How to Draw a Lollipop

Finished lollipop drawing with a spiral pattern, a long stick, and shading.

A lollipop consists of two forms joined together in a single object. Below, you will learn how to draw a lollipop, correctly depict and connect these two forms, and add volume to them properly.

How to draw a lollipop step by step

Step 1: Outline the candy and stick

Begin with two simple geometric shapes: a circle for the candy and a long, narrow rectangle for the stick. Center the stick beneath the circle. Make its visible length about one and a half times the circle’s diameter. Draw its sides parallel.

Outlining the lollipop with a circle and a long, narrow rectangle.

Step 2: Draw the lollipop’s spiral pattern

Now draw the lollipop’s pattern using one long, continuous spiral line. Start near the center and gradually widen each turn, leaving fairly even spaces between them. At the lower left form a rounded tip. Erase the short section of the original circle there so the outline flows into the spiral.

Adding a continuous spiral pattern inside the circular candy outline.

Step 3: Add shadows to the lollipop

The candy cane’s spiral is a long curved cylinder. Each turn of the spiral creates a raised ridge that should be emphasized by adding shadows to the lower edges of each turn. Fade the hatching toward the unshaded upper surfaces to show the rounded coil. Add a narrow shadow along the stick and just beneath its connection to the candy.

Adding hatched shadows to the lollipop with its spiral pattern.

A lollipop is a very common object with a highly characteristic shape. By the way, the initial process of drawing a lollipop is in many ways similar to drawing a magnifying glass.

You can take a real lollipop, place it near a light source, and draw it from life. You can also add a striped pattern to the surface of the candy. A similar pattern is used when drawing a candy cane or on classic barbershop signs.

Remember, first of all, that the striped pattern should be drawn with the form in mind. To understand how this pattern wraps around the form, you can take a ribbon and a pen or pencil and wrap the ribbon around it so that the distance between the turns is equal to the width of the ribbon itself.

You can then rotate the resulting striped form near a light source and observe how the pattern follows and emphasizes the overall form.