Draw New York Outline from Memory
How well do you know The Empire State? Draw New York from memory and score 0–100 based on how accurately you sketch its distinctive outline.
More US States to Draw
Why New York Looks the Way It Does
New York's borders are older than the United States, drawn in colonial charters when a boundary on paper mattered more than a line on the ground. The result is a state whose edges are mostly water: the colony's grants ran to the Great Lakes in the west and wrapped around rival claims in New England, leaving a shape pinched between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario at the top and sliced by Massachusetts and Connecticut on the right.
The rivers did the rest. The Delaware, fixed as the Pennsylvania line in the colonial era, draws most of the state's southern edge in one long, lazy squiggle — a border that follows the river's bends so closely that on a map New York appears to melt into Pennsylvania. To the northwest, the Niagara River and the two great lakes gave the state its distinctive notched top and almost its entire border with Canada.
Long Island is the glacier's signature. Two lobes of the Wisconsin ice sheet bulldozed rock and gravel into terminal moraines that now rise as a 118-mile island slanting out to sea — the largest island in the contiguous United States. Because the moraines formed offshore of the mainland, the island sits visibly separated, and that gap is why any drawing of New York needs two shapes, not one.
Quick Facts: New York
- Capital
- Albany
- Nickname
- The Empire State
- Statehood
- 1788
- Area
- 122,057 km²
- Borders
- Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Canada (Lake Ontario, Lake Erie)
What is "Drawing New York Outline from Memory"?
Drawing New York from memory means sketching the Empire State's border on a blank canvas without looking at a map. Focus on the state's distinctive features and overall proportions — that's what pushes your accuracy score up.
New York became a state in 1788 and is rated ★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a trickier outline with more detail to remember. When you hit Reveal, your sketch is scored 0–100 against the real border, so every attempt teaches you something about the outline.
New York looks like a broad arrowhead pointing east, its top carved by Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, its right edge a long squiggle along Pennsylvania, and Long Island trailing out into the Atlantic as a separate, needle-thin island.
How to Draw New York from Memory
Step 01
Sketch the main body first as a rough, wide wedge, higher on the left. The top edge dips into two notches — Lake Ontario's rounded bite and, to its left, the thinner diagonal slit of Lake Erie — so the northwest corner reads as water-carved rather than straight.
Step 02
The right side is one long wiggle: the Delaware River threading south along Pennsylvania, then the Connecticut line cutting a neat diagonal notch out of the lower-right. Keep that southeastern edge soft and wandering, and let Vermont's straight vertical line form the upper-right side above Massachusetts.
Step 03
Draw Long Island last: a separate, narrow sliver of land slanting east from New York City, like a fishbone lying just off the coast. It should sit clearly apart from the mainland — the gap between them is what makes New York recognizable at a glance.
A chunky wedge pinched between two Great Lakes, with a river-wiggly right side and Long Island lying offshore like a separate fishbone.
How New York Is Scored
When you hit Reveal & compare, your sketch is measured against New York's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Three numbers come back:
Matched — the share of the real border your drawing covered. 100% means you traced every part of the outline.
Extra — how much of your drawing fell outside the true border. This catches sketches that are too big, mispositioned, or drifting off.
Missed — the border you didn't reach, the flip side of Matched.
The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score. The rating names give you a target: 80+ is Cartographer, 60+ is Border patrol, 40+ is Getting there, and below 40 is Try again.
Drawing large and roughly centered is the single fastest way to raise your score — a small sketch tucked in a corner overlaps less of the true border, so it scores lower. For New York, keep the whole outline in frame and let the distinctive parts do the work.
FAQ
- What makes New York's outline distinctive?
- New York looks like a broad arrowhead pointing east, its top carved by Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, its right edge a long squiggle along Pennsylvania, and Long Island trailing out into the Atlantic as a separate, needle-thin island.
- How hard is it to draw New York from memory?
- New York is rated ★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a trickier outline with more detail to remember. You can score your attempts immediately and watch your accuracy climb with practice.
- Which states border New York?
- New York shares its border with 5 US states — Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are on this site, plus Canada (Lake Ontario, Lake Erie). Drawing a neighbor right after New York helps anchor both outlines in your memory.
- How is my New York drawing scored?
- Your sketch is compared with New York's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Matched is the share of the border you covered, Extra is how much of your drawing fell outside it, and Missed is the border you didn't reach. The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score.
- Can I draw New York on mobile?
- Yes — New York works on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Draw with your finger on touchscreens; no app download is required and it runs directly in your browser.