How to Draw a Matryoshka Doll

In this guide, we will tell you how to draw a Matryoshka doll. For those who do not know, a Matryoshka is a wooden toy in the form of a painted doll, inside of which are several smaller dolls of the same shape.

Although the Matryoshka is considered a traditional Slavic toy, not many people know that it was not actually invented in Eastern Europe.

The prototype of the Matryoshka was a Japanese Fukurokuju doll from Honshu Island. In the 1890s, the first wooden figures of girls with red cheeks, dressed in sarafans and headscarves, began to be produced in Eastern Europe.

By the way, the very first Matryoshkas were quite expensive – they were painted manually by skilled artists who used the same techniques applied in icon painting. That is why the earliest Matryoshka dolls had carefully painted faces and distinctive colors.

How to draw a matryoshka doll step by step

Step 1: Sketch the main silhouette of the matryoshka

First sketch the outlines of the nesting doll. Usually, when we draw a human figure, we start from simple lines and circles. But this drawing lesson is a little different. Now we have to sketch a shape similar to a bowling pin. Try to draw the figure as symmetrical as possible. In order to ensure symmetry, look at the Matryoshka drawing through the mirror. In the mirror image, you will immediately see all the errors. If you could not draw it correctly, just erase it and try to redraw the figure again.

Step 2: Add the neck line, face circle and stand

Start adding details to the doll. First, draw the line at the upper part of the figure, in the area of the neck. Slightly above this line, draw a circle in which the face will be located. At the end of this step, draw the stand at the bottom of the Matryoshka doll. If you doubt the symmetry of the sketch, just look at the figure through the mirror again. If everything is correct – move to the next step.

Step 3: Mark the doll’s facial symmetry lines

Mow, sketch out the lines of the facial symmetry. First, draw a vertical line that will help you to find the center of the doll face. Then, draw a horizontal line that will help you to draw the eyes. Slightly above the eye line, draw the guide of eyebrows. And slightly below the eye line draw the guide of the nose and mouth. Notice, that the distance between the horizontal lines is approximately equal.

Step 4: Draw the face of the matryoshka doll

Now, using the lines from the previous step, draw the facial features. Using curved lines draw the eyebrows and eyelashes. After that, draw the nose that looks like a pair of dots. Then, draw the plump lips and circles of blush on the doll’s cheeks.

Step 5: Complete the doll’s face and erase the guidelines

At first, draw the eyes and paint them black, leaving one white glare in each eye. Note that the glares must be in the right parts of the eyes. Detail the eyelashes to give them their final look. Next, erase all the guide lines from the face, being careful not to touch important areas of your matryoshka drawing.

Step 6: Draw the scarf of the matryoshka doll

This step is very short. Here we draw the knot of the scarf, which will be located just below the face of the Matryoshka. This knot will consist of the central part similar to a circle and side parts similar to leaves. Also, draw the hair protruding from under the top of the scarf.

Step 7: Add the sleeves and mark the palms

At the edges of the body draw sleeves and palms. To draw the sleeves, use smooth, symmetrical lines to imitate the classic pattern. The lines should be smooth and symmetrical, as shown in our example. We remind you that in order to ensure the symmetry of the figure you can look at it through the mirror.

Step 8: Illustrate the floral pattern

Now draw the pattern in the center of the body of the nesting doll. Basically, you can choose the pattern you want. The main thing is to preserve the general style of the drawing, similar to Slavic folk painting. It looks pretty complicated, but actually, it is not. At first, draw the figure with three petals and then surround it with the bigger leaves. Then draw three leaves around it as in our example.

Matryoshka dolls are one of the most recognizable symbols of Slavic culture, appearing in many countries of the region and differing from one another in certain details while still sharing many common features.

They can have different patterns, different facial features, and different shapes, so you can practice drawing various variations using this lesson. You can also try illustrating several Matryoshka dolls standing next to each other in a decreasing sequence.

Since a Matryoshka is also a type of toy, we strongly recommend checking out other our categories, where we show how to draw a doll and many other familiar childhood toys.

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