This cartoon penguin from Art for Kids Hub is round, chubby and very easy to like. It was made for young artists. The dad drawing alongside five-year-old Austin keeps every shape simple: circles, U shapes and little V shapes. You finish by standing the penguin on a block of ice and coloring it in. Plan on about ten minutes.
All you need is a black marker, a sheet of paper and colored pencils or markers.
Why this penguin starts with the eyes
Most penguin drawings start with a big egg shape for the body. This one starts with the eyes and builds outward. That sounds backwards, but it helps kids a lot. The eyes set the size of everything else, so the face never ends up too small for the body. Each new line wraps around the shape before it, like layers of an onion.
The second trick is the head cap. A small U between the eyes marks where the black feathers stop and the white face begins. Once you color the top black, that line disappears and the penguin looks like it has a real cap of feathers.
Markers, paper and coloring supplies
A fine point black permanent marker gives you the bold outline in the video. Use a pencil first if your child wants to erase mistakes. Printer paper is fine for practice, but a heavier sketch pad holds up better when you color large black areas. The finished penguins here are colored with colored pencils: black for the feathers, orange for the beak and feet, blue for the ice and pink for the cheeks. Washable markers fill in the black faster for small hands.
Penguin drawing ideas and variations
The dad turns his penguin into a girl with eyelashes and a little flower on her head. You can add a scarf, a knit hat, a fish in the beak or a tiny baby penguin next to the big one. Skip the ice block if it feels too tricky, and draw a wavy line for water instead. A row of three penguins in different sizes makes a cute family picture. In winter it also works as a card or a window decoration next to a snowman drawing.
How big to draw your penguin
Start the eyes a little above the center of the page. The face, body and ice block all grow down and out from there, and the ice block needs the bottom third of the sheet. If the eyes start too low, the ice runs off the paper. On a standard letter sheet, eyes about the size of a dime leave the right amount of room. Little kids often draw them bigger, which is fine. If you run out of room at the bottom, let the penguin sit on a flat line of snow instead of the ice block.
Common penguin drawing problems
- The eyes are too far apart. Leave about one eye's width between them. The beak needs to fit in that gap.
- The black colored over the eye shine. That is fine. Add a small white circle on top with a white gel pen, or let it be. Austin's penguin looks great anyway.
- The ice block looks flat. Every edge line should go straight down and be the same length. Matching lengths is what makes it look 3D.
- The flippers look like ears. Draw them lower, beside the cheeks, and point them out and slightly down.
Ready for another animal? Try how to draw a bird or how to draw a cat, or start with how to draw for the basics.
