The Netherlands is a small country with a big hole in it — the IJsselmeer, a former sea that the Dutch dammed into a lake, sitting right in the middle of the outline. Draw the country as a solid blob and you've drawn a Netherlands that never existed.
The shape at a glance
The Netherlands is a small vertical shape, taller than wide, on the North Sea coast of Europe. The west is one long dune-backed coastline, the north frays into the Wadden islands, and the center holds the IJsselmeer, a large lake that bites into the landmass. The southwest dissolves into the Zeeland delta — a maze of drowned estuary fingers where Belgium begins.
Step by step
- Draw a small vertical wedge on the North Sea, tucked between Germany and Belgium.
- Run the west coast as one long smooth line facing the sea, with the slight outward bulge of Holland's dunes.
- Fray the northern edge into the Wadden island chain curving toward Germany.
- Bite the IJsselmeer out of the north-center — a big rounded lake inside the outline, connected to the coast.
- Shred the southwest corner into the Zeeland delta: several parallel watery fingers pointing at Belgium.
- Keep the eastern edge with Germany long, straight-ish and unremarkable.
Mistakes that cost you points
- Drawing the country solid and missing the IJsselmeer, the huge central lake.
- Ignoring the Zeeland delta and giving the southwest a clean edge it doesn't have.
- Making it bigger than it is — at map scale the Netherlands is genuinely tiny next to Germany.
- Forgetting the northern Wadden islands, which arc well away from the mainland coast.
Place it on the map
The Netherlands sits on the North Sea between Belgium to the south and Germany to the east, staring across the water at England. If you can place Belgium and Denmark, it's the small coast between them.
Pro tip: At this scale the IJsselmeer is your highest-value stroke: one honest inland bite distinguishes a real Netherlands from a generic coastal blob. Leave the lake genuinely empty and the overlap algorithm hands you the water for free.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you draw Netherlands from memory?
- Start with the overall box — is Netherlands wider than tall or the reverse — then place its signature feature first and build the rest of the outline around it. Finish with the coastline details, then compare against the real border in a free practice round to get a 0-100 score.
- How hard is it to draw Netherlands?
- Netherlands rates as medium difficulty. Small and famously water-bitten, with the IJsselmeer bite and the drowned southwest delta making precision matter at tiny scale.