You’ve seen it a thousand times. A stick figure, a green scribble for grass, and a black-and-white ball that looks more like a lumpy potato than a Nike Flight. Honestly, most kid playing soccer drawing attempts end up in the "it’s going on the fridge because I love you" pile rather than being something they’re actually proud of. It's frustrating for them. They have this high-speed, 4K image in their head of Messi weaving through defenders, but their hand produces something that looks like a geometric accident.
Drawing is a physical skill. Just like dribbling.
I’ve spent years watching how people—specifically kids—translate movement onto paper. There is a massive disconnect between what the brain sees during a Saturday morning match and what the pen does on a blank sheet of A4. Most people think the problem is "talent." That’s a lie. Usually, the issue is that we try to draw symbols instead of shapes. We draw what we think a person looks like, not what they actually look like when they’re sprinting.
The Problem With the "Stiff Man" Sketch
When a kid sits down to start a kid playing soccer drawing, they almost always start with a vertical spine. Big mistake.
Humans don’t play sports standing straight up. If you stand perfectly vertical on a soccer pitch, you’re about to get tackled or fall over. Dynamic movement requires angles. Real ones. If you look at sports photography from agencies like Getty or the Associated Press, you’ll notice that professional players are almost always leaning. Their bodies form a diagonal line.
Think about the "Power Line."
This is a concept often taught in classical animation and gesture drawing. If a player is kicking the ball, there should be a clear line of action from their planted foot all the way up through their head. It’s an arc. If the drawing is just a vertical torso with some legs attached, it looks like a statue. Boring.
Kids get discouraged because their drawings feel "dead." They want the energy of the stadium. They want the wind in the hair and the turf flying up. To get that, you have to embrace the lean.
Why the Soccer Ball is Your Worst Enemy
Let’s talk about the ball. The classic 32-panel buckyball—the one with the white hexagons and black pentagons—is a nightmare to draw. Even for adults.
Most kids try to draw every single little shape on the ball. It becomes a cluttered mess. If you look at how professional illustrators handle a kid playing soccer drawing, they rarely draw every panel. They use "suggestive detail."
Basically, you draw a few of the pentagons near the front to show the curve, and then you let the rest fade out. If the ball is moving fast, you don't even need the panels. You need motion blur. A couple of flicked lines behind the ball tell a much better story than a perfectly rendered hexagon ever will.
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Proportions Are Harder Than Offside Rules
Kids have big heads. Not just "ego" big, but anatomically big. In traditional figure drawing, an adult is about seven or eight "heads" tall. A six-year-old? They’re more like five.
If a child tries to draw themselves playing soccer using adult proportions, it looks like a weirdly small man. To make a kid playing soccer drawing look authentic, you have to lean into the "bobblehead" nature of childhood.
- Keep the torso shorter.
- Make the knees a bit knobby.
- High socks are a godsend for hiding ankles, which are notoriously hard to draw.
I’ve noticed that when kids draw their friends, they focus on the gear. The jersey. The cleats. The neon orange shinguards. This is actually a great instinct. It’s the "uniform" of the sport that provides the context. Without the kit, it’s just a kid running. With the three stripes on the sleeves or a specific club crest, it becomes a story.
Gravity and the "Floating" Player
Another huge hurdle is the ground. Usually, you see a single green line at the bottom of the page. The player is hovering three inches above it.
Real soccer is messy.
In a high-quality kid playing soccer drawing, the feet should be interacting with the grass. One foot is usually buried slightly in the turf. The other is mid-air. You need shadows. Without a shadow directly underneath the player, they have no weight. They’re just an astronaut in a jersey.
A simple oval of darker green or grey right under the feet fixes this instantly. It "grounds" the character. It makes the viewer feel the impact of the step.
Anatomy of a Kick
Let's break down the mechanics of a shot. Most people draw the kicking leg coming straight out from the hip like a Nutcracker doll.
That’s not how anatomy works.
When you kick a ball, your whole body twists. Your opposite arm goes out for balance. If you're kicking with your right foot, your left arm should be swinging out to the side. Your chest should be slightly over the ball to keep the shot low.
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I remember watching a tutorial by legendary animator Glen Keane, who talked about "feeling the weight." You have to feel the tension in the leg that’s pulled back. It’s like a rubber band. If the drawing doesn't show that tension, the kick has no power.
