How to draw a panda, step by step

A cute cartoon panda face in seven simple strokes: three circles, three ovals and one short line. Great for beginners and kids, and done in about two minutes.

Draw this panda on screen →Mouse, finger or stylus. Each stroke is scored; free, no account.

You'll need

Paper and a pencil, then pens or crayons to colour in. Or nothing at all: draw it on screen and each stroke gets a score for how straight, round and smooth it is.

Steps

1. Step 1: the left ear

   Draw a small circle near the top left for the first ear. Keep it about a third the size of the head you have in mind.

   

2. Step 2: the right ear

   Draw a matching circle on the right for the other ear, at the same height. Leave a head-sized gap between them.

   

3. Step 3: the head

   Draw a big circle for the head, overlapping the bottom of both ears. This is the most important stroke: go round once, quickly and evenly.

   

4. Step 4: the left eye patch

   Draw a tilted oval for the left eye patch, leaning out and down, a little above the middle of the head.

   

5. Step 5: the right eye patch

   Draw the right eye patch as a mirror image, tilted the other way. Pandas look sweetest when the patches droop outward.

   

6. Step 6: the nose

   Draw a small, flat oval for the nose, centred just below the eye patches.

   

7. Step 7: the mouth

   Draw a short straight line down from the nose for the mouth.

   

8. Step 8: colour it in

   Fill the ears, the eye patches and the nose black and leave the face white. Add a white dot with a black pupil in each eye patch, a little smile curving out from the bottom of the mouth line, and two pink cheeks.

   

Tips

• If the head comes out lumpy, draw it again rather than going over it: a second clean circle looks better than one patched-up one.
• Overlap the ears and head slightly; when you colour in, the head covers the inside of each ear.
• Tilting the eye patches is what makes it read as a panda, not a bear with sunglasses.

Questions

What shapes is a panda made of?

This panda is three circles (two ears and the head), three ovals (two eye patches and the nose) and one straight line for the mouth.

Is this panda drawing easy enough for kids?

Yes. Every step is a single circle, oval or short line, so children who can draw a circle can follow it. Younger kids may like to trace it on screen first.

How do I draw a panda body?

Add a large oval under the head for the body, two short ovals for the arms and two for the feet, and colour the arms and legs black.