Sladjana
Elephants are the largest existing land animal in the world. As kids, they are one of the animals we always enjoy watching in the zoo.
With their gigantic build, long trunk, and sharp tusks, they are indeed beautiful creatures, which is also why elephants are a common subject for drawing.
However, due to their intricate physical attributes, it can be challenging to draw them.
Fortunately, we have curated a step-by-step tutorial on how to draw an elephant summarized in 9 easy and simple steps.
You can apply these steps whether you want to draw a realistic-looking elephant or an animated one.
Video tutorial on How to Draw an Elephant
Each step is accompanied with comprehensible illustrations that serve as your visual guide as you follow the instructions.
Whether you are a novice or an expert in drawing, we’re sure you can follow these steps effortlessly. What’s more, you can add your own style and improvise in every step.
Feel free to mix and match colors to customize your artwork and make it unique. Let your imagination wander and unleash your creativity. Have fun and use your artistic skills!
How to Draw an Elephant – Let’s get started!
Step 1
Create an outline of the elephant’s face by simply drawing an irregular circle shape. The shape must be relatively wider at the bottom compared to the top, putting emphasis on the cheeks of the elephant.
Afterwards, draw the trunk at the bottom of the face. Draw two lines overlapping the outline with a snout at the tip. The trunk of an elephant should be curved, as shown in the illustration, to make it appear realistic.
Step 2 – Draw the Elephant’s Left Ear
Now that we have drawn the outline of the elephant’s face, it’s time to draw its other physical attributes!
On the left side of the face, draw an enormous ear extending from the head down to the cheeks. When drawn correctly, it should look quite similar to a human’s ear, but relatively bigger.
Step 3 – Now, Draw the Elephant’s Right Ear
Repeat the previous step on the other side of the elephant’s ear. Try to make the ears aligned and as even as possible.
Step 4 – Draw the Elephant’s Left Arm
Right underneath the face, draw a curved vertical line with a horizontal line at the bottom to outline the arm of the elephant.
Elephants are naturally on the beefier side. So, make sure to make the arms chubbier.
Step 5 – Then, Draw the Elephant’s Right Arm
Afterwards, repeat the previous step on the other side of the elephant’s body. Make sure that the arms of the elephant are even and within the same level.
Step 6 – Draw the Elephant’s Left Foot
On the left side of its body, draw a tilted oval shape to outline the shape of the foot. Then, connect it to its body with curved lines.
Similar to the elephant’s arms, the foot of the elephant must appear chunky.
Step 7 – Next, Draw the Elephant’s Right Foot
Repeat the previous step on the other side of the elephant’s body.
Step 8 – Add Patterns All Over the Elephant’s Body
Now, it’s time to add textures and details all over the elephant’s body to make it look dimensional and realistic.
Starting with the ears, draw a line inside the ears following the outline. This outlines the inner ear of the elephant. Then, draw three curved lines within the middle of the ear to create folds inside the ear.
Step 9 – Now, Draw the Elephant’s Facial Features
Give your elephant a bit of an emotion and expression by drawing its eyes.
Draw two upright oval shapes with a tiny circle inside the outline. Shade the entire eyes while leaving out the tiny circle shape unshaded. This creates a dramatic “glimmering eyes” effect, making your elephant drawing look more adorable!
Finally, here is the most exciting part—filling in the colors for your awesome drawing! This is the part where you can show off your artistic skills and your ability to mix and match various colors.
Majority of the elephants have grey skin. However, there are some elephants in various regions that have brownish or reddish skin. There are also a few elephants with patches and depigmentation all over their skin, which is why some elephants appear to have spotted, striped, or polka-dotted skin.
Feel free to color your elephant drawing however you like and use any colors you prefer! And while you’re at it, why not try experimenting with different coloring materials as well?
Bonus: Add Some Adorable Friends For This Elephant
Your drawing of an elephant that you have created with us is looking so cute already! We were wondering what could make this artwork even better before we color it, and we thought that adding some more characters would do the trick.
If you were to add some animal buddies, they could be drawn in a similarly cute style to this elephant. First, you should pick the animals you would like to include.
A good place to start would be some African animals, as that would fit the theme. Some examples would include a giraffe, a lion or maybe a leopard.
Once you have chosen your animals, you could then look up some pictures of your chosen animals. These photos could then be used to adapt the animals to the same style as in the image.
You could choose animals from anywhere in the world, however! When you add these animals, how you pose them is also something to think of.
They could be posed simply like the elephant, or you could have them in more dynamic poses instead! You don’t need to stick to just animals, however.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be friends with an elephant? If you have, then this would be the perfect chance to live out that dream.
Adding a cartoon version of yourself would be a fun way to draw out that idea, or you could draw someone else you know that loves elephants.
Do you think you will add some additional characters for this elephant drawing or leave it as is? If you need some extra help with creating this elephant drawing, we will have a step with some tips coming up soon.
3 More tips to make your elephant drawing easy!
Drawing an elephant can be a challenge, but these 3 tips will make it easier and even more fun!
When you’re taking on a challenge such as creating this elephant sketch, different people will find different aspects to be more or less challenging.
If you struggle with the shape of the elephant’s trunk, for example, even when following our steps it can get frustrating.
A good thing to remember when drawing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time! When someone sees your finished drawing, they don’t have to know that it took 5 attempts.
Take it slow and don’t be afraid to start over if you need to.
It can feel like quite a commitment if you’re drawing with a pen, as one wrong move is there to stay! Ink can be great for the final lines of a drawing, but sometimes you may want to use a pencil instead.
Using a pencil means you can erase any mistakes as many times as you like, and then when you’re happy you can go over it with your fancy drawing pen.
That’s one way to make this elephant drawing easy, and it makes it more fun because there is less stress as well!
This guide has some amazing steps on drawing this majestic animal, but you can use it in tandem with other sources as well.
For example, you could look at some pictures of real elephants to use as a reference as you work on this elephant drawing.
This would be especially useful if you’re struggling with elements like the trunk or the big ears. You can also use this idea if you would like the elephant to have a more realistic look to it.
Using a photo can also help you as you color in the elephant, as you can match the colors to look as they do in real life.
Do you think you will use some photos to help you make this drawing look even more amazing?
Your Elephant Drawing is Complete!
We hope you enjoy this step-by-step tutorial on how to draw an elephant. With this guide, you can surely draw and color an elephant along with its complex features and elaborate details in no time.
And the most fun part is, you can customize its physical attributes and play with various colors as much as you like!
We are always updating our “How to Draw” catalog, so make sure to keep checking back on our website to take advantage of newly uploaded tutorials.
All you need is a pen and paper and you’re all set to start drawing! We are excited to see what you will draw next. We’re sure it will be just as amazing as this one!
Once you’ve finished your masterpiece, we’re certain you must be feeling very proud of yourself—as you should be! Completing this elephant drawing is definitely fulfilling.
Make sure to show off your work of art and share it on our Facebook page and on Pinterest. We’re sure it looks amazing! We can’t wait to see your colorful elephant drawing!
Here Is A Cute Elephant Drawing To Inspire You!
Even though elephants are the largest land mammals, they have to start out as cute babies. This is the form of this animal that we are creating here.
Our artist Freddy has made this cute elephant drawing for kids to help you to make your drawing the best that it can be.
He drew this cute elephant in a classic cartoon style, and it brings to mind many famous characters.
This style also makes it easy for you to draw as long as you follow the steps and look closely at this drawing from Freddy.
If you want a different cartoon style, then you can also simplify some of the details.
When you are happy with how the elephant looks, then you could add a background setting for the page as well. What kind of setting would you choose for this elephant?
