20 Simple Summer Drawing Ideas (Beach, Food, Camping)

This post is all about easy summer things to draw.

Looking for summer things to draw? In this summer drawing ideas post, I've listed 20 simple things to draw in summer, from food and beaches to camping and animals. Perfect for doodling in your notebook or in your journal.

To draw these, you just need a regular HB pencil. If you want your doodles to look more polished, you can then trace them with a black fineliner and erase the sketch. And if you want to go all the way, you can add some color using some alcohol markers.

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In This Post

• Easy summer drawing ideas
• Summer food drawing ideas
• Beach drawing ideas
• Camping drawing ideas
• Summer animals drawing ideas

Easy Summer Drawing Ideas

1. Palm Tree

When I think about summer, palm trees come straight to mind. They are such a classic summer drawing object.

Palm trees are pretty easy to draw. Just sketch two parallel curved lines for the trunk, and then add the big leaves on top. And, of course, don't forget the coconuts.

You can keep it simple, like I did, by just drawing one palm tree, or you can make it into a beach scene or landscape with multiple trees.

2. Hot Air Balloon

When the weather starts to get better, hot air balloons begin to appear in the sky. I always try to spot them before my dad does.

Drawing a hot air balloon doesn't have to be that complicated. You just sketch the top of a circle, then add ropes to the bottom and draw the basket below.

I made my hot air balloon float in the sky with some clouds and birds flying past.

What would also be really cool is sketching the landscape below with all the tiny buildings and farms.

3. Pool Floaties

When it starts to get warmer, people set up their pools and inflate their pool floaties. Some are just simple (boring) donut shapes. Others are more fun, like these flamingo and unicorn pool floaties I drew.

These are great for just doodling around. You can turn almost anything into a pool floaty. A palm tree. Any animal. Your mom. Anything.

4. Lighthouse

When I was thinking about things to draw for this summer drawing ideas post, a lighthouse came to mind. Not sure why, but I think it's a great idea nonetheless.

When I think of a lighthouse, I always imagine it on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. It looks so cool, and it's not that hard to draw.

Summer Food Drawing Ideas

5. Watermelon

Watermelons are a classic summer food. I love their sweet and watery taste when they're perfectly ripe. And I like to cut them into these triangle shapes, which makes them super easy to eat.

You can draw a whole watermelon with the light green/dark green pattern on the rind, or you can sketch some slices like I did. For the triangular one, I started by sketching two lines to a point and then adding two curved lines for the rind and some seeds in the center. The big ones are even simpler. You just sketch a straight line, then add two parallel arches to the bottom and some seeds.

6. Tropical Fruit Drink

Another classic summer food is a tropical fruit drink made from exotic fruits. You can honestly find any combination you can think of with all kinds of fruit you don't know.

For this fruit drink drawing, I kept mine simple. I sketched a typical cocktail glass and added some ananas, a lime slice, some ice cubes, and of course, a little parasol. 

7. Melting Ice Cream Cone

During summer, the queues at ice cream shops are sooo long, and the people who've just gotten their ice cream are licking all around it to stop it from melting and dripping all over the place.

So, instead of just drawing any ice cream cone, I made mine melting, which is pretty simple to do. You just start off by drawing a normal ice cream, and then add these drips all over it.

If you like yours to look cute and colored, be sure to check out this drawing guide on how to draw an adorable ice cream cone.

8. Popsicles

Do you prefer popsicles or ice cream? I like ice cream for all the different fruity flavors, but I like popsicles because they're super easy to just grab and enjoy while at home.

Popsicles might be the easiest thing to draw from this whole list. You can make them dinosaur-shaped if you want, but if you want to keep it simple, just sketch a long, rounded upside-down U and add the stick below it. I added two of those parallel lines ot one, and for the other, I made it partially consumed.

Check out this drawing ideas post for more food drawing and doodle ideas.

Beach Drawing Ideas

9. Surfboard Standing In The Sand

Here in the Netherlands, you don't really see anyone surfing, but it's still a thing I think about when thinking of summer. Mostly because of all the TV shows.

