Kangaroo Drawing Ideas

How to draw a kangaroo step by step

A kangaroo looks tricky at first because of the big back legs and tail, but it breaks down into a few simple shapes. The trick is drawing the body and tail before the legs, so the legs have somewhere to attach.

1. Draw an oval for the head, then a smaller rounded snout in front of it.
2. Add two tall, narrow ears on top of the head, slightly pointed at the tips.
3. Draw a long curved body shape that leans forward slightly. Kangaroos rarely stand perfectly straight up.
4. Add the short front paws close to the chest. They are small compared to the back legs.
5. Draw the big back legs and feet, thick at the top and flat along the bottom, then add a long, thick tail behind for balance.

Darken your final lines at the end and rub out the guide shapes. That last step is what makes a drawing look finished rather than sketched.

Which kangaroo should you start with

If this is your first kangaroo

Start with the plain standing kangaroo or the simple standing sketch. Both face you squarely with nothing else on the page, so you are only thinking about the body shape and the tail. There is no pouch, no prop and no background to worry about yet.

If you have drawn animals before

Try the kangaroo wearing a hat, the one holding a flower or the one with a backpack. The kangaroo stays simple and you are adding one small prop, which is a good way to make a drawing feel finished without much more difficulty.

If you want a challenge

The kangaroo jumping in the air is the hardest here, because the whole body leans forward and the legs tuck up at the same time. The kangaroo with a joey in its pouch is a step below it, since you are drawing two animals in one outline. Draw the long curve of the back first in both, and the rest follows.

What you need

An HB pencil, plain paper and an eraser. A 2B pencil helps if you want darker final lines. Nothing on this page needs a tablet, a light box or special paper, and none of these were drawn with any.

Three things that make a kangaroo look like a kangaroo

• The tail is too thin. A kangaroo tail is thick and strong, almost like a third leg. Thin it out and the drawing loses its balance.
• The back legs are too small. They should be much bigger than the front paws. Even a rough sketch reads as a kangaroo once the back legs are large enough.
• The posture is too upright. Kangaroos usually lean forward a little from the hips. Standing bolt upright makes the shape look stiff.

Kangaroo or joey

Same drawing, different proportions. For a joey, make the head bigger compared to the body, the ears smaller and the legs shorter and rounder. A joey is often drawn peeking out of the mother kangaroo’s pouch rather than standing alone.

Ways to use these drawings

Copy any of these by hand, or download and print them for yourself, for your children or for your classroom. They work as colouring sheets, tracing practice, a warm up before a bigger drawing, or line art for a card. The gift box, party hat and flower crown drawings all suit birthday cards. If you want to use one in something you sell, write to us first.