How to draw
How to Draw a Dinosaur
- Growing (level 3 of 5)
- 15 min
- 13 steps
- Ages 6–10 (a guide, not a rule)
Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Green and yellow crayons, colored pencils or markers.
Draw it on the screen
Start with two light ovals, one for the body and one for the head. They are guides: you draw the dinosaur around them, then erase them. Press lightly at first so the guides are easy to erase.
Rather color it? Print the t. rex coloring page.
Step by step
- New lines: purple, thick and glowing
- Lines you already drew: gray
- Guides: dashed blue, draw them lightly
- Erase: dotted pink with an eraser
Step 1 of 13
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Step 1 of 13 Draw a big tilted oval for the body. Press lightly: this is a guide you will erase later. -
Step 2 of 13 Draw a smaller oval up and to the right for the head. Press lightly again. -
Step 3 of 13 Draw the top of the head and a long snout around the head oval. -
Step 4 of 13 Draw the mouth as a long smile, then the lower jaw under it. -
Step 5 of 13 Join the head to the body with two short, thick neck lines. -
Step 6 of 13 Draw the back along the top of the body oval and keep going into a long tail that ends in a point. -
Step 7 of 13 Draw the underside of the tail back toward the body, then the round belly. -
Step 8 of 13 Draw the near leg: a big round thigh, a thick lower leg and a long foot. -
Step 9 of 13 Draw the far leg peeking out behind. Stop each line where it reaches the near leg. -
Step 10 of 13 Add two tiny arms on the chest, each with two little claws. -
Step 11 of 13 Add an eye with a brow line above it, and a dot for the nostril. -
Step 12 of 13 Erase the two guide ovals. -
Step 13 of 13 Finish with details: teeth, a line along the belly, spots on the back and lines for the toes.
You did it!
Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.
Tips for this drawing
Helpful hints
- Keep the guide ovals light and thin so they erase cleanly.
- The head oval sits higher than the body. Leave room on the left of your paper for the long tail.
- If a line goes behind another part, stop drawing it where it disappears.
Common mistakes
- The tail is short and the dinosaur tips forward. Make the tail almost as long as the body: it balances the big head.
- The arms are as big as the legs. A T. rex has tiny arms. Keep each arm shorter than the eye-to-snout distance.
- Both legs are drawn in full and look like four legs. Draw the far leg only where it peeks out behind the near leg.
Make it simpler
Skip the far leg and the claws: draw the two ovals, one leg, the tail, an eye and a smile.
Guide shapes
Light ovals show where the big parts go. You draw the real outline around them, then erase them.
Overlap
The far leg is partly hidden behind the near leg, so you only draw the part you can see.
