Monday, November 2

How to draw...

Build the outer ring and drumhead first, then place exactly three jingles around the frame. This 20-minute marker lesson practices nested shapes and an easy sense of sound and motion.

20 minEasy
Start doodling
Handmade black felt-tip cartoon tambourine with a coral frame, pale yellow drumhead, three teal jingle slots with black inner curves, three head hatches and two right-side motion arcs
Finished doodle About 20 minutes

Felt-tip marker mode

Let's draw a tambourine

Treat this as one playful practice round: sketch the idea loosely, simplify the shapes, then commit with confident marker outlines and bright fills.

  1. 01
    Draw the tambourine frame stage for how to draw a tambourine

    Draw the tambourine frame

    In black felt tip, draw one broad round outline at the page center, keeping the ring a little handmade rather than compass-perfect.

    Marker tip: Turn your paper as you work to make the big loop in one confident pass.

  2. 02
    Open the drumhead stage for how to draw a tambourine

    Open the drumhead

    Draw a smaller circle inside the first, leaving a wide band all around for the metal jingles.

    Marker tip: Keep the frame wide enough to fit a small slot at the bottom.

  3. 03
    Place three jingle slots stage for how to draw a tambourine

    Place three jingle slots

    Draw three small rounded slots in the frame band: one upper left, one upper right, and one at the bottom center. Keep all three separate from the inner circle.

    Marker tip: Count the three openings before adding any metal curves.

  4. 04
    Mark the three jingles stage for how to draw a tambourine

    Mark the three jingles

    Inside each of the three slots, draw one small dark curved metal mark. Count three jingle centers before moving on.

    Marker tip: Follow each slot’s long direction so the metal mark sits inside its outline.

  5. 05
    Show the shake and head stage for how to draw a tambourine

    Show the shake and head

    Outside the right edge, add two short separate shake arcs. On the upper-left drumhead, draw three small diagonal hatches without crossing the inner rim.

    Marker tip: Leave white paper between the shake arcs and the frame.

  6. 06
    Handmade black felt-tip cartoon tambourine with a coral frame, pale yellow drumhead, three teal jingle slots with black inner curves, three head hatches and two right-side motion arcs

    Color the tambourine

    Fill the frame band with coral marker, the drumhead with pale yellow, and the three existing jingle slots with teal. Keep their dark centers, two shake arcs, and three head hatches crisp under the color.

    Marker tip: Move the marker across each area in broad strokes and leave a little paper grain visible.