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Based on a video by DoodleDrawArt with Lisa
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This Christmas ornament comes from Lisa at DoodleDrawArt with Lisa. She draws a round glass ball with a fancy clasp on top and a red ribbon bow, then colors it so the glass looks shiny. It is an easy lesson, and the shading trick at the end is worth learning. The whole drawing takes about six minutes.
You need a pencil, an eraser, a black marker and crayons or colored pencils.
The ball is a plain circle until you shade it. Lisa's method works for any round, glossy object.
Light only shows up next to dark, so the edge around the shine should be your darkest color. For more on this, see how to shade.
Once the ball feels easy, change the body and keep the same cap and bow.
Draw two curved lines across the middle of the ball. Curve them like a smile so they wrap around the glass. Fill the band with stripes, dots, zigzags or tiny snowflakes. Shade the ball after the pattern, and let the shine cross right over the band.
Draw the ornament on cardstock, color it and cut it out. Punch a hole through the loop and tie on a ribbon. Now it hangs on a real tree. A smaller one makes a sweet gift tag. Write the name on the back, or follow how to make Christmas gift tags. Grandchildren can draw a whole set in different colors for the tree.
Want an ornament you can keep for years? Try salt dough ornaments.
The circle is lumpy. Trace a cup or a jar lid. Lisa suggests it.
The ball looks flat. Your dark color is too even. Push it to the edges and leave the middle lighter.
The shine disappeared. Color is hard to take back off. Mark the shine first and keep coloring around it.
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Draw a shiny Christmas ornament with a fancy clasp and red ribbon bow in 10 easy steps. An easy project: about 30 minutes. You need 7 things, including drawing paper or sketch pad, crayons or colored pencils and pencil. The 10 steps start with sketch the Round Christmas Ornament Ball in Pencil, draw the Christmas Ornament's Fancy Clasp With Heart Curls, sketch a Ribbon Bow Above the Christmas Ornament and outline the Christmas Ornament Ball in Black Marker.
10 steps, about 6 minutes. Tap a picture to jump to that step. Your progress saves automatically.
Tick each step off as you go.
Draw a big circle in the middle of your page with a pencil. Press lightly. These are guide lines, and you will erase them later. Make the circle as round as you can. If freehand circles give you trouble, trace a cup or a jar lid. Then draw a small rounded box on top of the circle for the ornament's cap, and a little circle above it for the hanging loop.
Leave room above the ornament for the ribbon bow.
Now dress up the cap. Draw a circle for the loop at the top. Then add the metal clasp that holds the ornament on. Lisa makes it curve around and form a little heart shape in the middle, then loops down and makes another heart on each side. It looks fancy, but it is only a few curls. You can keep it simpler with a plain rectangle cap.
Keep the clasp small. It should look like a jewel on top, not a second ball.
Draw the bow as a big sideways figure eight, with one loop on each side of the ornament loop. Then draw two ribbon tails coming down and out. Go back and double each line so the ribbon has thickness. It does not need to be the same width everywhere. Ribbon is fabric, so it twists and moves. Cut a little notch into the end of each tail.
Uneven ribbon looks more natural than a stiff, perfect bow.
Fix any spots you do not like, then grab a black permanent marker. Trace the ball carefully. Try to go around in one long, sweeping line instead of lots of short strokes. That keeps the circle smooth. Trace the loop and the heart-curl clasp the same way. Lisa uses a regular Sharpie here because the ornament is the star of the drawing.
Turn your paper as you go. It is easier than twisting your wrist.
Switch to a finer marker for the ribbon bow. The bow sits behind the ornament, so a thinner line keeps it from fighting for attention. Trace both loops, the tails and the notched ends. Follow your doubled pencil lines so the ribbon keeps its width. Where the bow passes behind the loop, stop the line so the loop stays in front.
No fine marker? Use the same one and press more lightly.
Let the ink dry for a minute so it does not smear. Then erase all the pencil marks. Hold the paper flat with your other hand and rub gently. Check around the bow loops and the clasp. Little pencil lines like to hide there. A clean drawing makes the colors look brighter in the next steps.
A kneadable eraser lifts graphite without scuffing the paper.
Color the clasp and the hanging loop gray. That reads as metal. If you have a silver or gold crayon or marker, use it here. Metallic colors catch the light and look great on a holiday card. Color lightly and stay inside your black lines. The little heart curls are small, so slow down.
A sharp colored pencil is easier than a crayon in tiny spaces.
Color the ribbon bow red. Lisa uses two reds, a brighter one and a deeper one, to give the fabric some texture. One red works fine too. Color along the length of the ribbon, not across it. Strokes that follow the ribbon make it look like it bends and flows.
Put the darker red where the ribbon twists or tucks behind the ornament.
Pick a color for the glass. Lisa chooses green. Color the whole ball very lightly with gentle pressure. This pale layer is the base. You are about to add darker color on top and leave some areas light for the reflection, so it matters that you start faint. Too much color now and there is no room left for a shine.
Hold the crayon near the back end for a lighter touch.
Now build the shine. Press harder near the edges and color in curved arcs that follow the round shape. Add a few circles under the clasp to show its reflection. Leave a patch at the top right almost white. Darken the color around that patch so it pops. Cover it with your fingertip if you need to. Add color a little at a time. You can always add more.
Step back often. The glass effect is easier to judge from a few feet away.
Keep going
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How to Draw a Christmas Ornament
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E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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