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A yellow giraffe with brown patches standing sideways, with a long neck, two little horns, a leaf-shaped ear and long thin legs.
The finished drawing.

How to draw

How to Draw a Giraffe

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

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

Draw it on the screen

A giraffe is all about long lines. Light guides help you get the sizes right: an oval for the body, a small oval for the head, one line for the neck and four lines for the legs. The neck and the legs are about the same length, so check them before you draw the real lines.

Rather color it? Print the giraffe 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 15 Draw a tilted oval for the body, a little lower than the middle of your paper. Its right end is higher. Press lightly.
  2. Step 2 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 2 of 15 Draw a small tilted oval for the head, high up on the right, near the top of your paper.
  3. Step 3 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 3 of 15 Draw a light line for the neck from the right end of the body up to the head.
  4. Step 4 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 4 of 15 Draw four long, light leg lines down to the ground. Slant the two middle ones a little. Check that they are about as long as the neck line.
  5. Step 5 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 5 of 15 Draw the head around the small oval: a round top, a long face and a soft nose pointing down.
  6. Step 6 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 6 of 15 Add a leaf-shaped ear at the back of the head, two little horns with round tips, an eye and a dot for the nose.
  7. Step 7 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 7 of 15 Draw the long neck: one line on each side of the neck line, down from the head to the body.
  8. Step 8 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 8 of 15 Draw the back. It slopes down from the neck along the top of the body oval, then curves round at the end.
  9. Step 9 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 9 of 15 Draw the near front leg around the leg line nearest the head: long and thin, with a small hoof at the bottom.
  10. Step 10 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 10 of 15 Draw the near back leg around the line nearest the tail. It starts wide at the top and gets thin, with a hoof.
  11. Step 11 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 11 of 15 Join the two legs with the tummy line.
  12. Step 12 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 12 of 15 Draw the two far legs on the slanted middle lines. Their tops hide behind the near legs, so start each line where it peeks out.
  13. Step 13 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 13 of 15 Draw a thin tail hanging from the back end, with a dark tuft at the tip.
  14. Step 14 diagram, showing what to erase
    Step 14 of 15 Erase all the guides: the two ovals, the neck line and the four leg lines.
  15. Step 15 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 15 of 15 Finish with patches on the body and neck, a short spiky mane along the back of the neck and a line across the top of each hoof.
A yellow giraffe with brown patches standing sideways, with a long neck, two little horns, a leaf-shaped ear and long thin legs.

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

  • Measure with your pencil: hold it along the neck line, then along a leg line. They should be about the same.
  • Keep the body small. Most of a giraffe's height comes from its neck and legs.
  • Giraffe patches have straight sides with thin gaps between them, like pieces of a puzzle.

Common mistakes

  • The neck is short, so it looks like a horse. Draw the neck line first and make it as long as a leg line. Then draw the neck around it.
  • The neck gets thinner and thinner until it is a single line. Keep the two neck lines apart all the way up. The neck is thinnest under the head and widest at the shoulders.
  • The patches touch the outline and look messy. Leave a little gap between each patch and the outline, and between the patches.

Make it simpler

Draw just two legs and leave out the far legs and the mane. Use round spots instead of patches.

Proportion

Proportion means how big each part is compared with the others. A giraffe's neck is about as long as its legs, and its body is small. Compare the guide lines before you draw.

Overlap

The legs on the far side start behind the near legs. Draw the near legs first, then start each far leg where it peeks out.

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