How to draw
How to Draw a Lion
- Growing (level 3 of 5)
- 20 min
- 15 steps
- Ages 6–10 (a guide, not a rule)
Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Yellow, orange and brown crayons, colored pencils or markers.
Draw it on the screen
A lion is a big cat with a giant mane. Two guide circles, one inside the other, place the face and the mane. An oval on the right is the body. The mane is in front of the body, so the back line starts at the edge of the mane. If you have drawn the Sitting Cat, you already know the face: round ears, two eyes and a nose.
Rather color it? Print the lion 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 15
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Step 1 of 15 Draw a big circle on the left side of your paper for the mane. Press lightly: it is a guide. -
Step 2 of 15 Draw a smaller circle inside it for the face, a little below the middle. -
Step 3 of 15 Draw a long oval for the body on the right. Let it tuck behind the big circle. -
Step 4 of 15 Draw four light lines down to the ground for the legs: two under the mane and two under the back end. -
Step 5 of 15 Draw two round ears on top of the face circle, then the cheeks and chin around the rest of it. -
Step 6 of 15 Add two eyes, a triangle nose and a round muzzle under the nose, like the letter w. -
Step 7 of 15 Draw the mane: a bumpy line like a cloud all the way around the big circle. -
Step 8 of 15 Draw the back. Start at the edge of the mane, go along the top of the body oval and round off the back end. -
Step 9 of 15 Draw the near front leg under the mane, around the first leg line: thick, with a big round paw. -
Step 10 of 15 Draw the near back leg around the last leg line. Add a curved line above it for the strong thigh. -
Step 11 of 15 Draw the tummy line from the front leg to the back leg. -
Step 12 of 15 Draw the two far legs on the middle lines. They are behind, so each paw stops where it meets a near paw. -
Step 13 of 15 Draw a long tail curving up from the back end, with a fluffy tuft at the tip. -
Step 14 of 15 Erase the guides: the two circles, the oval and the four leg lines. -
Step 15 of 15 Finish with details: little curved strokes in the mane, whisker dots on the muzzle, eyebrows 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 guides light. The mane line goes around the big circle, not exactly on it, so it is fine to wobble.
- Make the bumps of the mane about the same size. Count them as you go if that helps.
- The lion looks at you while its body faces the side, just like the Sitting Cat.
Common mistakes
- The back line is drawn across the mane. The mane is in front of the body. Start the back line where it touches the bumpy edge of the mane.
- The mane is a smooth circle and looks like a sunflower. Give the mane soft bumps all the way round, and add a few curved strokes inside it.
- The legs are thin like a house cat. A lion has thick legs and big round paws. Make each leg about as wide as an eye-to-eye space.
Make it simpler
Draw just the head with its mane and a simple oval body with two legs and a tail. Leave out the far legs.
Guide shapes
Two circles, one inside the other, place the face and the mane. An oval places the body, and four lines place the legs.
Overlap
The mane is in front of the body and the near legs are in front of the far legs. Lines that go behind something stop at its edge.
