Holly is Johanna Basford's favorite festive plant, and this lesson is Day 1 of her 12 Days of Creativity series. If you know her coloring books, you know her style: crisp black ink, tiny patterns and lots of leaves. Here she shows how to draw holly leaves in pencil, ink them with fine pens and finish with a sprig of red berries. It takes about six minutes, and you can reuse the shapes all season.
Holly drawing basics: the leaf shape
A holly leaf starts as one straight line. That line becomes the center vein. About a quarter of the way up, you draw three scooped curves on each side that meet at a point on top. Every scoop ends in a sharp tip. Those wavy points are what make holly look like holly and not a plain leaf.
Add a fourth scoop per side and the leaf gets spikier. Make one short and fat and it reads as a young leaf. Mix all three on one page.
Pens, pencils and paper
Johanna uses a mechanical pencil for the guides and Staedtler fineliners for the ink. The rule she follows: use the heavier pen for the bold outer lines and save the finer pen for the details inside. A 0.3 outline with 0.2 details is a good pair. Any smooth, bright white paper works. A sketch pad keeps the lines sharp and lets the eraser glide without tearing.
Patterns to fill your holly leaves
- Half stripes: lines on one side of the vein only.
- Herringbone: lines on both sides, like a fish skeleton.
- Dot and dash: a short line at the top, a row of dots, a line at the bottom.
- Double outline: a second line tucked inside the first, which adds weight.
If your leaves look like stars, the scoops are too deep and the points too even. Make the curves shallower and let one side lean a little. Real holly is never symmetrical.
Where to use your holly
Johanna's own suggestions are the best ones. A small sprig in the corner of an envelope makes plain mail feel like a holiday card. Draw one on each place card for Christmas dinner. Add a sprig to party invitations. A row of leaves along the bottom of a folded card makes a quick border.
Gift tags are a natural fit too. Pair this lesson with how to make Christmas gift tags and draw a sprig on every tag. Grandchildren can color the berries while you ink the leaves.
Adding color later
Let the ink dry fully before any color goes on. Colored pencils are the gentlest choice. Use a dark green near the vein and a lighter green toward the points. Leave a thin white highlight on each berry, then fill the rest with a bright red. That one red pop is what makes holly look festive, even on an otherwise black-and-white card.
Holly drawing ideas to try next
