How to draw the flag of the Philippines

The flag of the Philippines is a horizontal bicolour of blue and red, with a white triangle at the hoist and a yellow disc and a yellow five-pointed star at the centre. Its official proportions are 2:1. Below is how to construct it step by step, with the measurements written as fractions so they work at any size — on paper, on a whiteboard or in an art program. If you would rather test yourself first, you can draw it from memory and get scored.

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Step by step

  1. Start with a rectangle in the proportions 2:1. If you are working on paper, 20 cm wide by 10 cm tall is a convenient size — every measurement below is given as a fraction, so any size works as long as the shape is right.
  2. Divide the height into two equal horizontal bands, each half of the height. Working from the top down, colour them blue and red (blue #0038a8 and red #ce1126).
  3. Add a white triangle at the hoist, its point reaching 43% of the way across the flag.
  4. Draw a yellow circle with a radius of 9% of the height (a diameter of 18%), centred 13% of the way across from the hoist — slightly towards the hoist, so it looks centred when the flag flies.
  5. Add a yellow 5-pointed star, 5% of the height in radius, at 6% across and 17% down.
  6. Add a yellow 5-pointed star, 5% of the height in radius, at 6% across and 83% down.
  7. Add a yellow 5-pointed star, 5% of the height in radius, at 33% across and 50% down.
  8. Finally, the emblem. This flag carries a device too detailed to reproduce faithfully by hand — even official renderings simplify it at small sizes. Place it correctly and at the right size, and do not worry about its interior.

The colours

These are the shades used in the reference drawing. Official specifications are usually given in Pantone; the hex values below are the closest common screen equivalents.

The mistakes people make

Test yourself

Reading how a flag is built and being able to reproduce it from memory are different skills, and the gap between them is bigger than most people expect. Draw the flag of the Philippines from memory and the game will score how close you got, or try today's flag if you want to be surprised.

Other flags to draw