How to draw an elephant for a child and an adult

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It will be easy to embody any creative idea thanks to step-by-step instructions.

How to draw a standing cartoon elephant

What is needed

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• black pen or liner;
• eraser;
• colour pencils.

How to draw

Mark two ovals and shade, leaving two white spots for highlights in each. Draw a curved trunk under the details.

Draw the rounded cheeks of the elephant. Show the top of the head and part of the head on the left in an arc. Add the crest. It consists of several strokes.

Draw C-shaped ears. Mark a small horizontal line inside each. Under the trunk, mark a rounded chest.

Draw the front legs. The one closer to you looks like a cylinder, and at the bottom of it there are arcs that indicate claws. The detail behind is identical to the first, but slightly smaller and not fully visible.

Show the elephant's belly with a convex line.

Draw the second pair of legs in the same way as the first. Draw a curved line for the back and back of the torso. The elephant's tail is a small section with a few strokes at the end.

Circle the drawing with a black pen or liner. Erase the auxiliary sketch with an eraser.

Paint over the elephant's ears with a pink pencil, leaving some free space in the upper parts.

Make the elephant gray. The claws of the animal will remain white.

The full master class with commentary in English can be viewed here:

What other options are there

Romantic drawing with hearts:

A simple way to draw an elephant with felt-tip pens:

And one more simple drawing - an elephant that seems embarrassed:

And this is a bright cartoon version:

How to draw a cartoon sitting elephant

What is needed

• Paper;
• black marker or felt-tip pen.

How to draw

Mark the crown and whiskey of the elephant with an arc. From the ends of the line, drop down two convex lines in a mirror image. These are the cheeks.

Draw a curved trunk. Make some horizontal strokes inside it.

Draw oval eyes. Paint over them, leaving white spots for highlights. Place the eyebrow arches over the details.

Sketch the elephant's crown-like crest. Then sketch out the big ears. They are rounded and taper slightly downward. Step back from the edges of the parts a few millimeters to the center and repeat the contour.

Draw the front legs, similar to two curved cylinders. Make three arcs at the bottom to indicate the claws.

The feet of the hind legs are ovals that look in different directions. Use curved lines to connect the shapes to the front details. And don't forget to add claws.

If you wish, you can decorate the baby elephant. The video will help to understand the nuances:

What other options are there

Very cute and simple drawing:

A funny elephant that releases a rainbow fountain from its trunk:

Minimalistic version of a cartoon character:

And this is a way to draw an unusual elephant:

Pencil drawing option for those who like Dumbo the elephant:

How to draw the head of a cartoon elephant

What is needed

• Paper;
• felt-tip pens or colored pencils.

How to draw

Draw the trunk. It consists of two curved lines that widen at the top and narrow at the bottom. Place some horizontal strokes inside the part.

Draw the elephant's head like a circle, flattened at the bottom.

Mark the ears of the animal with large C-shaped arcs. The details are wider at the top than at the bottom.

Outline round eyes. Shade them, but leave some blank space. In the upper part - in the form of two circles: large and small. At the bottom - in the form of crescents.

Paint over the head with a light purple felt-tip pen or pencil. To make the trunk and ears a little darker, add another layer of color to them. For the crescents inside the eyes, choose a bright shade. Optionally, you can paint a pink blush on your cheeks.

For details of the process, see the video:

What other options are there

Another quick way to draw the elephant's head:

A simple image that requires only marker and paper:

How to draw a realistic standing elephant

What is needed

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• eraser.

How to draw

Draw a large circle. On the right, add a horizontal extruded arc to it. This is a sketch of the animal's body.

Draw a small circle on the left to indicate the head. Draw horizontal and vertical lines inside the part.

Draw an incomplete circle to the right of the head. Show the four legs with straight, tilted lines. Use curved lines for the trunk, tusk and tail.

Draw an almond shaped eye with a round iris inside. Add strokes above and below the part.

Shape the tusk. It is widened at the top and tapered at the bottom.

Use curved segments to show the skin above the tusk and the lower jaw.

On the sides of the auxiliary line for the trunk, outline two more. Connect them from below with a wavy piece. Mark the folds of skin inside the trunk on the right side.

Draw a large ear. It looks like a square with uneven sides and smoothed corners. At the transition to the head, add a few strokes.

Make a small triangle to show part of the second tusk protruding from the trunk.

To shape the legs, draw curved lines to the sides of the auxiliary legs. Don't forget about folds in your skin. Mark the claws with arcs, two of them on each foot.

Circle your back. Make the back of the body angular and the belly bulging. Shape the tail. Draw a brush at the end of the part.

Erase the construction lines with an eraser. Paint the drawing evenly using long oblique strokes.

Add volume to the picture. To do this, brighten the chin, chest, belly, back of the body and the tail of the elephant.

It is worth re-painting the spaces under the ear and above the eye, as well as the trunk and legs. Lightly shade the tusks on the inside along the outline.

If you don’t want the elephant to appear to be floating in the air, “land” it by depicting a shadow under your feet.

A video with the artist's comments in English can be viewed here:

What other options are there

An easy way to paint an elephant in watercolor:

Here they show how to depict an animal in a realistic manner with a black pen or liner:

A challenging but inspiring master class on how to draw a realistic elephant with colored pencils:

How to draw a realistic elephant head

What is needed

• Paper;
• black marker or felt-tip pen.

How to draw

Draw an arc. This is the crown of the animal. Draw two wavy lines downward from its ends. You get whiskey and cheeks.

To depict the trunk, release two smooth lines downward. From above they expand, from top to bottom they narrow. The tip of the part is bent. Draw a filled horizontal oval on it.

Draw round irises. Paint over them, leaving some free space for highlights. Draw arcs along the upper contour of the parts. Sketch the eyebrows a little higher.

Make multiple strokes throughout the drawing to show the folds of the skin.

Draw curved tusks with pointed ends. Place a series of vertical short lines inside the parts.

Draw huge ears. They look like tilted squares with rounded corners.

Draw many fine lines inside the ears to indicate the texture of the skin. Darken the space on the sides of the head at eye level.

Complete instructions on how to draw a realistic elephant head can be found in this video:

What other options are there

Pencil drawing of an elephant's head in profile:

How to draw elephant silhouettes

What is needed

• Printed images of large and small elephants;
• scissors;
• a pen;
• paper;
• oil pastels;
• black pastel pencil;
• black marker;
• masking tape.

How to draw

Cut out images of elephants. Use masking tape to secure a sheet of paper to the table. Attach the stencils to the bottom of the sheet and circle them with a pen.

Draw a circle in the center of the composition with light yellow pastels. The middle of the sheet should be blank. This is the Sun.

Build circles around the first shape. Change the shades so that each next shape is brighter than the previous one. At the edges of the sheet, the background should be red. You can go to the contours of the elephants.

Draw a hill at the bottom edge of the sheet with black chalk. Gently paint over the shapes of the animals with a marker. Draw small blades of grass using a pastel pencil. Remove the masking tape from the paper.

The whole process is in the video instructions: