Short answer
Draw the cliffs and the lip where the water goes over, then only a few vertical lines for the fall. Shade the rocks on both sides very dark so the water stays paper white. Finish with a soft band of mist where it hits the pool and horizontal ripples spreading out.
Draw a waterfall in four steps
Step 1 of 4
Cliffs and the lip
Draw two cliff shapes leaving a gap in the middle, the curved lip at the top where the water goes over, and an oval for the pool at the bottom.
Step 2 of 4
The falling water
Draw five or six long vertical lines from the lip down to the pool. Let them curve slightly over the edge and stop at slightly different heights near the bottom.
Step 3 of 4
Darken around it
Hatch both cliffs as dark as you can, right up to the edge of the water. Leave a few thin light ledges in the rock. The water now looks white without touching it.
Step 4 of 4
Mist and pool
Draw a soft, bumpy foam shape where the water lands and leave it white. Add curved ripple lines spreading across the pool and a few spray dots around the base.
Blue lines: added in that step. Gray: already drawn.
Why the rocks do the work
White only looks white next to something dark. Moving water reflects the sky and churns into foam, so in a drawing it is usually the lightest thing in the scene. If you shade the water gray, it looks like stone. Shade the stone and the water glows. This is the value lesson in one subject.
Variations
- Tiered falls. Repeat the lip and drop two or three times, each step smaller and lighter as it goes back.
- Thin ribbon falls. A single narrow white stripe down a big dark cliff face.
- In a forest. Surround the falls with dark trees, which frame it and give extra contrast.
- Pen and ink. Cross hatch the rocks and leave the water untouched. See pen and ink landscapes.
What you need
Next: still water and reflections in how to draw water, or rock planes in how to draw rocks.
Questions people ask
How do you draw falling water?
With a few long vertical lines that follow the drop, not a solid fill. Leave most of the fall as white paper and let dark rocks on either side define its edges.
How do you draw mist at the bottom of a waterfall?
Draw a soft, bumpy shape where the water lands and leave it white or lift it out with a kneaded eraser. Soften the edges of the rocks behind the mist so they fade into it.
What pencil is best for a waterfall drawing?
A 4B to 6B for the dark rocks and an HB for the few lines in the water. The contrast between the two is what makes the water look bright.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. Product lines and listings change; check the details before you buy.