stripe or patch markings if you like, then bring in the gnome’s red hat last so it sits as the brightest point above the softer, flatter cat colouring. Keep the cat’s expression simple, a closed curved line for the eyes is enough to suggest contentment.

Texture is worth a small trick here: lightly drag a dry brush marker or the worn edge of a cocoa marker over the cat’s body for a few soft streaky strokes, which reads as fur without drawing individual hairs.

If stripes feel fiddly, a single solid cat colour with no pattern is just as charming and much quicker.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• fineliner
• older worn marker for dry brush texture

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

Curl the cat’s tail around the gnome’s foot rather than leaving it loose, it ties the two shapes together visually.

Delivering letters is a nice bridge into a slightly more active pose, a gnome mid-stride with a small satchel and an envelope in hand. Sketch the walking pose first, one leg forward and the coat flaring slightly with the motion, then add a small cream satchel slung across his body and one red-stamped envelope held out in front.

Colour the satchel in cocoa brown with a cream flap, then the envelope itself in cream with a small red wax-seal dot, before finishing with his usual red hat and coat so the whole page stays balanced across the same four colours. A couple of short motion lines behind his back foot suggest he is hurrying.

A completely straight standing pose is the main thing to avoid, since this scene depends on him looking like he is in motion. Bend the front knee slightly and lean the coat forward just a touch to break the stiffness.

No red marker for the wax seal, a small solid pencil dot shaded in works as a stand-in.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• fineliner
• pencil

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

If you enjoy drawing little festive letters and greetings like this one, the ideas at merry christmas drawing are worth a look too.

Painting ornaments sits a gnome at a small table with a round ornament in one hand and a tiny brush in the other, close in spirit to the twine-wrapping scene but with finer detail work. Sketch the gnome seated first, then the ornament as a simple circle held up at chest height, large enough to carry a small painted pattern of its own.

Paint the ornament itself in cream with a thin sage or red swirl pattern, treating it almost like a miniature drawing inside the bigger one, then build the gnome’s own red and sage colouring around it so the ornament still reads as the focal point. A tiny brush, just a thin line with a dot tip, completes his hand.

Overdetailing the ornament pattern is the easy trap, one simple swirl or a few dots is enough, more than that competes with the gnome himself for attention. If a perfect circle feels hard freehand, trace a coin or bottle cap for the ornament shape before inking.

Keep the ornament pattern loose and a little uneven, a hand-painted look suits this folk style better than a precise one.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream, sage and red markers
• fine brush pen or fineliner
• small round object to trace

Palette: Cream,Sage Green,Poppy Red,Cocoa Brown

Paint two or three ornaments drying on the table beside him, repeating the same simple swirl pattern in different colours each time.

A gnome in a tartan hat is really a lesson in pattern on a small, forgiving shape, since the hat is one simple cone you can practice on without redrawing the whole figure each time. Sketch the gnome in his usual standing pose, then before any colour goes down, lightly pencil a grid of crossing diagonal and straight lines across the hat shape as your tartan guide.

Fill the base of the hat in red or cocoa first, let it dry fully, then add the tartan lines over the top in a contrasting colour like sage or cream, since layering pattern over a dry flat colour keeps the lines crisp instead of muddy. Keep the rest of the gnome, coat and beard, simple so the hat pattern has room to be the detail that stands out.

Too many tartan lines crowd the small hat shape fast, three or four crossing lines in each direction is plenty at this size. No contrasting marker for the lines, a fine white gel pen over the dry red works just as well.

Try the same tartan pattern again later on a scarf or coat instead of the hat, it is a detail that travels well across different gnomes.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red or cocoa base marker
• sage or cream for tartan lines
• fine white gel pen
• fineliner

Palette: Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cream,Cocoa Brown

Let the tartan lines wrap slightly around the curve of the hat rather than staying perfectly straight, it makes the fabric feel three-dimensional.

Fishing in an ice hole is a quiet winter scene, a gnome seated on the edge of a round hole in a sheet of ice with a line dropped down into it. Sketch the ice as a large pale oval filling most of the lower page, cut by one small dark circle where the gnome’s fishing line disappears, then seat him at the edge with his legs tucked close against the cold.

Colour the ice in a very pale blue-grey or simply leave it as white paper with a few thin cocoa crack lines across the surface, since too much colour on the ice flattens the sense of it being frozen and reflective. Keep the fishing hole itself nearly black or deep cocoa so it reads clearly as an opening rather than a shadow.

A line with no visible end is the common error, add a tiny fish shape just below the surface of the hole so the scene explains itself at a glance. Swap a proper fishing rod for a simple bent stick shape if a rod with reel details feels fussy.