Capturing the Face of the Game
The face is where most people give up. They draw a smiley face. 🙂
Soccer is intense! It’s sweaty. It’s exhausting. If someone is mid-sprint, their mouth might be open. Their eyebrows might be furrowed in concentration. Adding a little bit of "game face" makes a kid playing soccer drawing go from a doodle to a piece of art.
Don't worry about making it pretty. Worry about making it real.
A smudge of dirt on the cheek? Perfect. A few stray hairs sticking out from a ponytail? Even better. These are the "imperfections" that create life on the page.
The Gear Matters More Than You Think
If you’re helping a child with their kid playing soccer drawing, focus on the equipment. It’s the easiest way to add "pro" flair without needing a degree in fine arts.
- The Cleats: Don't just draw triangles. Draw the little studs (cleats) on the bottom of the foot that’s lifted. It’s a tiny detail that screams "I know soccer."
- The Goal: Perspective is the enemy here. Instead of drawing a giant rectangle, try drawing just a corner of the net. Use a "cross-hatch" pattern for the mesh. It looks way more sophisticated than a simple grid.
- The Jersey Folds: Clothes aren't flat. If a kid is running, the jersey should be bunching up at the waist or pulling at the shoulders.
Lighting and Atmosphere
Most drawings happen in a vacuum. There's no sun, no stadium lights, no atmosphere.
Try this: pick a side of the paper. That’s where the sun is. Everything on the opposite side of the player gets a slightly darker shade. Suddenly, the figure has 3D volume.
If it’s a night game, the shadows should be long and dramatic. This adds a "Friday Night Lights" vibe that kids absolutely love. It makes the drawing feel like a big event, not just a practice session.
Why We Should Care About These Drawings
It’s easy to dismiss a kid playing soccer drawing as just another piece of paper. But it’s actually a form of visualization.
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Elite athletes use imagery to improve their performance. When a kid draws themselves scoring a goal, they are mentally practicing the movement. They are seeing themselves succeed.
There’s a reason why some of the best sports illustrators, like those who work for The Athletic or ESPN, started exactly this way. They were kids who loved the game so much they had to find a way to take it home with them.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Stop using a ruler. Seriously.
Human bodies are made of curves, not straight lines. When you use a ruler for the legs or the arms, the person ends up looking like a robot. It kills the "flow."
Also, watch out for the "too many players" trap. A kid will often try to draw an entire 11-v-11 match on one piece of paper. It becomes chaos.
Advice? Focus on one or two characters. A striker and a goalie. A defender and a winger. The "clash" is where the story is. By narrowing the focus, you can spend more time on the details that actually matter, like the expression or the texture of the grass.
Actionable Steps for a Better Drawing
If you want to help someone—or yourself—actually improve a kid playing soccer drawing, don't just "practice more." Practice smarter. Here is the literal blueprint for moving past the stick-figure phase.
- Use Reference Photos: Open a tablet or a book. Look at a real player mid-kick. Notice where their elbows are. Notice how their head is tucked.
- Start with the "Action Line": Draw one long, curved line that represents the flow of the body. Build the rest of the figure around that line.
- The "H" Goal Method: When drawing the net, draw the two posts and the crossbar first. Then, add the "depth" by drawing lines going back into the distance. It makes the goal look like a 3D box instead of a flat window.
- Layer the Colors: If using crayons or markers, don't just use one green. Use a light green for the highlights and a dark blue or dark green for the shadows in the grass. This creates "depth of field."
- The Blur Effect: Take a finger or a tissue and slightly smudge the area behind the kicking leg. It creates an illusion of speed that sharp lines can't replicate.
Drawing soccer is about capturing a feeling. It’s the "thwack" of the ball, the burn in the lungs, and the rush of the wind. When you stop trying to be perfect and start trying to be fast and fluid, the art finally starts to look like the game.
Forget about the "ideal" drawing. Just focus on the movement. The best kid playing soccer drawing isn't the one with the straightest lines; it's the one where you can almost hear the referee’s whistle.
To take this further, try drawing the same scene three times. First, do it in thirty seconds. Then, do it in three minutes. Finally, take thirty minutes. You’ll be shocked at how much the thirty-second "gesture" informs the final, detailed version. The energy of the quick sketch often carries over, preventing the final piece from looking stiff or over-worked. That's the secret sauce of sports illustration.