Tutorial: How to Sketch American Zigzag Fences

The American Zigzag fence may be one of the most recognized fences across the United States. This fence is often used around National Parks. The Pea Ridge Military Park in Rogers, AR is a typical historical park with beautiful zigzag fences. In fact, twice a year they invite the community to help build and replace the existing fences on the park grounds. For several years my family and I participated regularly in these events. It was during these early morning activities that I fell in love with the American Zigzag style.

This style is really easy to draw and is suited for landscape drawings, paintings and crafts with landscape decoration. While the following instructions may seem a bit over simplified, they are perfect for a beginner. To create your best American Zigzag fence sketch, practice, practice, practice. Once you have the basic concept down, it is easy to integrate this design into other artworks. It is important to be mindful of scale, perspective and the horizon line when using this design inside of a picture; however, as you learn, these requirements are not as important.

Materials:

Sketchbook
Pencil
Eraser
Dark brown colored pencil
Brown colored pencil
Medium yellow colored pencil
Light yellow colored pencil

In your sketchbook, draw an angled pattern that is similar to a long W. You can keep the patter simple and straight, or curve it around so that it is oblong or even star shaped.

Example A:

\/\/\/\/\/

Draw vertical strait lines that intersect at every angle point as well as at the top of every open angle. The line intersection of the angles and open points can be placed in the middle of the vertical line, slightly above or slightly below, depending on your fence width and length.

Example B:

\|/|\|/|\|/.

Connect each straight line, at an angle, with the straight line next to it. The drawing should begin to look like a zigzag fence.

Example C:

//|\\|//|\\

Draw three more fence lines, spaced evenly from each straight line, similar to the characters in Example D. On the picture plane the wide angled pattern will appear much more like a fence than it does on the typed page.

Example D:

////|\\\\|////|\\\\|////|

Sketch four more evenly spaced parallel lines beside each of the four original lines. Shade the lines with the colored pencils. Start with the darkest color and work to the lightest color so that the drawing has depth and definition.

Tip:

When using the first color in your fence, do not color the fence wood in completely. Leave white space on the wood so that the lighter colors will fill in the spaces as you complete the sketch.