Hunch his shoulders up toward the hat, it is a small pose change that reads instantly as cold.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• pale blue-grey or white paper left bare
• cocoa marker
• red marker
• fineliner

Palette: Pale Ice Blue,Cocoa Brown,Poppy Red,Cream

Draw a tiny fish just under the ice hole’s surface line, it turns a simple seated pose into a scene with a story.

Carrying a stack of presents piles three or four gift boxes up past the gnome’s own head, so this is a good moment to measure before you ink anything. Stack the boxes first in pencil, biggest at the bottom and smallest on top, checking that the whole tower is no taller than about twice the gnome’s own height so it still looks carryable rather than impossible.

Colour each box a different shade from your palette, cream, sage, red, cocoa, so the stack reads as individual gifts rather than one solid block, then add the gnome’s arms wrapped around the base of the pile last. A slight lean backward in his pose helps sell the weight he is carrying.

Boxes drawn perfectly square often look like they are floating rather than stacked, so tilt each one just a few degrees differently from the one below it, the way a real wobbly pile would sit.

If four boxes feels like too much to balance visually, two larger ones read just as well as a full armful.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream, sage, red and cocoa markers
• fineliner
• pencil for stack guides

Palette: Cream,Sage Green,Poppy Red,Cocoa Brown

Add one tiny bow or sprig on the top box only, keeping the rest of the stack plain so that detail does not get lost in the pile.

Stirring porridge brings the kitchen theme back, this time with a gnome standing at a small pot on a stove rather than a baking table. Sketch the pot first, round and wide with short legs or a simple stand beneath it, then add the gnome beside it holding a long wooden spoon dipped into the bowl.

Colour the pot in cocoa brown with a cream rim, then fill the porridge itself with a pale cream swatch and a few small cocoa dots for texture, before finishing the gnome in his usual red and sage. Steam lines rising from the pot, two or three soft curves, finish the warm kitchen feeling.

A spoon drawn too thin tends to disappear against the pot, keep the handle slightly thicker than feels natural so it reads clearly in the gnome’s hand. No cream marker for the porridge texture, light pencil shading over white paper gives a similar soft grainy look.

Tilt the spoon slightly inside the pot rather than straight up and down, it looks more like active stirring.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, cream and red markers
• sage marker
• fineliner

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green

A small bowl set beside the pot, already filled and waiting, hints at the next part of the story without any extra figures needed.

Dancing with a snowman is one of the more playful poses in the set, two very different body shapes, round stacked circles against the gnome’s cone and bell, holding hands or arms in a simple spin. Sketch the snowman first as three stacked circles, smallest on top, then add the gnome beside it mid-step with one arm raised to meet the snowman’s stick arm.

Keep the snowman almost entirely white paper with just a thin cocoa outline and a few simple cocoa dots for eyes and buttons, so the colour budget stays with the gnome’s red hat and coat. A sage scarf around the snowman’s middle ties the two figures into the same palette without adding a new colour.

Both figures standing flat-footed kills the dancing feel fast, lift one of the gnome’s feet slightly and angle the snowman’s stick arms upward instead of straight out to suggest movement.

If stick arms feel awkward to place, a single curved branch arm on each side reads just as well as two straight sticks.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red and sage markers
• cocoa marker for outline and details
• fineliner

Palette: Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown,Cream

Curve the gnome’s scarf or coat tail outward as if mid-spin, that one line does more for the sense of dancing than the pose alone.

Holding a paper star is a simple standing pose built around one flat prop, a five-pointed star held up at chest height with both hands. Sketch the star first using light pencil guide lines radiating from a centre point so the points stay roughly even, then build the gnome’s standing pose around it, arms curved to support the shape from beneath.

Colour the star in cream with a thin red or sage outline and a simple centre pattern, a small dot or swirl, then finish the gnome in his usual colours so the pale star stands out clearly against his red hat. Since a star is flat, keep its colouring simple and even rather than trying to shade it like a rounded object.

Uneven star points are the easiest giveaway of a rushed sketch, so take the extra minute with pencil guide lines before any ink touches the page. If a five-point star feels fiddly, a simple four-point star is just as traditional and much easier to balance.

Hold the star slightly tilted rather than perfectly flat to the viewer, it reads as more natural in his hands.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream and red or sage markers
• fineliner
• pencil for star guide lines

Palette: Cream,Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cocoa Brown

If paper stars and simple festive shapes interest you, the ideas at christmas doodles make a good quick companion project.

