How to draw a dinosaur
Draw along here, then watch it take a bow. Free, with no ads, no sign-up and nothing uploaded.
- Draw a big hill
- A long neck and a head
- A pointed tail
- Two chunky legs
- Color it green
- Plates and yellow spots
- A little smile
How to draw a dinosaur in 8 steps
To draw an easy dinosaur, draw a big rounded hill for the body, a long curving neck with a small head on top, a pointed tail and two chunky legs. Color it green, add orange plates along the back and yellow spots, then give it a smile. It takes eight steps and about ten minutes, and the long neck makes it the easiest kind of dinosaur for a child to draw.
You need green, orange, yellow and black crayons, and paper if you are away from the screen.
-
Step 1Draw a big rounded hill
Draw a wide, rounded shape low on the page, with a flat bottom and a domed top. This is the dinosaur’s body.
-
Step 2Add a long neck and head
Draw two lines curving up and to the right from the body, then a small oval on top for the head.
-
Step 3Draw a pointed tail
From the left of the body, draw a line out to a sharp point and back to the bottom of the body. Long tails balanced those long necks.
-
Step 4Add two chunky legs
Draw two short, thick legs under the body, one toward each end. Make them like tree stumps: this animal is heavy.
-
Step 5Color it green
Scribble green across the body, neck, head, tail and legs. Nobody knows for sure what color most dinosaurs were, so a child’s choice is as good as anyone’s.
-
Step 6Add plates and spots
Draw orange triangles along the top of the back, and press yellow dots across the body with a fat crayon.
-
Step 7Draw a smile
Draw a short curved line on the head for the mouth and a tiny dot for a nostril.
-
Step 8Give it eyes
Draw two small dots near the top of the head. The head is tiny on this kind of dinosaur, so on paper one eye from the side is plenty. On the screen, press Bring it to life, then tap twice and two googly eyes stick on.
Easier or harder, for any age
Most children can copy a circle at about three and a triangle at about five, so the shapes set the level. The sources are in our guide to what a child can draw at each age.
- Ages 3 and 4
- Draw a big bump for the body, a line up for the neck, a small circle for the head, and a few zigzags along the back. A three-year-old can do the bump and the scribbling, while a grown-up does the neck.
- Ages 5 and 6
- Follow the steps as they are. The neck is the part to watch, because its two lines need to stay about the same distance apart. If they cross, call it a very thin dinosaur and carry on.
- Ages 7 and 8
- Try a two-legged hunter next: a big head with a jagged row of teeth, tiny arms, thick back legs and a long tail held straight out behind for balance. Add a volcano, ferns and footprints.
Make your dinosaur your own
- Add a volcano behind it
- Give it a smaller baby beside it
- Draw leaves in its mouth, ready to chew
- Add an egg just starting to crack
Then your dinosaur takes the stage
Press Bring it to life and scissors go around the drawing. It lifts off the page as a paper puppet, gets two googly eyes and hops onto a little lit stage at the North Pole. From there every key or tap makes it jump, spin or sneeze while a sleigh crosses the moon, snow blows in and a present drops from above. The show is saved as a short video on your device.
A drawing page safe for small hands
This page is for children, so it is kept apart from the rest of the shop. Children’s privacy notice
- Cost
- Free, with nothing to buy to play.
- Ads
- None, and no advertising pixels, session recording or advertising cookies on this page.
- Sign-up
- None. No account, no names, no email, nothing to fill in.
- Drawings
- Made and kept on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
- Works on
- A phone, tablet or computer, in the browser, with no app to install.
What to draw next
Keep a drawing forever
A drawing that has just taken a bow can be stitched in real thread or kept on a necklace. From the grown-up gate it goes straight into the studio, and you see how it comes out before you order.
Questions about drawing a dinosaur
Anything else, write to hello@thecuriousthing.com.
What is the easiest dinosaur to draw?
A long-necked plant-eater like the one on this page. Its body is one big hill and its neck is one long curve, with no teeth or claws to get right. A stegosaurus is the next easiest, because it is the same hill with triangles along the back.
How do you draw a T. rex?
Once the long-necked one feels easy, draw a big rectangular head with a jagged line for teeth, a thick neck, a body leaning forward, two thick back legs, two tiny arms and a tail held straight out behind. The tiny arms are what everyone remembers, so make them comically small.
Is this drawing website free, with no ads and no sign-up?
Yes. There is nothing to pay, no ads, no account and no email to give. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Nothing a child draws is uploaded: the drawing, the puppet and the show stay on your device. Read the children’s privacy notice.
Can we do it on real paper instead?
Yes. Every step is written out on this page with a picture. If you draw it on paper, tap the cross on the page, choose Upload a drawing and take a photo. The paper is removed on your device, and the dinosaur still goes on the stage.