If you love dinosaurs, you will love learning how to draw dinosaurs. With the step-by-step directions and illustrations in this article, you can draw dozens of these awesome prehistoric creatures.

Drawing can be fun, and it is not as hard as you may think. One of the secrets of drawing is that any object can be broken down into its smaller parts.

Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur drawing
Learn how to draw this Tyrannosaurus Rex.

By following the step-by-step instructions in this article, you can use this secret to learn to draw many different kinds of dinosaurs. By copying these dinosaurs, you will learn basic drawing skills. You will be able to use those drawing skills to draw other dinosaurs and even other kinds of animals or objects.

Before you start drawing, there are some basic tools you need. Make sure you have a pencil, a pencil sharpener, an eraser, a felt-tip pen, and grid paper where you'll make your drawings.

Throughout this article, the sketches start with larger basic shapes. Draw the full shape, even if all of it will not be seen in the final drawing. You can erase the part you don't need later. Each consecutive step adds more detail until you have the finished dinosaur drawing.

The steps are in color to show exactly what to draw when. The drawings for each new step are shown with red lines, while the lines from previous steps are shown in gray.

Each drawing is shown on a grid. The grid is a tool to make copying the drawings easier. While you copy the step-by-step drawings, look closely at how the lines and shapes fit on the grid, and copy them onto your grid paper. Watch where the lines come close to the grids and where they cross over them. Match them on your grid to copy the steps.

After all the steps are drawn, use a felt-tip pen to go over the pencil lines. Ink only over the lines you need to keep in the final drawing. After giving the felt-tip ink some time to dry so it won't smear, use an eraser to erase the extra pencil lines.

And there's your completed drawing! Now you are ready to color the dinosaur.

How to Color Your Dinosaur Drawings

Now that the line art is finished, you are ready to color the dinosaur drawing. Start coloring with things that are familiar to you. If you enjoy coloring with crayons, use them.

When you get more comfortable with coloring, you can try other methods like colored pencils, watercolor paints, markers, or even colored chalk. Try different techniques on the drawings to see what looks best.

When you are ready to start coloring, pick colors that seem to fit the dinosaur in the drawing. Remember, scientists have very little idea about what color dinosaurs were, so be creative!

Start by lightly adding the main color to the drawing. Some of the dinosaurs may already have designs on them, so you can use several different colors if you would like to. Remember to keep the colors light in the beginning -- it is much easier to make a color more dark than it is to make it less dark.

After the main color is finished, gently add darker colors to areas on the dinosaur that would be in shadows or less light. This usually is toward the bottom or underneath the shapes of the dinosaur. Adding colors this way is called shading and helps the drawing look more round.

After shading the dinosaur, add lighter colors where more light would be. This is called highlighting, and it is usually done on the top areas of the shapes in the drawing. Think of sunlight coming down and lighting the dinosaur from above.

Look at the color pictures in this article and try to copy the light and dark shading of the colors. Once you fill in all the colors, your dinosaur illustration is complete!

Whether you like dinosaurs that are big and scary, or dinosaurs that can fly -- with our step-by-step instructions, you'll be drawing dinosaurs in no time.

  • How to draw Allosaurus
    Learn how to draw this awe-inspiring dinosaur -- complete with sharp claws and teeth -- in six simple steps.

  • How to draw Pachycephalosaurus
    Have fun drawing and coloring in the spots that cover this dinosaur's body.

  • How to draw Brachiosaurus
    With its long, skinny neck and small head, the Brachiosaurus is one unique dinosaur. Learn how to draw it in just five steps.

  • How to draw Quetzalcoatlus
    The Quetzalcoatlus dinosaur has huge wings shaped like sails. Learn how to draw this amazing dinosaur.

  • How to draw Hypsilophodon
    Hypsilophodon dinosaur flaunts stripes from the top of its head to the tip of its tail. Learn how to draw this cool-looking dinosaur.

  • How to draw Ankylosaurus
    You can learn how to draw the amazing Ankylosaurus dinosaur -- with its armor spiked back and long tail -- in just eight steps.

  • How to draw Coelophysis
    In only seven steps, you can draw Coelophysis, a dinosaur with a long, skinny tail and an even longer, skinny neck.

  • How to draw Dryosaurus
    The Dryosaurus has a feather-like fin that extends from head to tail. Learn how to draw this dinosaur in just six steps.

  • How to draw Bactrosaurus
    With it's huge muscles and spiny, ridged back, the Bactrosaurus is one scary looking dinosaur. Learn how to draw this dinosaur in seven steps.

  • How to draw Stegosaurus
    For a totally unique dinosaur, check out Stegosaurus -- its body is covered in bumps, sharp spikes and tall, flat plates. You can draw this dinosaur in just seven steps.

  • How to draw Arrhinoceratops
    In dinosaur times, the Arrhinoceratops must have attracted a lot of attention, with its huge horns and colorful head plates.

  • How to draw Oviraptor
    Learn how to draw the Oviraptor's clawed feet and beak-like mouth in just seven steps.

  • How to draw Diplodocus
    You probably recognize the Diplodocus dinosaur, with its tiny head, slender neck, and tail as long as its body. Learn how to draw this impressive dinosaur in just five simple steps.

  • How to draw Archaeopteryx
    Stretch your creativity by learning to draw the Archaeopteryx dinosaur. Have fun drawing and coloring in its richly detailed wings and tail, in just seven steps.

  • How to draw Ouranosaurus
    The bumpy, ridged back and tail and muscular legs of the Ouranosaurus make it a very cool dinosaur. Learn how to draw it in just seven steps.

  • How to draw Dacentrurus
    Dacentrurus, covered in sharp, pointed spikes, must have been a scary sight to behold. Draw this amazing dinosaur in just six simple steps.

  • How to draw Triceratops
    If you're a fan of dinosaurs, you're probably a fan of Triceratops. Learn how to draw this dinosaur -- with its sharp horns and muscular body -- in six simple steps.

  • How to draw Elasmosaurus
    A dinosaur with flippers? In just five easy steps, you can learn how to draw the water-loving Elasmosaurus dinosaur.

  • How to draw Tyrannosaurus Rex
    Striped back, sharp teeth, short arms, strong legs -- sounds like Tyrannosaurus Rex. Learn how to draw this popular dinosaur in eight steps.

  • How to draw Velociraptor
    Learn how to draw the scary-looking Velociraptor, with its long, skinny tail and sharp teeth, in just six short steps.

The Allosaurus had three fingers and very sharp claws. Learn how to draw this dinosaur in the next section.

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