Easy Border Designs to Draw for Beginners

Borders and frames are a great way to decorate projects pages and artwork. For beginners and kids, it’s best to start with simple linear borders that are easy to draw freehand. These basic border designs allow you to practice line work and repetition. Once you get comfortable, you can move on to more elaborate borders and corner designs.

Simple Line Borders

The most straightforward borders use continuous lines and basic shapes repeated to fill the frame. These linear borders are easy to draw evenly since they use repeated elements. They’re perfect for beginners and projects where you want an understated, minimalist look.

Some simple line border ideas include

• Dashes – Draw a line of short dashes or longer hyphens

• Dots – Make a dotted line by tapping the pen or marker repeatedly.

• Waves – Draw a line that goes up and down in even U or hill shapes.

• Zig zag – Create sharp zig-zag points.

• Loop chain – Make continuous loops that link together.

• Geometric shapes – Repeat triangles, squares, stars or other shapes in a line.

Tips for Drawing Line Borders

• Use a ruler to draw straight lines if desired. Pencil first so you can erase any wobbly lines.

• Make a light outline in pencil before tracing over in pen or marker.

• Keep the elements evenly spaced for a clean look. Aim for consistency.

• Start with a simple pattern you can easily repeat across the page. Complex designs are harder to draw evenly.

• Fill the corners last so the design meets properly without gaps.

Borders Using Basic Shapes

For a step up in complexity, try borders made by repeating basic geometric shapes. You can easily doodle squares, circles, triangles and more in creative border layouts.

Some ideas for basic shape borders:

• Row of circles – Draw circles in a line, vertically or horizontally.

• Triangle garland – Create a line of triangles, alternating their direction.

• Square bricks – Draw squares stacked closely like bricks.

• Circle wreath – Make a frame of circles that touch each other.

• Overlapping shapes – Have shapes overlap each other in a sequence.

• Rotated shapes – Place the same shape in different rotated orientations.

• Mixed shapes – Combine different shapes like circles, triangles, squares, etc.

Shape borders look more intricate than linear dashes and dots, but are still easy to draw for beginners. Follow the same tips as line borders to keep your spacing and sizing even.

Freehand Wavy and Curly Borders

Once you’re comfortable with straight lines and flat shapes, try adding some curves and flourishes. These freehand wavy and curly borders look fancier but are still fairly simple to draw.

Some freehand border ideas include:

• Wave line – Draw a wavy line that curves smoothly up and down.

• Curls – Make big or little C shapes in a row. Have them face alternating directions.

• Loops – Draw continuous loops that swell and pinch in places.

• Squiggles – Wiggle the pen randomly to create a fun squiggly line.

• Swirls – Make big S shapes or swirls.

• Vines – Draw vine or floral shapes that curve and spiral organically.

• Trees – Sketch small irregular trees in a line.

The key for nice looking freehand borders is keeping the elements loose but evenly spaced. Use smooth, consistent curves instead of scratchy lines.

Decorative Hand-Drawn Borders

Once you’ve practiced basic line borders, you can start embellishing with extra decorative elements. These drawn borders have more details but still use simple lines and doodles.

Some easy embellishment border ideas:

• Add leaves or flowers sprouting off a vine line.

• Draw grass or hanging tassels under a zig-zag line.

• Add circles or dots between elements.

• Make maze-like borders with overlapping criss-cross lines.

• In a dashed line, have dashes alternate between long and short.

• Between shapes, draw small symbols like hearts, stars, arrows.

• Shade or color every other element for contrast.

With hand-drawn borders, feel free to get creative and add any doodles or details you want! Just start with a simple base border and build up the decorations.

Quick and Easy Border Patterns for Beginners

Borders are a great way for beginners and kids to practice repetitive drawing. Start with these quick, simple borders you can draw in under 5 minutes:

• Row of circles
• Zig zag line
• Loop chain
• Dashed line
• Wavy line
• Row of squares
• Triangle garland

Once you’ve mastered the basics, try combining 2-3 elements like circles with zig zags between. Draw lightly in pencil first so you can correct any uneven lines before going over in pen or marker.

With a little practice, you’ll be able to quickly doodle cute borders to decorate notebooks, cards, posters, scrapbooks, and any DIY projects. Refer back to the steps above or look up border drawing tutorials for inspiration.

So grab your pens and pencils and start practicing some of these easy border designs! In no time you’ll have a go-to repertoire of borders for decorating your hand-made creations.