Drawing Dragonfly Wings

On this page, you will find example images and application examples to learn how to draw dragonfly wings.

Dragonflies, like butterflies, are very fragile creatures with delicate yet beautiful wings. There are many species, ranging from brown with colorless wings to bright blue and red, offering a wide and colorful spectrum. Some have almost transparent wings, while others have brightly colored flying apparatus.

But even the seemingly dull transparent wings can shimmer in the sunlight if the light hits them at the right angle.

Dragonfly Example Drawings

Here you will find some example sketches showing how dragonfly wings look and the posture of their bodies. The drawing of the wings is very fine and chaotic, which is why I have simplified them. If you want to depict dragonflies more realistically, you would of course focus more on a random arrangement of the wing drawing.

In general, dragonflies typically have two pairs of wings, each with two wings. The delicate branches on the wings themselves, which give the whole structure support and stability, vary from one dragonfly to another (similar to a fingerprint).

The wings are attached to the front part of the body, just behind the head, where the dragonfly’s body is heaviest and most massive. The long tail-like body gives the dragonfly the necessary balance towards the back.

Example Images

Here you will find some photo templates and example sketches that I created as examples.

It’s best to depict dragonflies in color, such as with colored pencils, pastels, or watercolor. However, if you want to make them more colorful and vivid, you can also use other materials like fiber pens (markers, felt-tip pens), ink, or acrylics.

If you want to attempt to depict real species, it’s ideal to use a photo reference. Real animals are very quick, and you can rarely catch them at a calm moment to draw.

Otherwise, you can experiment artistically with colors, shapes, and body lengths and create your own species of dragonflies.

Photo Templates

In my German blog, you will find some photo templates for tracing different insects:

Other Pages

• Drawing Bird Wings
• Shading
• Drawing in Perspective
• Dragons
• Fairies & Elves

From the German Blog

Here I have linked some blog articles where I have painted various birds with different materials. Check out how the individual images were created step by step:

• Painting Quetzal with Watercolor Pencils
• Painting Ostrich with Watercolor Pencils
• Watercolor Parrot Painting
• Painting Kingfisher with Markers

From the German Forum

• Feathering a Bird with Pencils
• Pastels and Colored Pencils: Drawing a Duck in Steps