How to Draw an Elephant

With its distinctive trunk and tusks -- not to mention its impressive size -- an elephant is a great addition to the cast of creatures you can learn to sketch.

Learn how to draw this elephant.
Learn how to draw this elephant.

In this section, we’ll show you how to draw the above elephant. 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.

First, draw a oval for the elephant's body and a circle for its head.

Step 1: Draw an oval for the body and an overlapping circle for the head.

Sketch rectangular shapes for the legs and triangle for the ears.

Step 2: Draw four slightly curved rectangular shapes for the legs. Then add two triangles with rounded corners for the ears.

Draw curved lines for the elephant's tail, trunk, and tusks.

Step 3: Sketch some curved lines for the tail and trunk. Put an oval shape at the end of the tail, and add two boomerang shapes next to the trunk for the tusks, one on each side.

Add the elephant's eyes, mouth, and toes as shown.

Step 4: Draw ovals for the eyes and the pupils. Add some curved lines below the trunk and tusks to show the mouth. Put in some details on the ears and toes. Draw eyelashes and some hair on the head.

Use a felt-tip pen to trace the lines you want to keep in your elephant drawing.

Step 5: Use a felt-tip pen to trace over the lines you want to keep in the drawing, and erase the extra pencil lines.

You did it! Step back and look at your finished drawing. Then color it with crayons, colored pencils, markers, or even paint.

Next, we'll show you how to sketch a real swinger. Step-by-step instructions for drawing a monkey start on the next page.

Want to expand your drawing skills? See: