How to Draw a Broken Mirror: Easy Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to create a unique piece of art? This tutorial is perfect for young artists ages 7+ who want to practice geometric shapes and expressive character design. All you need is a pencil, an eraser, and a piece of paper to bring this shattered reflection to life.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

Colorful, finished cartoon drawing of a face in a broken mirror, set against a clean background.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Establishing the Base Shards

Pencil sketch showing the initial geometric shards of a broken mirror on white paper.

Start by drawing two diagonal lines near the center of your page. Add vertical and horizontal lines beneath them to create blocky, triangular shards. Teacher's Tip: Use a ruler to keep your lines straight, but don't worry if they aren't perfect—broken glass is naturally jagged!

Step 2: Expanding the Mirror Fragments

Drawing showing additional geometric shapes added to the top half of the mirror frame.

Continue adding more triangular and blocky shapes to the top half of your page. Make sure the points of these shards angle toward the center. Teacher's Tip: Vary the sizes of your triangles to make the mirror look more realistically shattered.

Step 3: Sketching the First Eye

Close-up sketch of a cartoon eye being drawn inside a mirror fragment.

Draw three smaller shards, then sketch a curved line inside one of the left-side shapes. Add small dashes along the curve to represent eyelashes. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil pressure light here so you can easily adjust the eye shape if needed.

Step 4: Defining the Eye Details

Detailed sketch of a cartoon eye with iris, pupil, and surrounding texture lines.

Outline the eye with a bottom curve, then add a circle for the iris and a smaller one for the pupil. Add short lines around the eye for texture. Teacher's Tip: Adding these small lines helps the eye look more expressive and 'cartoon-like'.

Step 5: Adding the Second Eye and Nose

Sketch showing the second eye and the start of the nose bridge.

Repeat the eye-drawing process inside a shard on the right side. Then, sketch two small curves underneath the eyes to begin the nose. Teacher's Tip: Ensure the nose is centered between the two eyes for a balanced look.

Step 6: Drawing the Mouth

Close-up of the cartoon mouth and nose features being drawn.

Complete the nose with a horizontal 'W' shape. For the mouth, draw a flattened 'M' shape with small dashes at the corners, adding a taller 'M' above it and a curve below. Teacher's Tip: The 'M' shape creates a natural-looking smile.

Step 7: Hairline and Ears

Sketch showing the addition of hair loops, ears, and eyebrows.

Outline the hairline using loops near the top shards. Add curved lines for the ear on the left and wavy, pointed lines for the eyebrow. Teacher's Tip: Use short, quick strokes for the hair to make it look flowy rather than stiff.

Step 8: Adding Mirror Cracks

Drawing showing the addition of crack lines across the mirror shards.

Draw another blocky shard to the left. Sketch various lines and curves throughout the mirror to represent cracks. Teacher's Tip: Cracks don't have to be straight; let them zig-zag to make the glass look truly broken.

Step 9: Finalizing the Outline

Final pencil outline of the broken mirror with all shards and details complete.

Use your ruler to add small triangles and rectangles around the larger shards to create a sense of depth. Add a few final detail lines. Teacher's Tip: Clean up any stray pencil marks with your eraser before moving to the coloring stage.

Step 10: Adding Color

Finished, colored cartoon illustration of a face reflected in a broken mirror.

Trace your drawing with black ink. Fill in the pupils, use thicker lines for eyelashes, and add color: reddish-brown for hair, light blue for eyes, and pink for lips. Teacher's Tip: Use a light grey or blue for the glass shards to give them a reflective, mirror-like quality.