How To Draw An Elephant (11 Easy Steps To Follow)
Let me start this tutorial by just expressing how much I love this elephant drawing. It was challenging during my early days of learning but now it’s one of my favorites. And so, in today’s article, I’m going to share my step-by-step guide on how to draw an elephant.
The only drawback to drawing an elephant is that it can be time consuming.
But, the amount of experience you can gain from mastering a drawing tutorial like this is immeasurable.
So, with that being said, let’s get straight into this guide on how to draw an elephant.
Reference
When it comes to drawing animals, it’s best to start with side profile pictures as these are easier to draw since they aren’t 3-Dimensional.
Let’s begin this elephant drawing with the trunk and tusk until we work our way to it’s back legs. Be sure to flip your sketchbook or paper horizontally so that you have more space to work with.
Steps For Drawing An Elephant
Step 1
To start drawing our elephant, we need to begin one long vertical curved line that is accompanied by a smaller parallel line that connects at the end of each point.
These lines should not be very smooth so as to create some texture.
Step 2
If you noticed, I left a portion of the longer line incomplete because the tusk would have to pass it. As you can tell, the tusk extends just a cm beyond the trunk and has a sharp point.
To add some detail to the trunk, draw a couple horizontal line that curve slightly as they extend.
Step 3
In this step, we will draw the elephant’s mouth. To add depth, we will simply create a thicker line that thins out the bottom and curves into the next portion of the face.
Step 4
To draw the ear, let’s begin with a rounded line from the top of the head that slants into a straight but jagged line that curves all the way back up without meeting any other line.
Once you’ve drawn the ear structure, add some details by drawing a bunch of short lines within the ear from the outer line.
Step 5
The hardest part of this elephant drawing is complete. We can focus on the rest of it’s body, starting with the legs.
The front legs start from the end point of the ear. It’s a free flowing line that ends in line with the trunk.
Draw a parallel line that is kind of L-shaped and broadens as it gets higher up into the body.
Step 6
Start drawing the elephant’s stomach with a horizontal line that connects to the front leg approximately a quarter way down.
From around the midpoint of your outer L-shaped line, draw a straight vertical line that ends in line with the other leg lines.
Add another straight line from the stomach that is parallel to the short vertical line.
Step 7
Now, you just need to extend the upper line to complete the back. Where this line ends will be the point of which the tail will be drawn.
Step 8
Add another leg by drawing two vertical parallel lines. One line connects to the stomach and breaks up that line.
The other line should start broad but narrow into a similar size, just like the other legs.
Additionally, complete it’s torso with a line that curves upwards from the leg.
Step 9
From the endpoint of the line that represents the elephant’s back, draw a line that curves vertically most of the way down and turns all the way up until it connects with the stomach line.
This will be the tail. It shouldn’t be too thick either.
Step 10
Let’s draw the last leg before adding finishing touches to our elephant drawing. Because we’re drawing a side profile image, we won’t see the start point of these lines.
So, they’ll connect directly to the elephants body which is the curved line that is below the tail.
Step 11
To finish this elephant drawing, add horizontal lines to each leg. Add some long and wavy lines to the body, one near the back leg and the other extending from the ear.
Draw the eye, starting with the bottom lid, the top lid and then the eye itself which is mostly colored in.
Add some throughout the bottom of your image and you’re done!
Conclusion
Once you’re done with this sketch, you can color it in with a dark grey and color the grass green. Leave the trunk uncolored and you can sit back afterward admiring your elephant drawing.
I had loads of fun working on this guide on how to draw an elephant. I really hope it was just as enjoyable for you to follow.
If so, feel free to check out some of my other drawing guides linked down below.
