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PlayOwl
A tan dog standing sideways on four legs, with a floppy brown ear, a brown patch on its back and its tail held up.
The finished drawing.

How to draw

How to Draw a Dog

  • Growing (level 3 of 5)
  • 20 min
  • 14 steps
  • Ages 6–10 (a guide, not a rule)
Start Drawing Draw on Screen Print

Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Brown and tan crayons, colored pencils or markers.

Draw it on the screen

In the Puppy Face lesson you drew a face looking at you. This dog stands sideways, so you see its long snout, one floppy ear and all four legs. Light guide shapes show where the body, head and legs go. The two legs on the far side hide behind the near ones, so you draw only the parts that peek out.

Want to try just the face? How to draw: Puppy Face.

Rather color it? Print the dog 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
  1. Step 1 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 1 of 14 Draw a long oval for the body in the middle of your paper. Press lightly: it is a guide you will erase.
  2. Step 2 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 2 of 14 Draw a circle for the head, up and to the right of the body. Leave a little gap for the neck.
  3. Step 3 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 3 of 14 Draw four light lines down to the ground for the legs: two near the chest and two near the back end.
  4. Step 4 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 4 of 14 Draw a long, floppy ear hanging down the left side of the head circle.
  5. Step 5 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 5 of 14 Start at the top of the ear. Draw the top of the head, a long snout, a round nose end, then the jaw back under the head.
  6. Step 6 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 6 of 14 Add a dot for the eye, a round nose at the tip of the snout and a smiling mouth line.
  7. Step 7 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 7 of 14 Draw the back of the neck from under the ear, then the long back along the top of the body oval. Round it off at the back end.
  8. Step 8 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 8 of 14 Draw the chest from under the jaw. Then draw the front leg around the leg line nearest the head: down, a round paw, and back up.
  9. Step 9 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 9 of 14 Draw the back leg around the leg line nearest the tail. It bends: a big curve at the top, then a thinner lower leg and a paw.
  10. Step 10 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 10 of 14 Join the two legs with the tummy line.
  11. Step 11 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 11 of 14 Draw the two far legs on the two middle lines. They are behind, so stop each line where it reaches a near leg.
  12. Step 12 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 12 of 14 Draw a happy tail curving up from the back end, with a round tip.
  13. Step 13 diagram, showing what to erase
    Step 13 of 14 Erase the body oval, the head circle and the four leg lines.
  14. Step 14 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 14 of 14 Finish with details: an eyebrow, a patch on the back, a few fur lines on the chest and lines for the toes.
A tan dog standing sideways on four legs, with a floppy brown ear, a brown patch on its back and its tail held up.

You did it!

Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.

Color it on screen Print a practice sheet

Tips for this drawing

Helpful hints

  • Keep the guide oval, circle and leg lines light so they erase cleanly.
  • Put the head circle higher than the body. A gap between them becomes the neck.
  • The far legs are a little shorter on the paper because they are farther away. Their paws stop where the near paws begin.

Common mistakes

  • All four legs are drawn in full and the dog looks like it has a crowd of legs. Draw the two near legs first. Then draw only the slice of each far leg that peeks out behind.
  • The legs are too short and the dog looks like a sausage. Make each leg about as long as the body is tall. The leg lines show how far down to go.
  • The ear is drawn behind the head. Draw the ear first, then start the head line at the ear. The ear stays in front.

Make it simpler

Draw just the two near legs, skip the far legs, and use a round head with a short snout.

Guide shapes

An oval for the body, a circle for the head and four straight lines for the legs. They show where everything goes before you draw the real lines.

Overlap

The ear hangs in front of the head, and the near legs stand in front of the far legs. Draw the front part first and stop the lines behind it where they disappear.

Practice first: Puppy Face.

  • A tan puppy face with long brown floppy ears, a brown patch around one eye, a cream muzzle, a black nose and a pink tongue.

    Puppy Face

    Easy (level 2 of 5) 10 min Ages 5–9
  • An orange cat sitting sideways with its face turned to the viewer, pointy ears, whiskers, stripes and a curly tail.

    Sitting Cat

    Growing (level 3 of 5) 15 min Ages 6–10
  • A brown origami dog face with two floppy ears, a white snout, two eyes and a black nose.

    Dog Face

    Starter (level 1 of 5) 5 min Ages 4–8 Origami Square of origami paper No scissors No glue