There are plenty of things to enjoy about the humble elephant; as the largest land mammal, they have an enormous presence and plenty of fascinating facts to set them apart from other animals. Bring your own version of these creatures to life, and let’s learn how to draw an elephant with butterfly ears!
Tutorial Video
Step-By-Step Images and Instructions
1.
Start with a gray pencil, and make a small, curved mark roughly in the center of the page.
2.
Extend the wavy line downwards on the left hand side, curving it in and back out at the bottom. At the top corner you have just created, add a small curved line to block off a shape similar to a curved diamond.
3.
Then, add another line moving downwards, to the left hand side of the curve you just drew. This will create a ‘tunnel’ just beneath the diamond shape.
4.
Add a small spiral shape to the top of the tunnel shape.
5.
Now, extend the inside and outside lines down, joining them at the bottom with a slightly curved line. Then, extend the inside line down a little longer.
6.
Now, add a long, pointed shape, descending from the bottom of the curved line which joins the two sides. This should be slightly curved, ending at a point. This will be your elephant’s tusk.
7.
Return to the inside line, and extend the line down, across and flicked up at the bottom to the left. Then, bring the line down in a backwards “C” shape, and bring the line back up and across in a trunk shape.
8.
Next, add a long, curved line to the right of the original line, and another curved line to the bottom of this, forming an “L” shape. Now, add another tusk below this one, in a “J” shape, with a pointed end.
9.
Bring a line up from the bottom right hand corner of the “L”, and add a spiral to the right hand side of this, just as before.
10.
Bring the left hand stem of the “L” up and in, to meet the line on top of the eye. Then, add a jagged line heading up to meet the right hand edge of the original curve. This is the forehead of your elephant.
11.
Next, bring another wavy line down to the right of this, connecting to the spot just below the elephant’s eye, and creating an empty space.
12.
Now for some ears! Add two curved lines, one on each side, which rise up from each of the top corners of the head, and move up towards the top of the page. When they get there, flick the ends over and down.
13.
Add a wavy line moving down from the top of each ear, and connect the bottom corners to the main head with another wavy line. Make sure the ears are shaped like the top of a butterfly!
14.
Now, add another “wing” just below the first. This time, make the shape a little rounder as you draw the bottom corner.
15.
Return to the top right wind, and add a series of long, thin shapes, which grow shorter as you move up the ear from the bottom. Then, add another shape, this one tall and thin, to the left hand line of the ear, moving upward.
16.
Add some small circles and dots all around the outside of the ear for decoration. Make sure that these are a range of sizes and shapes.
17.
Now, repeat this pattern in the bottom ear, adding circles and shapes all around the edges.
18.
Repeat this in the top left ear, this time adding the circle shapes to the outside left line.
19.
And finish up by adding the same design to the bottom ear!
20.
Now, return to the trunk, and extend the line so that it meets the bottom of the right-hand tusk.
21.
Now for a leg – start at the bottom of the right-hand tusk, and bring a line down to almost meet the bottom of the page. Add a curved line, then follow the line up on the other side to meet the bottom of the ear. Add another curve to the bottom line to create a foot.
22.
Above the top curve of the foot, add some small semicircles – these are the nails of your elephant.
23.
Next, add another set of parallel lines, heading down diagonally from beneath the trunk towards the bottom right-hand corner of the page. Add some more toes to the bottom of this.
24.
Then, add a third leg, just behind the first, heading down from below the right hand ear.
25.
Finally, give your elephant their fourth leg by adding another set of lines just to the left of the one you have just created.
26.
Next, add a tail to the right hand side of your elephant, just below the ear.
27.
Return to the right hand ear, and add two curved lines to each section, cutting across the pattern you drew earlier.
28.
Grab a light brown pen, and fill in the trunk and face of the elephant, leaving a line up each of the sides, where the eyes and tusks are. You can also add a light shade to the tusks.
29.
Use a brown pen to fill in these gaps, giving your elephant a dramatic look.
30.
Use the same brown pen to add color to the back and front leg of your elephant, as well as coloring the tail.
31.
Now, grab a dark brown pen, and fill in the other colors of the legs, as well as the bottom of the front foot. You can also add this color to the tip of the tail.
32.
Return to the light brown pen, and fill in the toenails with this shade.
33.
Use a yellow pen to fill in the details you made in the center of the wings – leave the dots around the edge and the lines around the inside blank for now.
34.
Next, use a yellow-orange pen and fill in the marks around the middle layer of decoration on the ears. Use a brown pen to fill in the inside rim of decoration.
35.
Grab a dark brown pen, and add the shade all around the edges of the ears, leaving the dots white.
36.
Select a black liner, and carefully add an outline to the drawing.
And in just a few short steps, you have created your very own stunning elephant, with unique, colorful butterfly ears. Next time, why not try experimenting with different colors and patterns, to create another beautiful image?
The elephant is one of the most impressive creatures on the planet, and also boasts a reputation as the largest living land animal. They have the added bonus of being incredibly smart, with the largest brain of all living land animals.
Swimming is another ability in their skillset; they can not only swim across large bodies of water, but they can use their trunks as snorkels to help them stay afloat, and swim for longer when crossing large rivers.
Elephants are also sociable creatures, living in large, very close family units, and they show affection by wrapping their trunks around their younger relatives; this is also used as a greeting and a form of reassurance.
This intelligence also helps them to learn and feel emotions; if a member of their herd is injured or lost, the rest of the group will try to help, or locate a lost member. Heartbreakingly, this intelligence also means that they know when a member of the herd has been injured or died, and they will grieve and mourn the loss, even recognizing bones of those that they have lost.
Telling different types of elephants apart can be achieved primarily by looking at one specific element: the ears. African elephant ears are in the shape of Africa, and this allows you to distinguish between an African elephant, and one of its Asian relatives.
In addition to great hearing, they can also make sounds so low, they are below the range of human hearing – and this also allows them to recognize over 100 different friends, simply from hearing their calls.
