How To Draw A Maple Leaf (Easy Drawing Tutorial)
The maple leaf is one of the most iconic and popular leaves on the planet and it’s quite stunning to draw. Unlike other leaves, a maple leaf drawing requires a lot more detail because of its sharp and jagged edges.
Another difference between drawing a maple leaf compared to other leaves is that we start with the stem and veins followed by the leaf structure itself. Whereas with most other leaves, you can draw the basic outline of the leaf and fill in the stem and veins afterward.
Be that as it may, let’s take a look at our reference image below and discuss how to draw a maple leaf in just a few simple steps.
Reference
For this maple leaf tutorial, we will try to replicate this image of a maple leaf as accurately as we can. We will begin with the stem followed by the veins which extend out like a tree itself.

Think of it as drawing the structure of a tree during the fall when most of its leaves have fallen out. Thereafter, we’ll use this overall structure to fill in the leaf by drawing the jagged edges and corners.
Steps For Drawing A Maple Leaf
Step 1

Start your maple leaf drawing with a single line that starts curved and straightens towards the end as it loops and comes back up about a quarter of the way until a stem is formed.
Step 2

Draw 3 – 5 lines from either side of your stem starting at the point where the stem joins into a single line. Make sure that the bottom veins are your longest lines that extend outwards. Make each line shorter as you reach the tip of your stem.
Step 3

Simply fill out each of your main lines with smaller curved lines that extend out of them like veins. You can be as liberal as you like. Just don’t add too many. A good number to stick with is 5 veins out of each line.
Step 4

Let’s fill out the leaves itself starting with the longest vein. The average maple leaf looks as if it breaks off into the direction of the main veins. Additionally, each portion is very jagged in line with where the mini veins are located. So, curve your leaf as you pass each main vein and follow their overall direction.
Step 5

Starting from where your first portion of the leaf ends, curve your line and continue the same step above creating another section of the leaf that is jagged and flows in the direction of its vein.
Step 6

Let’s do the exact same thing we did above. By now, your maple leaf will be taking shape and looks very similar to the reference image above. You have complete freedom to curve your lines as much as you like.
Step 7

As your leaf starts to extend beyond the last veins that appear at the bottom of your stem, you can now start curving them inwards because they will flow straight into the stem.
Final Drawing

Curve your lines for the leaf upwards so that they both come together at the same point on your stem. Doing this will create some uniformity and complete your maple leaf drawing.

Conclusion
For some reason, I really enjoyed creating this guide on how to draw a maple leaf. Most of the time, you end up with what looks like a maple leaf irrespective of how many mistakes you make. That’s what makes this maple leaf drawing perfect for a beginner.
If you’d like to color in your leaf as I have in the featured image, you can opt for any color so long as it’s stark, rich and bright. All you need to make sure is that the stem is colored in brown, especially the lower end.
With that being said, I hope you had fun learning how to draw a maple leaf. If you’d like for me to draw something specific, feel free to leave your request down in the comment section below.
Before you go, check out some of my other drawings for beginners. They’re really easy to complete and simple to follow.