A Drawing Of The Earth

Drawing a cartoon Earth is great. It's easy and it's a lot of fun too! Also, with so many different ways you can draw the world, it becomes a geography lesson as much as it is a drawing lesson.

While this lesson is labeled "Beginner", do know that it's actually pretty easy to get carried away with the details. Remember that this is a "cartoon" Earth, and as such – you should focus on creating a likeness, as opposed to going for perfection.

While working through this lesson, I recommend you look at a globe. This way, once you've decided on what angle you will draw your cartoon Earth from, you'll have a really good perspective on how the individual continents should look in relation to the angle that the Earth is being viewed.

All set then? Alright, let's get going…

Mapping out the continents of a cartoon Earth

First Step – Map Out the Continents

This lesson begins by drawing a simple circle just like I've done on the left. Then, using simple shapes – rectangles in my case, go on to map out the individual continents.

As you can see, the rectangles that I drew are used only to mark the position and relative shape of each continent, and in some cases – country.

This idea is very similar to how you used frameworks in other lessons to keep proportion in your drawing. These rectangles act as guidelines mapping out the position of each continent in relation to the other.

Your globe will give you a good idea of where to draw each rectangle. Be sure to draw them very lightly, and again… don't get carried away. Keep this step nice and simple.

So, are all your continents mapped out then? Excellent… on we go!

Using the rectangle pattern to design the continents of the Earth

Second Step – Draw the Continents

With an assortment of overlapping simple rectangles in place, you now have the perfect guideline from which to draw each continent.

Note: It's very important that you take your time. Look at the globe to see the general shape of each continent. Then draw to achieve a basic likeness.

Even though your shapes aren't exact, they will appear to more accurate then they are when you step back and see the "Big Picture".

Looking at the example to the right, you can easily see how each rectangle plays its role at holding the position for each specific continent. Without the rectangles, the "Big Picture" wouldn't be as convincing when you're all finished. In this way, the positioning of each shape is more important than how similar each continent is to the real thing!

When you're finished, it's on to the final step – your cartoon earth is almost complete!…

Black and white drawing of a cartoon Earth

Final Step – A Wonderful World!

Once you have each continent drawn, the final step then is to complete the outer perimeter of your cartoon Earth, and also… erase the rectangles.

This of course leaves you with a very nice looking final drawing – one that even though is not perfect… certainly convinces the person looking at it that YES! – it is the Earth!

As a finishing touch, why not add some color? Go with blue for the water and green for the land. Or, you may want to even color each continent a separate color, just like on a map.

When you're all finished, you've got a beautiful representation of our planet Earth — a wonderful cartoon world indeed! And remember, this is Earth Day! So let's be sure to do our job in keeping the Earth as beautiful and wonderful as it is, today and always. 🙂