How to Draw a Cliff Dwelling (Easy Step by Step)
Learn how to draw a cliff dwelling step-by-step, building cozy homes from simple shapes like domes and rounded doorways. You'll discover how to easily add details like ladders and tiny dot eyes.
- Build your cliff dwelling drawing using simple dome shapes.
- Incorporate rounded doorways into each cozy home.
- Construct ladders with straight lines for easy detail.
- Add tiny dot eyes to bring your cliff dwelling to life.
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A cliff dwelling is a cozy stack of round little homes tucked into the side of a rocky wall. This drawing is built from a few simple shapes: domes, rounded doorways, a ladder made of straight lines, and tiny dot eyes. Because every house is a bump, it is easy to build up one piece at a time.
- Medium
- 15 minutes
- 9 steps
You need: paper, a pencil, an eraser, and crayons or markers for coloring.
Start drawing
In this article (7 sections)
How to draw a cliff dwelling step by step
How to Draw a Cliff Dwelling · tinyhandscreate.com
Step 1: Guide shapes
Lightly sketch these 3 ovals. They only show where the big parts go, so press softly. You will erase them at the end.
Step 2: The back dome
Draw a big round arch near the top, like half of a ball. Leave the bottom open, because the other houses will hide it.
Step 3: Two upper houses
Draw two rounded domes side by side just under the back dome, so their tops tuck up against it. Let the right one sit a little lower, and let the two houses meet in the middle.
Step 4: The middle houses
Under the two upper houses, draw two more rounded domes. Start each one with a curved line under the house above it, then curve down the side. Finish the right one with a curve across its bottom, and leave the left one's bottom open for now.
Step 5: The big bottom house
Draw one wide, bumpy dome at the bottom that holds the whole stack up. Start at the left side, curve across the bottom with a wavy line, and curve up the right side to meet the house above.
Step 6: The cliff walls
On the left, draw a long, swoopy line that starts at the left edge of the page, bends down like a slide, and ends at the bottom house. On the right, add a short curvy line that starts at the bottom house and wiggles down.
Step 7: Round doorways
Draw a doorway on each house except the back dome. That makes two doorways in the upper row, two in the middle row, and one on the bottom house. Each one looks like a rectangle with a rounded top, and you can color it in dark.
Step 8: The ladder
Draw two short, slightly slanted lines next to the doorway of the lower-left house, leaning against the bottom house. Then add little straight lines between them to make the rungs.
Step 9: Little dot eyes
Give the back dome a pair of small dots for eyes. Then add two dots above the doorway on each of the four middle houses. The bottom house stays without eyes.
All done!
Erase the guide shapes, go over your lines, then color it in.
Finished your cliff dwelling? Keep the pencils out and learn how to draw a rocket or how to draw a shooting star next.
Tips for drawing a cliff dwelling
- Draw the back dome first and let the houses below tuck up against it. Stop the back dome's line where it meets the next house instead of drawing through it.
- The ladder is the trickiest part. Draw the two slanted sides first, keeping them leaning the same way, then add the rungs with even spaces.
- Make each doorway a rectangle with a round top. Draw it lightly in pencil before you fill it in dark.
Free cliff dwelling coloring page
Want to go straight to coloring? Open this cliff dwelling coloring page at full size and print it. It is the same drawing you just learned, with clean lines ready for crayons or markers.
How to color your cliff dwelling drawing
Try warm sandy tans, oranges, and soft browns for the houses, with a dark brown or black for the doorways. For a creative twist, color the sky behind the cliff a sunset pink and orange.
Cliff dwelling fun fact for kids
Real cliff dwellings were built by the Ancestral Puebloan people in the southwestern United States about 800 years ago. Mesa Verde in Colorado has hundreds of them, and people climbed ladders to reach the homes tucked into the cliffs.
Questions about drawing a cliff dwelling
What shapes do I need to draw a cliff dwelling?
You need domes (half circles) for the houses, rectangles with rounded tops for the doors, and straight lines for the ladder. Add two long curvy lines for the cliff walls.
How do I make the houses look stacked?
Let each new house tuck up against the one above it, and stop the upper house's line where the lower house begins. Overlapping shapes make the stack look like it has depth.
How do I make my cliff dwelling look cuter?
Give the back dome and the four middle houses two small dot eyes each. The ones above a doorway turn each house into a friendly face. Rounding all the corners also makes everything feel softer.
