How to Draw a Cartoon Dragon

1. Begin the cartoon dragon outline by sketching the dragon's face. Use curved lines to outline the eyes, eyebrows, nostrils, and smiling mouth. Draw a rounded triangle to form the horn on the dragon's nose.

Shade a small oval inside the nostril, and large ovals in the eyes to indicate the pupils.

2. Use a curved line to draw the dragon's open mouth, with "U" shaped lines for the teeth. Use another curved line to draw the bottom of the jaw, with "U" shaped lines at the end.

Draw another short line from the eye to the horn, indicating the opposite cheek.

3. Draw two wavy, curved triangles to form the horns on the top of the dragon's head. Then, draw curved lines at the bottom of the horns, contouring the skin around them. Next, use wavy curved lines to draw a frill or mane between the horns.

4. Use long, overlapping curved lines to draw the dragon's neck and belly. Contour the top and bottom of the neck with short lines.

Then, extend a pair of curved lines to form the leg. Draw several rounded triangles to indicate the claws. Connect them with overlapping curved lines, forming the toes.

5. Use curved lines to draw the remaining legs. Again, draw the rounded triangular claws and connect them using overlapping curved lines to form the toes.

6. Use long curved lines to draw the neck, the back, and the tail. Allow the lines to meet at a point at the tip of the tail. Notice, too, the open space in the back. Draw a curved line intersecting the line of the neck. This will become the wing and fill that open space.

7. Draw the dragon's wing. At the top of the line drawn in the previous step, draw a triangular claw, and encase its base in curved lines.

Then continue the line to the wingtip. Draw curved lines parallel to the outer edge of the wing, and let them meet the wingtip at a point. Then, draw the batlike wing membrane using a series of connected curved lines.

8. Use curved lines to trace the remaining wing, form veins on the original wing, and outline the dragon's belly. Then, draw triangular spikes down the dragon's back and tail.

9. Complete your cartoon dragon outline by detailing the wing and belly with curved lines. Then, sketch a bit of flame escaping the dragon's mouth.

Color your cartoon dragon. We've shaded ours green, a common color for scaly beasts. Will yours be a rare gold, a magnificent bronze, a sturdy brown, or an agile blue like the dragons of Pern? Or a fiery red like the Monstrous Nightmare from How to Train Your Dragon? The choice is yours.

For more great Drawing Ideas tutorials, see the 100 Drawing Ideas for Kids post.