A gnome in a bubble bath is a cozy, funny little scene, just his head and hat poking out of a round tub filled with soft white bubbles. Sketch the tub first as a simple oval or rounded rectangle, then draw the gnome’s hat and face peeking over the rim, with a scatter of round bubble shapes piled up around him.

Leave most of the bubbles as plain white paper with just a thin cocoa or sage outline on each circle, rather than filling them in solidly, since white bubbles against a coloured tub read far more convincingly than flat-coloured ones. Colour the tub itself in cream or sage, then finish with his red hat as the one strong colour note in the whole piece.

Overfilled, identical bubbles flatten the scene fast, vary the bubble sizes and let a few overlap each other naturally rather than lining them up evenly. No sage for the tub, a plain cream tub with cocoa outline works just as well.

Add one small bubble floating just above his head, detached from the rest, for a touch of whimsy.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cream and sage markers
• red marker
• fineliner

Palette: Cream,Sage Green,Poppy Red,Cocoa Brown

Keep his expression closed-eyed and relaxed rather than smiling broadly, it suits the sleepy bath mood better.

Gnome family by the fire is the fullest scene in this whole list, so give it the most room on the page and plan the grouping in pencil before any colour goes near it. Sketch two or three gnomes of slightly different sizes seated together near a simple glowing fireplace, overlapping their shoulders a little so they read as a group rather than separate figures lined up.

Build the fireplace first in cocoa brown with a warm red and cream flame shape glowing at its centre, then work outward to the gnomes so the fire reads clearly as the heart of the scene. Vary their hat colours slightly, red, sage, cocoa, so each family member stays distinct even while sitting close together.

Every figure facing forward identically is the easy trap in a group scene, turn one gnome’s head slightly toward another to suggest conversation and warmth between them. If three figures feels like too much for one sitting, two gnomes keep the same cozy feeling with half the work.

Finish with a scatter of warm cream light reflected on the nearest gnome’s face from the fire.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• cocoa, red, cream and sage markers
• fineliner
• pencil for grouping layout

Palette: Cocoa Brown,Poppy Red,Cream,Sage Green

For more cozy indoor holiday scenes once this one feels comfortable, christmas aesthetic drawing has a few good next steps.

Waving from a mailbox closes the set on a bright, simple note, a gnome popped halfway out of a small mailbox with one arm raised in a wave. Sketch the mailbox first as a simple rounded rectangle on a short post, then draw the gnome’s upper half emerging from its open front, one arm raised high.

Colour the mailbox in red or sage with a small cream flag on the side, then build the gnome’s hat and visible shoulders in whichever colour you have used least across your other drawings, so this last piece feels like a fresh note rather than a repeat. Keep his waving arm simple, just a curved line ending in a small mitten shape.

A perfectly still wave can look stiff, bend the raised arm slightly at the elbow rather than keeping it straight, and tilt his head a touch toward the viewer for a friendlier feel.

If a full mailbox feels like a lot to draw today, a simple wooden post box front, just the door and flag, carries the same idea.

You Will Need

• marker paper
• red or sage markers
• cream marker
• fineliner

Palette: Poppy Red,Sage Green,Cream,Cocoa Brown

Once you have worked through a few of these, try arranging four or five finished gnomes together as a little holiday card set.

What to Do Next

Pick one gnome that matches the mood you are in today, a quiet reading scene or a livelier sledding one, and start with a light pencil sketch on scrap paper before it ever touches your good marker paper. Once the shapes feel comfortable, work back through the list for the rest of the set whenever you have another quiet evening free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What markers work best for christmas gnomes drawing in this folk style?

Alcohol-based markers on smooth marker paper work best, since they blend cleanly and keep soft edges without feathering. A warm cocoa or brown fineliner for outlines suits the style better than pure black.

Do I need to be good at faces to draw these gnomes?

No, most tomte designs hide the face almost entirely behind a long beard and a low hat brim. A simple closed curved line or two small dots is all the expression this folk style needs.

How do I keep every gnome in a set looking consistent?

Reuse the same basic shapes each time, a triangle hat, a bell-shaped coat, a white beard, and stick to the same four core colours. Changing only the pose, props and one accent colour keeps a whole set feeling like a matched family.

What paper should I use if I only have regular printer paper?

Regular paper works for pencil sketching but alcohol markers will bleed through it quickly, so keep a few sheets of smooth marker paper on hand for the inked version. Sketch and test on printer paper first if you want to save marker paper for final pieces.

How long does one gnome drawing usually take?

A simple single gnome with no background takes about fifteen to twenty minutes once the pencil sketch is settled. Fuller scenes with a house, animal or group, like the family by the fire, can take closer to forty minutes.