How to Draw a Dragon in Pencil: Step-by-Step Sketches for Children and Beginners

Dragons are considered mystical, fairy-tale characters. They attract a lively interest of children's audience, as well as novice artists. This article reveals the main points how to draw a dragon step by step in pencil easily and beautifully.

The graceful and powerful animal will make a lasting impression on viewers and will be an important achievement in the development of artistic skills. The main elements in drawing are the drawing of the paws, wings, fire-breathing head and tail.

The step-by-step instructions provided in this article will allow you to create your own personal mystical representative of the dragon family.

Drawing a dragon for a child

Step-by-step drawing of a dragon by a child is built on a simple principle. A child of any age can cope with it, and parents can come to the rescue to draw clear details.

Beforehand, it is worth noting the main points on dragons:

They are large lizards. This fact is displayed in the process of creating the image.
There is a great variety of species in shape, size, appearance.
The basis of the image is a real animal. Depending on what appearance the artist wants to give his character.

This data allows you to depict the mystical creature on paper in all its glory and power. Let's move on to the technique of creating a drawing how to draw a dragon step by step in pencil for children.

Let's create an image

How the dragon will look should be thought through in advance. For simplicity of depiction, let us take the prototype of European dragons. It would have four paws, a long neck, a round head, a massive body, wings, and a tail. From its large mouth it can spew flame.

Similar creatures we often see in cartoons, books and movies:

We start the work from the top of the sheet, drawing a small-sized oval. This will be the head of the animal, as it has a rectangular-shaped skull.
Inside is placed another oval of smaller size.
Next, think of the figure and its location, taking into account the insertion of the neck.
Since the dragon will stand sideways to the person, this is taken into account in the process of working out the image.
A few light strokes are made in the back of the head, marking the location of the spikes.

At this point, the preparation of the head is finished. The transition to the image system of the beast's body follows.

Performing images of the torso

Descend slightly down from the image of the head and take to the right, this will be the torso of the dragon. In the marked area we draw a medium-sized circle. Then from the head to the torso draw smooth, curved lines. This is the area of the neck. Sketch of the head, neck and thorax are ready.

Now let's move on to drawing the tail. To do this, one curved line is drawn from the thoracic block, the length depending on the size of the dragon. After that it is circled on both sides by segments, connected at the end with a center line. The body of the dragon is complete, now you need to perform the image paws and wings, this is the next stage of the creative process.

Paws and wings

It will help to draw the paws of dragon to use frames with the centerline. A simplified version is to draw several ovals and circles, following each other down in the chest area and tail. Next, a paw with claws is made.

Wings can be depicted by two broken lines, duplicating them on both sides of the torso. Maintaining the proportionality of the drawing, the length of each wing is determined. An additional line drawn from the end of each broken base completes the image. The side closest to the artist has the wing finished, and from the opposite angle, it goes behind the head.

Working out the details

The final stage of the work, bringing each detail to its logical conclusion. Drawing around the boundary of the auxiliary and supporting figure. Axial location of wings is complemented by two lines, which gives more realistic image of the dragon. It is necessary to draw eyes, teeth, located in the mouth and scales throughout the body, not forgetting about the area of the neck.

Separates the belly in a semicircle from the main body part. The leathery appearance of the wings is complemented by additional lines depicted on the inside. The back and tail should be decorated with a nice crest. A spewing flame can be depicted from the mouth.

Remove unnecessary details and auxiliary line. Drawing is completed, assess the result of your labors. If you want, you can paint it in any color scheme, because it is a magical creature. It can have an incredible look and color.

Oriental motifs to help the beginner

The adult audience chooses oriental motifs in their creative work. These are water dragons and Chinese dragons. As they convey the culture of their people and mesmerize with their free and proud nature.

In this part of the article we will look at how to draw Chinese dragon in pencil step by step for beginners, using simple techniques for a quick drawing. It is worth remembering that oriental dragons have round heads and snake or crocodile bodies.

Preliminary strokes

The sheet should be positioned vertically. Lines of the wriggling body are outlined. It has no pronounced areas of the abdomen, the entire length is of equal thickness. It narrows to the tail part. The supposed shape of the dragon curls, bends and loops.

For a dynamic image, it is better to depict it in flight. In this case, the curve of the body should be repeated at most two or three times. Space should be left for drawing the head and paws.

Drawing the head

The head of the Chinese dragon is large, round, far exceeding the volume of the neck. As has a large number of whiskers and tongues of flame. Small in size, has an elongated skull shape and a long, wide jaw. The mouth is open, inside depicts a long tongue.

The head is topped by small outgrowths, with a thin, serpentine mustache emerging from the nose. The neck will be narrower than the torso, but it is not worth much to highlight it in the picture. The open area of the neck, gives the image a special charm. Traced scales, separated by tongues of flame.

Drawing the legs and paws.

Let's move on to the legs. They have a thick, short cone-shaped shape. They begin to taper towards the feet. Paws, in turn, large, similar to the bird's bony paws, have long fingers, the number of 5 pieces and claws. It is necessary to draw the phalanges of the fingers.

Emphasize claw area, located in the grotesque thickening at the end of each finger. Thighs in Chinese dragon are thick, can be slightly larger than the thickness of the body. You can distribute them over the torso at the artist's discretion.

Portrait of a dragon. Drawing the head

If it is decided to make a portrait image, it is worth thinking through the moment how to draw the dragon's head in pencil step by step, as the fundamental basis of the whole project. Moreover, it is possible to finish the drawing at this point, without developing a creative image. This will save a lot of time when bringing a creative idea to life. Project execution system:

Draw two circles, one slightly behind the other is the base for the head. On the left side just below the main circles, draw a small square symbolizing the nose. Three trapezoids connect all three circles. They expand in the direction of the main part of the drawing.
Next follows the drawing of the neck. To do this, starting with the right circle, you need to draw three curved lines pointing down.
The next step is the addition of the image small horns on his head and spikes on the right side of the main circles.
The contours of the eyes are outlined.
Spikes and fins are traced, if it is a water dragon.
Area of the neck is decorated with scales.
In the nose area are added nostrils and protruding fangs.
The neck is divided into segmental horizontal lines.
Lines that spoil the image and play no role in it are erased.

The portrait is ready. Now you can pick up colors and reveal new facets in the work. You can portray emotions on the muzzle of the beast. For example, a flame flies out, a smile, a grin and so on.

Whatever artistic solution a child or novice chooses, these instructions will allow you to work on the artistic skill. And if some - that fragment does not turn out at the first time, its refinement at the next works, will allow you to perform it at the highest level.

Any creative project should bring joy and satisfaction from the process of its creation, this will create a charming masterpiece with a mystical and proud creature named Dragon.