This list of the 25 best sunrise scenery drawing ideas is perfect for beginner artists. You’ll find lots of ideas to make a beautiful nature drawing. Want a printable cheat sheet of these drawing ideas? Just scroll down to the bottom to get and print it for free.
25 Best Sunrise Scenery Drawing Ideas
As a beginner artist, it’s helpful to have references to help you draw. Having a list of ideas on hand is great for practicing and improving your art skills.
What is scenery drawing?
Scenery drawing is a drawing that shows a scenic view. It can be a stand-alone drawing or a drawing that is a combination of landmarks, nature, and perspective.
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The subject of a scenery drawing can be any of the following:
- Landscape
- City skyline
- Village
- Sunset
- Mountains
- Lakes
- Rivers
- Monuments
- Parks
- Meadows
- Hills
- Forests
- Nighttime scene
- Countryside
Landscape drawings and paintings will always have scenic views. In fact, the word landscape comes from the Dutch language. The dutch word for landscape is “landschap” which means the area of land that a person can look at all at the same time, a picture showing a view of the countryside or the general appearance of a landscape.
Source: dictionary.cambridge.org
Tips for Drawing from Real Life
The most authentic way to draw a sunrise scenery is to watch it as it’s happening in real life. Get up early, and take your supplies.
Head out to a place near you with an unobstructed view of the sun as it’s rising. A field, hill or rooftop are good options for this. Remember to choose a safe location. I don’t think you want to risk it all just for a nice view.
Here are some fun facts about the sunrise that you may not know.
Which country has the first sunrise in the world?
The first sunrise in the world can be found in New Zealand.
To see it, you’ll have to go to the North of Gisborne, New Zealand, around the coast to Opotiki and inland to Te Urewera National Park. If you’re ever. That’s where you’ll be able to see the world’s first sunrise each and every day on the East Cape.
Source: www.explore.gorentals.co.nz
What is the meaning of sunrise?
Sunrise (or Sun up) is the moment when the upper limb of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Source: Wikipedia
2 Most Common Types of Scenery Drawings
You will most likely decide on one of two types of scenery drawings to make. Depending on your artistic preference, you will choose between the following two art themes:
- Realistic
- Abstract
3 Essential Elements of Good Scenery Drawing
To draw effective scenery drawings you should incorporate the following three elements.
- Nature or Landmarks
- Light and shadows
- Perspective
The better you are at mastering these three elements, the better your scenery drawing will be.
Should I draw from Imagination or from Reference?
The answer to this question is not cut and dry. When we were little kids, we all started by drawing from imagination. Then we advanced to tracing our favorite cartoon characters.
Eventually, as we advanced, we tried using reference images.
To improve your artistic skills, when you don’t have much experience with the subject, it’s better to draw from a reference image. This way, you can easily see the perspective of the scenery.
By looking at the landmarks in comparison to the other items in the reference photo, you can get a better idea of where to position each item.
Nature has irregular lines and curves. So a realistic nature drawing should reflect this. If you choose to make a realistic scenery drawing, you’re better off using a reference picture to capture these natural lines and curves.
When you only rely on your imagination, the perspective is more likely to be off. Your imagination will lead you to believe that certain lines should be straight and symmetrical when this is not the case in nature.
This may work for an abstract scenery drawing but less so for a realistic scenery drawing.
In the end, no one option is better than the other. Using a combination of both drawing from imagination and drawing from reference is necessary.
How do you become good at drawing backgrounds and scenery?
As with any other thing that you want to become good at doing, it takes practice to become good at drawing background and scenery.
My advice is to start with short daily drills. Drills are timed exercises that you do to improve a skill.
Choose one of the items from the list of sunrise scenery drawing ideas below and practice drawing a picture every day.
Set aside 25 minutes every day to practice one art drill. Some experts would advise practicing for one to two hours per day. But I believe that when you’re first getting started, this can seem intimidating.
The last thing you need is to get overwhelmed which can lead you to want to quit before you see any real progress.
List of Sunrise Scenery Drawing Ideas
Sunrise Scenery Drawing
- Flock of geese at sunrise
- Death Valley at sunrise
- City skyline at Sunrise
- Calm water sunrise
- Island at sunrise
- Dome buildings at sunrise
- Overlooking the coastline at sunrise

- Hawaii at sunrise
- The Vatican at sunrise
- Duckpond at sunrise
- Volcano at sunrise
- Forest at sunrise
- Cathedral at sunrise
- Wheatfield at sunrise
- Igloo at sunrise

- Sea view from the balcony at sunrise
- View from airplane wing over the mountains at sunrise
- Sunrise behind the mountain
- Coastal town at sunrise
- Green valley at sunrise
- City on a hill at sunrise
- Grand Canyon at sunrise
- Sahara at sunrise
- Manhattan Bridge at sunrise
- Miami at sunrise
25 Easy Sunrise Scenery Drawing Ideas + Drawing Supplies
This list of the 25 best sunrise scenery drawing ideas is perfect for beginner artists. You’ll find lots of ideas to make a beautiful background or landscape drawing.
25 Sunrise Scenery Drawing Ideas
Hawaii at sunrise
The Vatican at sunrise
Duckpond at sunrise
Volcano at sunrise
Forest at sunrise
Cathedral at sunrise
Wheatfield at sunrise
Igloo at sunrise
Flock of geese at sunrise
Death Valley at sunrise
City skyline at Sunrise
Calm water sunrise
Island at sunrise
Dome buildings at sunrise
Overlooking the coastline at sunrise
Sea view from the balcony at sunrise
View from airplane wing over the mountains at sunrise
Sunrise behind the mountain
Coastal town at sunrise
Green valley at sunrise
City on a hill at sunrise
Grand Canyon at sunrise
Sahara at sunrise
Manhattan Bridge at sunrise
Miami at sunrise
drawing pencils
Mix media paper pad
Art markers
Light table for tracing
In the linked sunrise scenery Pinterest board, you’ll find images of sunrise backgrounds and scenery to use a reference for your own drawings.
Click the button to follow the board. This way you’ll make sure that you have a steady supply of beautiful images to practice with.
