How to Draw Playing Cards (Easy Step by Step)
A fan of playing cards looks fancy, but it is just a few tilted rectangles with round corners. Each card gets a little symbol and a dot in its corner, and the symbols are made of simple shapes like bumps and tilted squares. Once you can draw one card, you can fan out as many as you like.
- Medium
- 15 minutes
- 7 steps
You need: paper, a pencil, an eraser, and crayons or markers for coloring.
Start drawingIn this article (7 sections)
How to draw playing cards step by step
How to Draw Playing Cards · tinyhandscreate.com
Step 1: The back card
Draw the top and left sides of a tilted card with rounded corners, like a square standing on one corner. Start near the middle of the bottom, go up the left side, then across the top, and leave the right side open for the next card.
Step 2: The second card's edge
Draw a long slanted line that starts at the top edge of the first card and runs down toward the bottom. Finish with a soft corner that turns to the right.
Step 3: The third card's edge
Draw another long slanted line starting at the top edge, a little to the right of the last one. Let it run down and finish with a soft corner that turns to the right.
Step 4: The front card
Draw a rounded tilted square on the right that looks like a diamond. Start at the top right where the third card ends, go down the left side, around the bottom point, and back up the right side.
Step 5: Heart, diamond and dot
On the left card, draw a small heart with two bumps on top and a point at the bottom. On the second card, draw a small tilted square for a diamond and add a little dot near its top corner.
Step 6: Club, spade and dot
On the third card, draw a small clover shape with a few round bumps for a club. On the front card, draw a small rounded shape with a flat top for a spade, and add a little dot near its top corner.
Step 7: More corner dots
Add one small round dot near the top corner of the left card. Then add one more dot near the top corner of the third card.
All done!
Go over your lines with a marker, then color it in.
Finished your playing cards? Keep the pencils out and learn how to draw a chess piece or how to draw a toy car next.
Tips for drawing playing cards
- Start with the card at the back and draw each new card so it covers part of the one before. Stop your line where it meets the card in front.
- The club is the trickiest symbol. Draw a few small bumps close together to make a clover shape.
- Draw the corners round, not pointy. Trace around a coin in your head and bend your line to match.
Free playing cards coloring page
Want to go straight to coloring? Open this playing cards 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 playing cards drawing
Color the hearts and diamonds red and the clubs and spades black or dark blue, just like real cards. For a twist, make a rainbow deck where every card gets its own bright color.
Playing cards fun fact for kids
A regular deck has 52 cards in four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. Playing cards were first used in China about 1,000 years ago.
Questions about drawing playing cards
What shapes do I need to draw playing cards?
You need rectangles with rounded corners for the cards. The symbols come from a small heart, a tilted square, a clover shape and a rounded spade shape.
How do I make my cards look like they overlap?
Draw the back card first. Then draw the next card's edge starting at the top of the one before, and stop the back card's line wherever it meets the new card.
How do I draw a fan of cards?
Tilt each card a little more than the one before it. Keep all the cards meeting near the bottom, like fingers spreading from a hand.
