Learning how to draw an elephant gets easy when you start with a step by step tutorial. This lesson has a nice side view so you can see the entire body.
There’s also a bit of a perspective lesson in that the two legs that are furthest away need to be just a bit shorter than the front ones. A small detail, but important one if you want to learn how to make animals look as realistic as possible.
Students that want to take things one step further, can add a bit of shadow to their elephant. Just decide if a source of light (the sun) is on the left or the right, and then darken those opposite sides accordingly.
Preview of the Step by Step Elephant Tutorial
Materials for How to Draw an Elephant
- Pencil. The Ticonderoga brand are the most reliable, make nice dark lines when you need them, and are the easiest to erase. Buying the pre-sharpened ones will save busy teachers a lot of time.
- Eraser. Large ones you can hold in your hand do a much better job than just the pencil tip erasers, especially when erasing leftover pencil lines after tracing.
- Black Sharpie Marker. These fine point permanent markers make nice black lines, have a good tip for coloring, and never bleed when they get wet. Use them with good ventilation and add extra paper underneath to protect your tables.
- Prang Crayons. These are a bit softer than other crayons so they sometimes look like oil pastels. They also have a some nice brown shades that Crayola does not have unless you buy their larger boxes.
- Crayola Crayons. The reliable brand that always works well. The 24 pack has some of my favorite golden orange and yellow colors that seem a bit richer and warmer than the ones Prang has.
Time Lapse Drawing of the Elephant
Elephant Coloring Page
Step by Step Tutorial for How to Draw an Elephant
Time needed: 45 minutes.
Draw an Elephant
- Make guidelines. Draw an oval body.
- Add the head and trunk.
- Add a front and back leg.
- Erase lines. Add legs from other side.
- Draw two ears.
- Erase lines inside ear. Add two tusks.
- Erase inside tusks. Add trunk lines, eye and tail.
- Draw toes and a background.
- Trace with a marker and color.
More Elephant Drawing Projects
