Last Updated on November 1, 2026 by Dee
Here’s how to draw a nutcracker in seven easy steps, plus free printable nutcracker practice sheets to trace, draw and color.
I’ve also made free printable practice sheets to go with it: the step-by-step page, a faint nutcracker to trace beside an empty box to draw your own, and a big one to color. Pop your email in just below and they’ll come straight to your inbox.
Get the free nutcracker practice sheets
Print them at 100% on A4 or US Letter, keep the step page beside you, and follow along below.
A nutcracker looks like one of the trickier Christmas things to draw. All that braid, the tall hat, the curly beard, the shiny boots. But stand back and squint, and a nutcracker soldier is really just a stack of rectangles. That’s the secret, and it’s why this is one of my favorite festive drawings to teach.
Below I’ll walk you through a nutcracker drawing in seven easy steps, from plain blocks to the finished soldier, and then show you how to color him in red, navy and gold.
Table of Contents
Why a Nutcracker Is Easier to Draw Than It Looks
Quick answer: a traditional nutcracker is built from straight-sided shapes. A tall rectangle for the hat, a square-ish head, a rectangle body, two long legs and a block for the stand. Get those blocks in the right proportions and everything else is decoration.
Faces and figures are hard because they’re full of curves and subtle angles. A wooden nutcracker is the opposite. It was carved on a lathe and painted in bold flat colors, so it’s symmetrical, stiff and made of simple parts, which is exactly what makes it friendly to draw.
The other good news is that nutcrackers are meant to look a little comical. Big moustache, square jaw full of teeth, rosy cheeks. If your nutcracker’s eyes come out slightly different sizes, he simply looks more characterful.
What You Need
Quick answer: a pencil, an eraser, a black fineliner and something to color with.
- A pencil and a good eraser. You’ll sketch the blocks lightly first. A Tombow Mono Zero eraser is brilliant for rubbing out tiny bits, like between the buttons, without smudging the rest.
- A fineliner. I use a Sakura Pigma Micron set: the 05 for the outline and the 01 for teeth, braid and boot laces. It’s waterproof, so you can color straight over it.
- Colored pencils. Any set with a good red, a navy, a yellow-gold and a black. If you like a bolder, painterly finish, Derwent Inktense pencils turn vivid when you brush a little water over them.
- A white gel pen (optional). One dot of white on each button and boot makes them look polished.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you buy through them. I only recommend things I actually use.
A ruler is optional. I don’t use one, because a slightly hand-drawn line looks warmer, but it can help with the long straight legs if they keep drifting.
How to Draw a Nutcracker Step by Step
Quick answer: block in the shapes, add the hat, the face, the hair and beard, the arms, the jacket details and the boots, then color.
In every step picture the red line shows what’s new. Sketch each step lightly in pencil first, and only go over it in pen once you’re happy.
Step 1: Block in the shapes
Draw a tall rectangle for the hat, slightly narrower at the top. Under it, a squarer rectangle for the head, then a wider rectangle for the body. Two long thin rectangles for the legs, touching in the middle, and a wide block at the bottom for the stand. As a rough guide, the hat and head together are about as tall as the body, and the legs are about as long as the body again.
Step 2: Add the hat details
Draw a band across the bottom of the hat and a gently curved line near the top. Add a star or a round badge in the middle of the hat, and a small teardrop plume sitting right on top.
Step 3: Draw the face
Two round eyes with a dot in each, and curved brows above them. A small round nose in the middle. Beneath it, a rectangle for the mouth with a few vertical lines for teeth. Then draw a big curly moustache over the top of the mouth, two curls sweeping outward from under the nose.
Step 4: Add hair and a beard
Bumpy, cloud-like hair on each side of the face, from the hat band down to the jaw. Then a short scalloped beard under the mouth that overlaps the top of the jacket.
Step 5: Arms, hands and a sword
Narrow rectangles down each side of the body for the arms, with a band near the bottom for each cuff. A circle at the end of each arm for the hands. For the sword, draw a long thin blade running down from the hand on one side, with a short crossbar just under the hand.
Step 6: Belt, buttons and braid
A belt across the waist with a square buckle in the middle, then a short flared hem below it. Add two rows of buttons down the chest with a little horizontal line joining each pair, which is the braid. Finish with an epaulette on each shoulder, a curved shape with a few short fringe lines hanging down.
Step 7: Boots and the stand
Draw a line across each leg about two-thirds of the way down for the tops of the boots. Add a line at the top of the stand to make it look bevelled, and a dotted line along the front. Now go over your pencil in pen and rub out the guide lines once the ink is dry.
For more festive step-by-step drawings in the same simple-shapes style, try my gingerbread house drawing or this easy snowflake tutorial.
How to Color Your Nutcracker
Quick answer: red jacket and hat, navy trousers, gold buttons and braid, black boots, a pale skin tone and white hair and beard. Leave little white highlights and he’ll look like painted wood.
