How to draw a Lion - step by step guide

Step 1

Roarrrr! Oh to be a joyful juggling lion. Let’s start with his head and draw something not very lion-like at all… a sort of wonky egg shape, longer than it is wide, a bit square at the top and a bit pointy at the bottom.

Step 2

Now for the fiddly bit – deep breath and focus. A third of the way up to the right draw a small upside down triangle for its nose. Now imagine you’re drawing a thin mustache, curving all the way up to the left. Add a tongue that shows concentration, and two dashes up top for eyes and two small potato ears on each corner of its head. Now relax – one joyful face complete.

Step 3

Now then, here’s a fun fact: lions love nothing more than the wind blowing through their glorious manes. So draw a fun feathery line in a giant hoop around its head.

Step 4

This magnificent lion’s head needs a body! A short tree trunk stump should do it, but make the edges round (no corners please), ready to attach some legs.

Step 5

Yeah baby, let’s get those dancin’ legs in. Tree trunk shapes again, but thinner and twice as long as its body. Angle them slightly away from each other, like a capital A, and push the left one slightly further out. The perfect lion stance!

Step 6

Whoosh, here comes that fine tail. Rather like an elephant’s trunk (with a soft bushy tip) forming a lovely rounded W shape with the bottom of its body.

Step 7

Now for the juggling balls. Draw one big dot right above the centre of its head, then two to the left and one to the right – equal distance away from each other. Oops, Lion’s dropped one, so draw one more giant dot by its right foot.

Step 8

Something’s missing? Ahh, arms with giant paws. Don’t worry too much about fingers – a square hand with a little square thumb is fine, with another little potato shape in the middle for the pad. Ta dahhh – let the juggling show begin!

Time to add some color

Just some final splashes of colour bring your Lion to life. And voila, you’ve learnt how to draw a Lion!

Lion is just one of the characters in The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost Their Name, our best selling personalized picture book. In the story, it offers the protagonist the letter L for Lion. So children named Leona, Eldrich, Lucas and Ella will get to meet one in their books.