Let’s honor Mother Nature and learn how to draw a jungle, home to many of the world’s most unusual and fascinating animals.

How to Draw a Jungle: Introduction

The jungle has a very distinct appearance and stands out noticeably from the more typical forests found in many countries. In one of my previous lessons, I already showed you how to draw a forest, and continuing with this theme, today I’ll show you how to draw a jungle step by step.

One of the most striking features of the jungle is the large number of diverse trees. In this lesson on how to draw a jungle, I’ll demonstrate how to illustrate its dense vegetation without getting lost in the details.

Additionally, I’ll show you how to create a convincing composition without making the jungle drawing overly complex or cluttered.

We’ll use a fairly simple approach, so you can be confident that by carefully following all the instructions, you’ll be able to piece together a complete jungle drawing from small, simple shapes while keeping it both clear and realistic.

Jungle Drawing Tutorial

Materials

Pencil
Paper
Eraser
Coloring supplies

Time needed: 35 minutes

How to Draw a Jungle

Draw the foreground of the jungle.
Sketch a few curved lines and small leaf shapes at the bottom left and right corners of the drawing area. Use wavy lines to represent the tops of bushes and small plants. The jungle has a lot of overlapping foliage, so don’t worry about perfection – focus on making organic, natural shapes.
Add more leaves and plants.
Continue building the jungle by adding more bushes and foliage in the foreground. Use curved lines to extend the existing vegetation. Vary the size and direction of the curves to make the jungle appear organic and wild. Avoid making the bushes too uniform – jungles are chaotic and full of different plants.
Draw the ground at the middle part.
Use a straight horizontal line to illustrate the ground. Don’t try to make it perfectly straight. Add different types of plants, such as smaller leafy ones, to create contrast with the larger bushes. You can also draw small stems or leaves sticking out from behind the bushes.
Draw the plants in the background.
To give the background of plants a more realistic look, you can use thinner and lighter lines. Draw more overlapping bushes with curved lines and different types of plants, making sure each section looks distinct. Varying the size and shape of the bushes helps create a natural and lively jungle appearance.
Sketch the tree trunks.
To draw the trees, sketch tall, slightly curved trunks emerging from behind the bushes. Vary their width and positioning to create a natural effect. These trees should be spaced unevenly to make the composition look organic. Use smooth, flowing lines to give the trunks a realistic appearance.
Draw the jungle tree canopies.
Use large, rounded shapes to form the tops of the trees, making them appear full and lush. These canopies should be slightly irregular in shape, with soft bumps and curves to represent clusters of leaves. Be sure to vary their sizes and positions to create a natural composition. Some canopies can overlap.
Add hanging vines and details.
Now, add hanging vines and other small details to make your jungle drawing look more natural. Draw thin, slightly curved lines descending from the tree canopies, representing vines. You can also add small leaves or tendrils along these vines for extra detail. Keep the vines varied.
Finalize the jungle line work.
Before moving on to coloring, refine your drawing by adding any final touches. Check the overall composition and make any necessary adjustments. If some areas feel too empty, consider adding extra leaves or vines. Improve the texture of the tree canopies by adding small, curved lines to create clusters of leaves.
Color the jungle drawing.
Use different shades of green for the foliage to create a realistic look – darker greens for the foreground and lighter greens for the background. Add slight color variations to the bushes and leaves to prevent them from looking too uniform. The tree trunks can be colored in shades of brown.

How to Draw a Jungle: Advanced Advices

Jungles contain a diverse range of trees and plants, so avoid making all trees the same shape or size. Use different types of canopies, such as broad and umbrella-like or narrow and spiky. Mixing various leaf shapes – like fanned palm leaves, clustered vines, and large tropical foliage – will make the scene more realistic.

One-point or atmospheric perspective can help create a believable jungle scene. In atmospheric perspective, elements in the distance should be drawn with lighter lines and fewer details, while foreground objects should have more contrast and sharpness. This contrast will naturally guide the viewer’s eye through the drawing.

To prevent the jungle from appearing too two-dimensional, ensure that trees, vines, and bushes overlap each other in a natural way. Some trees can be partially hidden behind others, and vines should pass in front of and behind different elements.

When adding animals to a jungle drawing, place them naturally within the scenery. Draw a monkey on the tree or a tiger at the ground. Small mammals can be hidden among the foliage, while larger animals like tigers or elephants should be partially obscured by trees and plants. Avoid placing animals in empty spaces without any interaction with their surroundings.

Even if animals are not included in the drawing, small details can hint at their presence. Broken leaves, claw marks on tree trunks, disturbed vines, or faint animal tracks on the ground can suggest that the jungle is inhabited, making the environment feel more realistic and alive.

Conclusion

The lesson on how to draw a jungle has come to an end, and now we finally know how to create a convincing yet simple depiction of this environment. Did you draw the jungle exactly as shown in my example, or did you add extra details? Let me know in the comments, as your feedback plays a crucial role in shaping my future tutorials.

Also, don’t forget to explore other sections to learn how to draw different places on our planet and create interesting and beautiful drawings. To make sure you don’t miss new drawing lessons, which are regularly published on my website, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and YouTube.