- Red first. Color the hat and jacket in your red, pressing a little harder down one side of the jacket and the arms. That one-sided shading makes him look round, like a carved figure.
- Navy trousers, black boots. Keep the boots the darkest thing in the picture. Leave a thin line of white paper down the front of each boot for shine.
- Gold details. Yellow ochre or a golden yellow for the hat band, star, buttons, buckle, cuffs and epaulettes. A touch of light brown on one edge of each makes them look metallic.
- The face. A very pale peach for the skin, two pink circles for the cheeks and a slightly deeper pink nose. Leave the hair, beard and moustache white, with just a whisper of grey in the curls.
- The stand. Green is traditional, but any color works. Add a line of gold dots along the front.
Want to try a nutcracker with lots more detail to color? There’s a beautifully intricate nutcracker soldier among my Christmas coloring pages for adults.
5 Common Nutcracker Drawing Mistakes (and Easy Fixes)
- The hat is too short. A nutcracker’s hat is tall, nearly as tall as his head. If he looks like a toy soldier from a different box, make the hat taller.
- The legs are too short. Nutcrackers stand tall on long legs. Draw them as long as the body and he’ll suddenly look right.
- Everything is curvy. Keep the hat, head, body and legs straight-sided. Save the curves for the moustache, hair and beard, where they stand out.
- The face is too small. Make the eyes, nose and moustache bigger than feels natural. Nutcracker faces are bold and a bit cartoonish.
- Too much detail too soon. Get all seven steps down lightly before you add braid and buttons. It’s much easier to fix a block than a finished jacket.
6 Ways to Use Your Nutcracker Drawing
- A Christmas card. Draw him small on the front of a folded card with a greeting underneath.
- Gift tags. A mini nutcracker about the height of your thumb on a kraft tag looks lovely tied to a present.
- A row of soldiers. Draw three or four in a line, each with a different colored jacket, as a border for a December page.
- A journal page. Glue a colored nutcracker into a Christmas junk journal or sketchbook spread.
- Place cards. Little nutcrackers with names written on the stand make sweet Christmas dinner place cards.
- A window drawing. Draw a big one in white pen on dark paper and stand it on the windowsill.
Looking for more things to draw this season? My Christmas drawing ideas and easy Christmas drawing ideas have dozens more.
What’s in the Free Practice Sheets
Quick answer: five A4 pages to help you draw a nutcracker with confidence.
- A cover page with the finished nutcracker in color, so you can see one way to color him.
- The step-by-step page with all seven steps plus the colored version, big enough to keep beside you while you draw.
- A trace and draw page. A faint nutcracker to go over in pen on the left, and an empty box on the right for drawing your own freehand.
- A coloring page with one large nutcracker outline and the traditional colors listed.
- A last page pointing to where to find more printables like these.
Print on ordinary printer paper for practice, or on thin card for the coloring page if you’d like to frame it or turn it into a card.
Want More Printables Like These?
If drawing along with printable sheets is your idea of a cosy evening, my Artsydee Creation Club is where the rest of my printables live. It’s a growing library of junk journal kits, drawing templates, coloring pages and watercolor outlines, with new printables added every month and the seasonal sets landing there first.
You can also browse my shop at payhip.com/Artsydee if you’d rather pick up one printable at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you draw a nutcracker easily?
Start with simple blocks: a tall rectangle hat, a square head, a rectangle body, two long legs and a stand. Then add details in order: hat, face, hair and beard, arms, jacket, boots. Sketch lightly in pencil and only ink it at the end.
What colors is a traditional nutcracker?
Most traditional nutcracker soldiers have a red jacket and hat, navy or black trousers, black boots, gold buttons and braid, white hair and beard and a green or gold stand. You can choose any colors you like, of course.
How long does it take to draw a nutcracker?
About twenty minutes for the line drawing once you’ve done it once, and another twenty to color it. Your first attempt might take a little longer while you get used to the proportions.
Is this nutcracker drawing suitable for kids?
Yes. Older children can follow the seven steps on their own, and younger ones will enjoy tracing the faint nutcracker on the practice page and coloring the big one.
Can I use the free practice sheets in a classroom?
Please do. Print as many copies as your class needs. Just don’t sell them or share the file itself, and send people here to grab their own.
Final Thoughts
A nutcracker is the perfect proof that a drawing which looks complicated is often just simple shapes wearing a lot of decoration. Block him in, take it one step at a time, and save the gold buttons for last. They’re the fun part.
I share drawing and painting tutorials on my YouTube channel, so if you’d like to draw along with me, subscribe here. And there are lots more festive drawing ideas on my Pinterest boards.
Pin this for later so the steps are there when you sit down to draw.
You Might Also Like
- Christmas Coloring Pages for Adults
- Gingerbread House Drawing, Step by Step
- Easy Christmas Drawing Ideas: 30 Simple Things to Draw
- Holiday Painting Ideas
- 31 Christmas Things to Draw
Happy drawing!
Dee x