How to Draw an Alligator

Alligators are amazing reptiles found in only the southeastern United States and China. Learning to draw this impressive animal will hone your artistic talents.

Learn how to draw this alligator.
Learn how to draw this alligator.

In this section, we’ll show you how to draw the above alligator. Either draw it freehand while looking at your computer monitor or print out this page to get a closer look at each step.

Follow the red lines in each illustration to learn exactly what to draw in that step. The lines drawn in previous steps are shown in gray. We’ll show you an illustration of each step and then give you a description of how to draw it.

Start by drawing shapes for the alligator's body, head, and tail.

Step 1: Draw a large oval for the body, then another smaller oval for the head and snout. Add two rounded rectangular shapes for the curving tail.

Draw ovals for the top of the alligator's head, and its nose and legs.

Step 2: Add more ovals for the top of the head, the nose, and the upper part of each leg on this side.

Next, draw rectangles for the alligator's legs and circles for the eyes.

Step 3: Draw rounded rectangles for the lower legs. Sketch two circles with black dots in the center for the eyes. Don't forget to include the white dot in the pupils.

Draw the alligator's nostrils, mouth, eyebrows, belly, and tail detail.

Step 4: Add ovals for the nostrils. Draw curved lines for the mouth, eyebrows, belly, and underside of tail.

Sketch the alligator's claws and scales.

Step 5: Sketch triangle shapes for the claws. Add lines on the belly and tail to show scales. Draw lumps along the back for more scale details.

Finish by tracing over the lines you want to keep in the alligator drawing.

Step 6: Use a felt-tip pen to trace over the lines you want to keep, and erase the extra pencil lines.

From water to land, we move from alligators to camels, an animal that's just as easy to draw as alligators with our step-by-step instructions. Read the next section to find out how.

Want to expand your drawing skills? See: