The elephant is the giant of the animal world and its gentlest soul at the same time — which is exactly why children adore drawing it: huge but kind, powerful but peaceful. And here's the happy surprise for every parent who assumes elephants are hard to draw: the elephant is one of the easiest animals of all, because every part of it is a big clear shape with no fine details — giant circles and wide arcs, nothing more. In today's lesson we draw a friendly elephant raising its trunk in celebration, then I answer in detail the questions parents and kids send us about this specific lesson.
Prepare a horizontal sheet — elephants are wide — plus a pencil, an eraser, and gray or light blue depending on the little artist's taste.
Steps for the Friendly Elephant
- 1) Draw a big circle in the middle of the paper, shifted slightly to one side — the elephant's head. Yes, that big: elephant heads are truly huge!
- 2) On both sides of the head, draw two enormous shapes like hand fans or wide butterfly wings — the legendary ears. Make each ear at least half the head's size, with slightly wavy edges.
- 3) Inside each ear, draw a similar smaller shape — the lighter inner ear.
- 4) The trunk: from the lower middle of the face, bring two parallel lines down that curve together upward at the end — like a water hose spraying at the sky. Close the tip with a small arc, and add short horizontal lines along the trunk — its signature wrinkles.
- 5) The eyes: two small dots set wide apart above where the trunk begins. Elephant eyes are small compared to the head — that's what gives the tender look.
- 6) The body: behind and below the head, draw a huge horizontal oval — the biggest shape in the whole drawing.
- 7) The legs: four wide rectangles with rounded ends coming down from the body — like strong house pillars, each foot finished with a small arc or three round toenails.
- 8) The tail: a short thin line at the back ending in a little brush-like tuft.
- 9) Final touch: two small white tusks beside the trunk's base (optional — some kids love them, others prefer a baby elephant without), then coloring: calm gray or blue-gray, with soft pink inside the ears.
Your Questions About This Lesson — With Practical Answers
"My child's trunk looks like a snake stuck to the face!"
The trunk problem is always one of two: either it's too thin (fix: draw it with two lines a couple of fingers apart — an elephant's trunk is a thick, powerful limb), or it goes straight down with no curve (fix: tell your child "the trunk draws a sleeping letter S" — the curve is the whole difference between a snake and a trunk).
"Are the ears really that big? They look exaggerated"
Yes, and then some! A real elephant's ear can be the size of a small door. And in cartoon drawing we exaggerate the signature feature on purpose, not by mistake — just as we did with the lion's mane and the rabbit's ears. The child's rule: "if you're unsure about the ear size, make it bigger."
"Everything is drawn right but the elephant looks sad"
Look at the trunk's tip: a trunk hanging down suggests sadness, while one raised up suggests joy and celebration. One small arc at the trunk's end flips the elephant's entire mood — try both together and see for yourselves. It's one of the loveliest secrets of drawing's body language.
"What's next after mastering this elephant?"
Three upgrades in order: first, a baby elephant beside the big one with the same steps shrunk down — an instant family. Second, a water spray: little drops arcing from the raised trunk like a fountain. Third, the side-view elephant: the same body but one visible ear and a side trunk — a perfect bridge toward scene drawing.
"My five-year-old struggles with the four legs"
Completely normal — multiple legs confuse young children. Offer the "sitting elephant" version: the same head, ears, and trunk, but the body is one big half-circle sitting directly on the ground line, with only two small front feet showing. It looks even cuter, suits small hands, and the full four legs can wait a few months until their skill grows.
The Size Trick: How Do We Make the Elephant FEEL Huge?
An elephant on a blank page could be any size — so how do we tell the eye it's a giant? By comparison! Teach your child these three magic tricks, each a single simple added shape:
- A tiny bird standing on the elephant's back — the smaller the bird, the bigger the elephant.
- A dot-sized butterfly near the huge ear.
- A short flower beside the massive foot — a foot bigger than an entire flower!
This is your child's first "composition" rule: size in drawing is relative, and a small neighbor creates a big giant.
The Bottom Line
A giant circle, two fans, and two curved lines — and the result is a gentle giant proudly filling the page. Notice how the whole lesson was big shapes with zero fine detail: that's why the elephant is ideal for small hands still training their pencil control. In the Rasm Kids course, your child will find a whole family of video animal lessons in the same simple-shapes style they loved here.
