How to Draw Scarecrow — Free Practice Sheets

A scarecrow drawing becomes clear when you build it in the right order. Start with the cross-post frame: one vertical post and one horizontal arm bar. Everything else hangs from that structure. Then place the hat and face, add the shirt and sleeves, attach straw tufts at the sleeve ends, and finish the ragged lower garment. This page explains the method and the features that make the drawing read as a scarecrow, whether you trace, copy onto a grid, or complete a partial sheet.

Build the cross-post frame first

The scarecrow's structure is a cross: a central vertical post with a horizontal arm bar crossing near the top. Draw the vertical post first, then the arm bar so it crosses the post at a consistent height on both sides. Keep the arm bar level unless you deliberately want a tilted, windblown look. This frame controls where the shirt, sleeves, and lower garment will sit, so fix it before adding detail.

Treat the post as the spine of the drawing. The face sits above the arm bar, the shirt body covers the crossing point, and the lower garment hangs around the post below the arms. If the frame is uneven, later details will drift.

1. Draw one vertical line for the central post.
2. Draw a horizontal arm bar crossing the post near the top.
3. Check that both sides of the arm bar are roughly equal in length.

Add the hat, face, and shirt

Place a wide-brimmed pointed straw hat at the top of the post. The brim should extend beyond the face on both sides, and the point should rise above the brim. Under the brim, draw a round face with simple eyes and a smile. Keep the features small and centered so the hat remains the dominant shape.

Next, draw the shirt body around the post, starting at the neck below the face. Add a bow at the neck as a clear identifying detail. Extend sleeves along the arm bar so the fabric follows the horizontal line, then attach straw tufts at the sleeve ends. The tufts should look like short, uneven spikes rather than neat bundles.

1. Draw the wide brim, then the pointed crown above it.
2. Add a round face with simple eyes and a smile.
3. Draw the shirt body and a neck bow.
4. Extend sleeves along the arm bar and add straw tufts at the ends.

Finish the lower garment and support post

Below the shirt, draw a ragged skirt-like lower garment around the post. Make the hem uneven with short jagged points so it reads as worn fabric. Leave the single vertical support post visible below the garment, continuing to the bottom of the drawing. This visible post is what separates a scarecrow from a dressed figure.

Patches and stripes on the shirt are optional but useful: a few simple rectangles or lines suggest repairs and fabric without cluttering the silhouette. Keep them inside the shirt outline.

1. Draw the ragged lower garment around the post with an uneven hem.
2. Continue the single vertical post below the garment.
3. Add simple patches or stripes inside the shirt if desired.

Compare and assess your drawing

Because art has multiple valid outcomes, compare your drawing by checking visible features rather than matching every line. Confirm the wide-brimmed pointed hat, the horizontal arm bar with straw tufts at the sleeve ends, the patched or striped shirt with a neck bow, and the ragged lower garment around a visible post. Proportions can vary, but each feature should be recognizable.

When using a grid or partial sheet, use the guides to place the silhouette, then add the identifying details. The separate full reference sheet is for comparison after you finish, not for copying line by line.

1. Check each identifying feature against the reference.
2. Note one proportion to adjust, such as arm length or hat width.
3. Redraw only that area rather than starting over.

Check your work

• The central vertical post and horizontal arm bar form a clear cross.
• The hat has a wide brim and a pointed crown above the face.
• The face is round with simple eyes and a smile.
• Sleeves follow the arm bar and end in uneven straw tufts.
• The shirt includes a neck bow and optional patches or stripes.
• The lower garment is ragged and the support post remains visible below it.

Worked example

scarecrow: Trace the reference outline, then practise the contour independently. Compare with the separate full reference sheet.

Common mistakes

• Drawing the hat and face before the cross-post frame. Draw the vertical post and arm bar first, then place the hat and face relative to that frame.
• Making the straw tufts neat and rounded. Draw short, uneven spikes at the sleeve ends so the straw looks loose.
• Hiding the support post completely under the lower garment. Continue the single vertical post below the ragged hem to the bottom of the drawing.

Questions and answers