Zen Vibes

How to Draw a Penguin

  • 8 steps
  • Ages 5 and up
  • About 15 minutes
  • easy

This penguin is a good drawing for children who want a simple animal with big easy shapes. You only need a pencil, an eraser, and something dark to trace with at the end. Start with the body, then add the tummy, head, face, feet, and flippers. The dotted lines are light guide shapes to sketch first. The black lines show what to draw in each step. In the last step, trace the lines you want to keep and rub out the dotted guides.

What you need: a pencil, an eraser, black crayons or a dark pen, plain paper.

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  1. A penguin guide drawing with dotted head, tummy, flippers, feet, eyes, and beak. The body outline is drawn in black as a tall oval egg shape.

    Step 1

    Draw the body

    Draw a tall egg shape for the penguin's body. Make the top a little narrower than the middle.

  2. The body outline is now grey from the earlier step. A smaller upright oval inside the body is drawn in black for the tummy.

    Step 2

    Add the tummy

    Draw a smaller tall oval inside the body for the penguin's tummy. Leave an even space around it.

  3. The body and tummy are grey. A round head above the body is drawn in black, while dotted guides still show the eyes, beak, flippers, and feet.

    Step 3

    Draw the head

    Draw a round head above the body. Leave a small gap where the head meets the body curve.

  4. The head, body, and tummy are grey. Two black filled circles with small white highlights are added for the eyes.

    Step 4

    Fill in the eyes

    Draw two small round eyes on the head. Leave a tiny white dot in each one for a shine.

  5. The eyes are grey from the earlier step. A small upside down triangle beak is drawn in black in the middle of the face.

    Step 5

    Add the beak

    Draw a small upside down triangle shape under the eyes for the beak. Round the corners a little so it looks soft.

  6. The head, body, tummy, eyes, and beak are grey. Two black webbed feet are added at the bottom, one on each side under the body.

    Step 6

    Draw the feet

    Draw two webbed feet under the body. Each foot has a curved outer edge and little pointed bumps at the toes.

  7. The feet are grey now. Two black flippers are added on the sides, curving outward and down from the body.

    Step 7

    Add the flippers

    Draw one long curved flipper on each side of the body. Each flipper starts near the shoulder, curves out, and comes back in with a pointed tip at the bottom.

  8. The finished penguin drawing has dark outlines for the head, body, tummy, eyes, beak, feet, and flippers, with the guide lines removed.

    Finished

    Trace and rub out

    Go over the whole penguin with darker lines. Then rub out the dotted guide lines you do not need.

Tips for this one

  • Keep the tummy oval centered inside the body.
  • Draw the guide lines lightly so they are easy to rub out.
  • Make both flippers start at about the same height.

Now try this

  • Draw a baby penguin with a smaller body and bigger head.
  • Add snow or ice under the feet.
  • Give your penguin a scarf or woolly hat.

Questions

My penguin looks lopsided. What should I do?
That is very normal with animal drawings. Check if the tummy oval sits in the middle and if both flippers start at the same height, then gently fix the lines you want to change.
Do I have to fill the eyes in black?
No. You can leave them as outlines if you want a lighter look. If you do color them in, keep a tiny white spot for the shine.
When should I erase the dotted guides?
Wait until the very end. After you are happy with the dark outline, rub out the pale dotted lines slowly so the drawing stays neat.

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