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The Fixes / How to Draw / Hot Air Balloon
All year · Grades 2–4 · 12 steps

How to Draw a Hot Air Balloon

Hot Air Balloon from The Drawing Fix™. An easy step-by-step drawing for Grades 2–4. Draw it with your class in about 10 minutes, one step at a time. Free to use and print. No sign-up.

By Christopher Allen · Ontario elementary educator12 stepsAbout 10 minutesUpdated Nov 5, 2026
Run it on the projector →Printable step sheet (PDF)

Each step builds on the one before. Students learn to see a hot air balloon as a few simple shapes, then add the details that make it theirs.

Before you start: a pencil, an eraser, a sheet of paper and something to colour with.

Draw lightly at first. Dark lines come at the end, once the shapes look right.

Step-by-step: how to draw a hot air balloon

  1. Step 1. Balloon

    Draw the big balloon shape.

  2. Step 2. Center panel

    Add the curved center panel lines.

  3. Step 3. Side panels

    Add two more lines on each side.

  4. Step 4. Stripe band

    Draw a curved stripe across the middle.

  5. Step 5. Basket

    Draw the square basket.

  6. Step 6. Basket weave

    Add two weave lines.

  7. Step 7. Ropes

    Connect the balloon with four ropes.

  8. Step 8. Burner flame

    Add a tiny flame above the basket.

  9. Step 9. Clouds

    Add two clouds.

  10. Step 10. Hills

    Draw two hills at the bottom.

  11. Step 11. Birds

    Add three small birds.

  12. Step 12. Create

    Make one part completely yours.

The pink line is the new part in each step.

Make it theirs

  • Add a background that tells a story. Where is it?
  • Give it a name and write it underneath.
  • Try it again tomorrow from memory.
  • Colour last. There is no wrong colour for a hot air balloon.

Teaching it with the projector

The projector version draws each step slowly on the board, pauses while students copy it, then checks in before the next step. Nobody has to talk, so you are free to walk around and help.

Quick Fix: 8 steps, about 5 minutes. Good for a brain break or the last few minutes before recess. Full Focus: all 12 steps, about 10 minutes, with the extra detail.

Open Hot Air Balloon on the projector → It works on any classroom screen. No accounts, no student names, no ads.

Curriculum connections

Visual arts: the elements of design (line, shape and pattern) and creating art for a purpose. Language: listening to and following multi-step directions. Directed drawing also builds fine motor control and focus.

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