How to Draw for Kids

Easy step-by-step drawing lessons. Pick an animal or a thing, follow the steps one at a time, then color it in. In every step the black lines are new and the gray lines are what you have already drawn. Each lesson has free printables: the steps on one page, a drawing to trace, a coloring page and a draw and write sheet.

Tips for drawing with kids

Pencil firstDraw lightly with a pencil, then go over the lines you like with a marker or a dark crayon and erase the rest.

Say it as you drawRead each step out loud, draw it, then look at the picture again before the next one.

Fill the spaceYoung children draw small. Show where the first shape goes so the drawing fills the box.

Wobbly is fineEvery drawing looks different, and a wobbly drawing is still a drawing. Praise the try, then color it in.

About these drawing lessons

Every lesson is drawn the way an art teacher would show it: big shapes first, then the parts that join them, then the small details. A car starts with its two wheels, a bunny with its head and feet, a lion with a circle. Each step adds one part, so even a four-year-old ends up with something they are proud of.

When the drawing is done, the draw and write sheets turn it into a first sentence, and the coloring pages have more pictures to color.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do kids learn to draw step by step?

Each lesson starts with one big shape, like an oval for a head or two circles for wheels, and adds one part at a time. In every step the new lines are black and the lines already drawn are gray, so a child can see exactly what to add next.

What age are these drawing lessons for?

Most suit ages 4 to 8. The easiest, like the flower, work for preschoolers, and a few drawings, like the walking cat, are for ages 7 to 10.

What do I need?

A pencil, an eraser and crayons or markers. Each lesson also has a free printable step sheet with a box to draw in.

How do I print the sheets?

Each lesson page has four PDFs for each drawing. Print them on US Letter paper at 100 percent (actual size). They are black and white.