You could draw someone surfing a big wave, but I don't know how to draw a person, so I drew a surfboard standing in the sand on the beach, which also looks pretty good in my opinion.

10. Sand Castle

When going to the beach, you always see people, often children and their dad, building huge sand castles with buckets too close to the edge of the sea. They always fall apart and look wonky before they go down by a big wave.

I can't remember the last time I built one, so I drew what my sandcastle would look like just before it's getting dissolved by the ocean.

I just kept it simple and made the classic castle shape, but if you're feeling creative, I think a big Gothic castle (is that even a thing?) would look pretty cool.

11. Sunset Over The Sea

I love sunsets. They look so magical if it's not cloudy. When I was in Denmark a few years ago, we went to the beach to see the sunset. It was magical. So I had to include this idea in my summer things to draw list.

Honestly, a sunset would look so much better when it's colored in like this one, but for this drawing idea, I wanted to keep it simple and achievable, so I just sketched it with a pencil.

I started with a straight horizon line, then added half a circle on top of it with some outwards-pointing lines to replicate the sunbeams. For the see, I just sketched some wavy lines.

12. Campfire On The Beach

A campfire on the beach combines two things people like: beaches and camping. Since we have a dog, we don't camp anymore, and I kinda miss it, but also not. Just renting a vacation home is so much easier, but it's less of a vibe.

I really enjoyed drawing this simplified campfire on the beach. I started by sketching the stack of driftwood. Then, I added the big flames on top. And to make it look like it's on the beach, I added the shoreline and some sandy bits around the campfire.

13. Tropical Island Landscape

Tropical island landscapes combine several summery elements into one drawing. Most tropical islands have palm trees, beautiful beaches, mountains in the distance, some birds flying in the sky, and the bright sun.

This is a great next step after you've created your palm tree drawing.

14. Seashells

I LOVE looking for cool seashells whenever I'm on the beach. I like searching for the really cool ones like this auger shell and this murex shell. I've never been fortunate enough to find a murex shell, but they look so cool!

I had so much fun drawing these two seashells that I created a whole other seashell drawing ideas post with all sorts of cool, exotic, and beautiful shells. Make sure to check it out, it's definitely worth it.

Vacation & Camping Drawing Ideas

15. VW Campervan Scene

When I think about campervans or RVs, I immediately think of the classic VW campervan. I love it, so I added it to this summer drawing ideas list.

I turned mine into a scene with some mountains in the background and a small campfire close to the van. I think it looks cute.

One thing I'm just thinking of now is the decorations I could've added to the van. These old VW campers often have all sorts of hippy icons or other paintings on them, like the tropical dad shirts.

16. Camping Under The Stars

Another typical summer camping scene is camping under the stars. How cool is that! I love looking at the stars and looking up their names. Did you know that if you go to some really dark place, you could even see a whole other galaxy called Andromeda?!

For my camping under the stars scene, I sketched a simple tent shape with some pine trees behind it and some hills in the background. And I added tons of stars and the moon. 

17. Hammock

I couldn't leave out a hammock from this drawing ideas list, so I added it.

I first drew the start of two trees with some distance between them. Then, I added a banana shape between them and turned that into the hammock by drawing the fabric lines and ropes.

Summer Animals Drawing Ideas

18. Crab

Crabs are very weird creatures. They have an exoskeleton and don't walk forward. But they're so fun to look at when I find one on the beach.

19. Butterfly On A Blooming Flower

I also really like looking at all the butterflies flying from flower to flower in our garden. Some are plain blue, others yellow, and others have beautiful patterns on their wings.

For this drawing, I kept it simple. I just drew a basic flower shape with a simplified butterfly perched on it, eating its nectar.

If you want to draw a butterfly with a beautiful pattern, make sure to check out this butterfly drawing guide I made.

20. Tropical Parrot

Lastly, I couldn't forget a tropical parrot from this list. They have stunning, vibrant colors (if you color them). If you have some markers or colored pencils, this would be a great drawing to use them for.