In this free art lesson, you'll learn how to draw a triceratops dinosaur step-by-step. Triceratops means "three-horned face." In addition to adding three horns on this dinosaur, you'll also draw a large bony frill on its head. Because of these characteristics, Triceratops is one of the most well-known dinosaurs and is very fun to draw! It lived at the same time as the Tyrannosaurus and was likely hunted by it, so if you want another dinosaur after this, check out this T. rex tutorial>>

How to Draw a Triceratops Dino


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All of the tutorials on How2DrawAnimals.com are good drawing tutorials for beginners and experienced artists alike. The online tutorials are easy to follow; they teach you the art basics while showing you how to draw animals step by step. Each animal has a video tutorial option, as well as step-by-step photos and written text to follow.

To draw this triceratops dinosaur step by step, follow along with the video tutorial below and pause the video after each step to go at your own pace. You may find it easier to follow the step-by-step images below the video. The new lines in each step are shown in red, so you'll know exactly what to sketch next. You may want to open the video in a new tab and use both drawing methods. Take your time and create art at your own pace.

Below you can watch a narrated step-by-step video tutorial:



For the first few steps, don't press down too hard with your pencil. Use light, smooth strokes to begin so that it's easy to erase if you make a mistake.



How to Draw a Triceratops 1

Step 1: With your pencil, lightly sketch three circles overlapping each other as guides for the triceratops' body and head. The circles don't have to be perfect. They're just guides. The circle on the left should be higher and smaller than the others. So your finished art piece looks anatomically correct, pay close attention to your sketch in these early stages. Make sure to get the sizes at the correct proportions now.



How to Draw a Triceratops 2

Step 2: Draw two curved lines within the head shape to help you place the dinosaur's facial features later on. Under the body circles, make four guides for the legs. Bend the lines to indicate the joints on the legs. Note how long these leg guides are in relation to the body.







How to Draw a Triceratops 3

Step 3: Using the guidelines in the head, sketch another, smaller circle coming off the head circle. This creates the guide for the triceratops' muzzle. Draw the guide for the large frill on top of the head.



How to Draw a Triceratops 4

Step 4: Two lines coming off the top of the head will help you draw the triceratops' horns later on. Draw the tail at the end of the dinosaur's body with two curved lines that come to a point at the end.

That's it for the guidelines! From this point on, press down harder with your pencil for a more defined rendering of a triceratops dinosaur.



How to Draw a Triceratops 5

Step 5: Draw the triceratops' eye inside using your original sketch lines as guides for placement. The shape of the eye is similar to a football. Add a circle inside of it for the eyeball. Shade the pupil and add a tiny circle to represent glare. Make some small curved lines above the eye for the brow and more lines under it for extra detail.

Inside the small circle, sketch in this dinosaur's open mouth and tongue. The beaklike mouth comes to a point near the middle. Draw a lines around the triceratops' beak and inside the mouth for the tongue. We know the skull shape of this dinosaur from fossil records, but no one knows exactly what the triceratops looked like when it lived in the Late Cretaceous period. To help you draw, you can use artistic renderings as reference to see different angles of what the mouth could have looked like.

How to Draw a Triceratops 6

Step 6: Draw the triceratops' three horns and the little nostril using the guidelines for placement. Using smooth lines for the horns and taper the shapes up to a point at the tips. Add some short lines around the horn bases to indicate the skin there. For the nostril, create a small line that looks like an open parenthesis "(" and a comma-like shape "," inside the smallest circle guide.



How to Draw a Triceratops 7

Step 7: Use the arc above the head as a guide to draw the triceratops' frill. Follow the line and add tiny triangle-like shapes all around to form the bony part of the frill called the epoccipitals. Add some additional lines throughout the dinosaur's frill and neck to finish up the head. Note the additional horn-like protrusion on the cheek.



How to Draw a Triceratops 8

Step 8: Use the lines under the body as guides to draw this dinosaur's legs. Lightly pencil in the shape at first to get the structure right, bending the limbs at the joints. When you're happy with what you have, go ahead and darken it. Sketch a few curved lines throughout to indicate the creases on the skin and muscle structure. Add four digits at the bottom using a few curved lines.







How to Draw a Triceratops 9

Step 9: Use the lines under the back portion of the body as guides to draw the triceratops' hind legs. Note how the leg on this side of the body differs in structure from the front legs. (The other hind leg is mostly hidden.) The curves you create with your pencil should make the legs look muscular. At the bottom, add the digits just as you did with the front feet.



How to Draw a Triceratops 10

Step 10: Draw the rest of the triceratops' body by using the lines as guides. Draw a few bumps throughout the dinosaur's skin for a rougher look as you darken the guide lines.



How to Draw a Triceratops 11

Step 11: For a cleaner look, erase as much as you can of the initial guide lines. Don't worry about erasing all of them. It's okay to leave some behind. Also re-draw any final sketch lines that you may have accidentally erased.



How to Draw a Triceratops Last

Final Step: Add some shading to your triceratops to give it more dimension and volume. Pick the direction of the light source when shading so that the shadows are consistent with it. Vary the pressure on your pencil to get different degrees of tonal value. Add a cast shadow underneath your dinosaur. This helps ground the triceratops so it doesn't appear to be floating.

You can add more value throughout your triceratops drawing for extra detail. Nobody is exactly sure as to what a triceratops dinosaur looked like, so this part is up to you! Add spots or patches or even stripes! If you want this look, add a solid value first. Then add random squiggly lines all over that resemble spots.

You can PAUSE the video to use this drawing as reference and at any other time you need help.

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