She escaped Hawkins Lab with nothing but a hospital gown and ended up becoming the most powerful character in Stranger Things. This tutorial shows how to draw El in simplified style, capturing her Season 1 appearance in a compact cartoon form.
Cartoon El from Season 1
The full drawing takes 16 step-by-step images to complete, with the last image showing the colored result. The simplified approach reduces her features to dot eyes, rosy cheeks, and clean rounded shapes, matching the rest of the cartoon Hawkins crew on the site.
El’s Design in This Drawing
- Buzzed brown hair, almost shaved
- Small dot eyes with rosy pink cheeks
- Pink collared dress with pleated skirt
- Open blue denim jacket with chest pockets
- Striped tube socks and beige sneakers
The pink dress and denim jacket combo is one of the most recognizable outfits in the series, borrowed from Nancy Wheeler’s closet. The simplified series now includes several party members: cartoon Dustin Henderson, Will Byers in his Season 1 look, and simplified Max Mayfield. Drawing El in simplified style rounds out the group.
What Each Color Means
Every step uses three colors to keep things clear:
- Red Color: lines added in the current step.
- Black Color: lines completed earlier.
- Gray Color: base sketch for structure.
How to Draw El: Simplified Step-by-Step Tutorial
Drop Your El Drawing in the Comments!
That finishes up cartoon El in her pink dress and denim jacket. Leave a comment or share a link to your finished sketch so others can check it out. For more from Hawkins, try El with her psychic abilities for a more detailed take, or draw Jim Hopper in his sheriff uniform to pair with her. All guides get posted to Facebook and Telegram right when they go live, a new video goes up on YouTube daily, and Pinterest stays updated too. You can also support SketchOk on Patreon by picking up hand-drawn coloring pages.