How to Draw a Gingerbread Man

Time needed: 30 minutes

How to Draw a Gingerbread Man

1. Outline the gingerbread man’s head.

   Create a simple oval for the head of your gingerbread man. When you draw a gingerbread man with this simple technique, you don’t need to create a perfect circle or oval for the head, because in real life this subject has an irregular shape. If your oval ends up slightly uneven, don’t worry.

2. Create the arm outlines.

   Next, sketch the arms extending from each side of the head. Draw them as two half-ovals attached at shoulder height. Keep them symmetrical, but don’t stress over perfect lines, a gingerbread cookie is never completely even in real life.

3. Draw the gingerbread man torso lines.

   Now add two curved lines under the arms to illuminate the sides of the body. Keep them rounded instead of straight, since the gingerbread man’s body is supposed to look thick and cookie-like. Sketch it as if the dough had spread out while baking. When you draw the body this way, the proportions feel more natural.

4. Sketch the rounded leg outer shapes.

   Continue by sketching two wide curves at the bottom to form the tops of the legs. Think of this as the base of the cookie spreading outward. The shapes don’t need to be exact, in fact, a slightly uneven outline makes the gingerbread man drawing feel more authentic.

5. Finish the cookie leg outline.

   Now add a rounded “V” shape between the two curves to complete the legs. This line will divide the lower half into two distinct legs. Don’t make the cut too sharp; instead, sketch a gentle curve so the gingerbread man looks cookie-like. The legs should be nearly the same size.

6. Draw the gingerbread man eyes and smile.

   It’s time to give your gingerbread man a simple face. Draw two small circles for the eyes, on the upper part of the head. Beneath them, sketch a wide curved smile. The face doesn’t need to be perfect or look as a face if a real person. Just make sure the expression looks like it was made by a hand of a human.

7. Sketch small button circles.

   Next, draw three small circles down the middle of the torso to represent buttons of the gingerbread man. The circles don’t need to be identical, since real gingerbread cookies usually have small variations. It’s better to keep the spacing between these buttons even.

8. Sketch the curved icing lines.

   Now sketch wavy decorative lines along the arms and legs. These lines represent the frosting details commonly found on gingerbread cookies. Draw them loosely, almost like ripples, so they feel natural and handmade. Place these elements near the edges of the arms and legs.

9. Color the cookie figure.

   Finally, color your gingerbread man drawing using warm brown or light tan for the cookie itself, then add white or cream for the frosting. The buttons can be colored in bright shades, like red or green, to resemble candy decorations. If you don’t have many colors, even simple brown and white will work well.