How to Draw an Elephant

Elephants are loved for their big rounded bodies, long trunks, wide ears, and tiny tails that somehow make them look even cuter. They might be giant creatures in real life, but on paper we can simplify them to a friendly cartoon elephant through basic shapes and easy lines. In this step by step tutorial we will show you how to draw an elephant in 9 easy steps.

This elephant drawing guide is perfect for kids and beginners learning to draw. You will start with a big body shape, add the head, legs, tail, ears, trunk, facial features, toenails, and color.

Your elephant drawing will start with some very basic rounded shapes to keep it simple and easy to follow along with. Then you will learn how to add the raised trunk, smiling face, big rounded ears, and little toenails. Once these details are added, your elephant will look ready to stomp happily across the page. A tiny stomp, of course!

Easy Elephant Drawing Step by Step

Before you start drawing, make sure you have your drawing tools nearby, like a pencil, paper, eraser, and coloring materials.

The blue lines in the images below will show you what to add as you follow along.

Step 1: Draw the Elephant Body Shape

First, start by drawing a big oval shape near the center of the page. This curved shape will be used as the big body of the elephant.

Make sure it is wide and rounded since it will help give your elephant a soft cartoon look.

Step 2: Add the Elephant Head

Now draw a rounded head shape on the front upper side of the body. The head shape should overlap the big body a little bit like the image below.

This rounded shape will allow you to add the face of the elephant before moving on to the ears and trunk.

Step 3: Draw the Front Legs

After that, you need to add two rounded front leg shapes at the bottom of the big body. Make sure to make the front legs wide and soft at the bottom so they blend with the overall simple look of the cartoon elephant.

Your elephant drawing should now have a rounded big body, rounded head, and two rounded front legs.

Step 4: Add the Back Legs and Tail

For this step you will add the back legs. Add the smaller rounded shapes for the back legs behind the front legs. This will allow your elephant to look like it has all four legs on the ground.

After that, add the thin tail at the back of the elephant body with a small leaf like tip. This little tail will add a cute little detail to the overall look of your elephant drawing.

Step 5: Draw the Ears

For the next step draw the ears of the elephant. First add the small ear at the back of the head, then draw the big rounded ear at the front side of the face.

The big rounded ear is one of the most important parts of this elephant drawing, so make sure to give it plenty of space on the page.

Step 6: Add the Trunk

Now draw the long trunk of the elephant extending from the front side of the head. The trunk should curve up and look like the image below.

The trunk should be wider near the head and narrower near the end to make it stand out.

Step 7: Draw the Face Details

Add the small eye, a short line for the eyebrow, inner ear lines, and a smiling mouth. This way you will define the basic features of the cartoon face.

At this point your elephant drawing should look pretty happy to be here!

Step 8: Add the Toenails

Now you need to add the small toenails at the front and back of each foot. For each front and back foot add a few rounded toenail shapes as shown in the image below.

These little details will help complete the feet of your cartoon elephant.

Step 9: Color the Elephant

Use the image shown below as an example of the elephant coloring. For our elephant coloring example we have used gray for the elephant, black for the eye, and we have left the toenails white.

Once you have colored your elephant drawing as desired, your easy elephant drawing is done!

Printable Elephant Drawing PDF

If you would like to print the image shown below of this elephant drawing as a PDF and color it in, you are welcome to do so. This is a kid friendly elephant drawing activity, and kids can print it out, color it in, and even use it as a reference for learning to draw an elephant in the future.

For more elephant themed pictures to color, you can also visit our Elephant Coloring Pages collection.

If you enjoyed this easy cartoon elephant drawing activity make sure you let us know in the comments below. You can also share this fun elephant drawing activity with another parent, teacher, or friend, especially if your elephant didn’t stomp your pencil too hard!