Short answer
Draw the shoreline, then mirror everything above it straight down (a reflection drops vertically, as long as the object is tall). Break the reflection with horizontal strokes and gaps for ripples, and darken the water right under the far shore. Keep every water stroke horizontal.
A lake with reflections in four steps
Step 1 of 4
Shoreline and far hills
Draw the far shore as a straight horizontal line, the hills behind it, and the near shore as a gentle curve at the bottom. The space between the two shores is the water.
Step 2 of 4
Mirror the reflections
Mirror the hills and the pine straight down from the far shoreline. The pine reflection is the same height as the pine, upside down. Draw these as light guide lines.
Step 3 of 4
Break them with ripples
Fill the reflection with long horizontal strokes, leaving thin horizontal gaps of white paper between them. Add a few short ripple dashes in the open water, closer together toward the far shore.
Step 4 of 4
Darks at the edges
Darken a thin band right under the far shore, where the bank shades the water. Tone the far hills lightly. Add a dark rock on the near shore and some reeds: the darkest darks belong at the front.
Blue lines: added in that step. Gray: already drawn.
Calm, rippled and moving water
How water changes with movement
| Water | Reflection | Strokes |
|---|---|---|
| Still lake | Sharp, almost a mirror image | Long, smooth horizontals with few gaps |
| Light breeze | Broken into horizontal bands | Shorter strokes, more white gaps |
| River current | Streaked and stretched downward | Horizontal dashes that curve with the banks |
| Waves at a shore | Little or none | Curved crests, dark troughs, white foam left as paper |
| Falling water | None | Vertical lines; see the waterfall lesson |
Falling water works the opposite way: you draw the rocks around it dark and leave the water white. See how to draw a waterfall.
Tips
- Lift highlights. Press a kneaded eraser into a thin edge and drag it sideways to pull bright ripple lines out of a toned area.
- Mind the eye level. The lower your viewpoint, the more of an object’s underside the water reflects. From high up, reflections are shorter.
- Do not outline the water. The edge of a lake is where the tone changes, not a drawn line, except at the shoreline.
Put this lake under mountains, or try the whole scene in the main lesson.
Questions people ask
How do you draw a reflection in water?
Measure straight down from the shoreline the same distance the object rises above it, and draw it upside down there. Then interrupt it with horizontal gaps and lines. Calm water gives a sharp reflection; wind breaks it into streaks.
Why do my lakes look like solid ground?
Usually the strokes are going the wrong way. Water strokes should be horizontal (parallel to the horizon). Diagonal or curved hatching makes water read as land.
How do I draw a river?
A river is a path in perspective: wide at the bottom of the page, narrowing and bending as it goes back. Draw both banks, keep ripple strokes horizontal, and make them shorter and closer together in the distance.
Are reflections lighter or darker?
Often a bit darker than light objects and a bit lighter than dark ones, because the water adds its own tone. In pencil, draw reflections slightly lower in contrast than the objects above them.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. Product lines and listings change; check the details before you buy.