How to draw a camel — easy step by step drawing ideas

Camel drawing ideas always come with a question in the studio — “one hump or two?” — and I always answer “two, because it is more fun.” A camel is a wonderfully odd-looking animal, with its long bendy neck, its droopy sleepy face and those big pillowy humps, and children find it very satisfying to draw. Learning how to draw a camel is really learning how to draw a horse with a much more interesting back.

I also love the saddle blanket. Once the camel is finished, children get to design a tiny rug to sit between the humps, with stripes and tassels and whatever colors they like. It is a small canvas inside the drawing, and it is the part most young artists spend the longest on. A camel with a beautiful blanket looks like it is about to set off on an adventure.

In this tutorial we will build a friendly sandy camel with two humps and a red saddle blanket in six easy steps, following the practice sheet below. I will share the pro tips I use when teaching it, the mistakes that trip up nearly every beginner, and quick fixes for when your camel starts looking like a horse or a llama. Grab a pencil and a tan crayon, and let us draw.

The 6 steps to easy camel drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the head and neck

Start with the head, near the top left of the paper, because the neck will drop down from it and the body will stretch out to the right. Draw a rounded shape that is a little longer than it is tall, with a soft, slightly drooping muzzle at the front — camels have a gentle, sleepy sort of face, and a downward-curving muzzle captures it.

Then the neck. From the back of the head, draw two lines curving down and back in a gentle S: dropping down first, bending slightly forward, then curving back toward where the chest will be. The neck should be long — longer than the head — and about the same thickness all the way down. Keep the pencil light.

Step 2 — Add the face and ears

Now the camel gets its personality. Draw two big round eyes in the upper part of the head, set a little apart, with a small white shine dot in each — and give each eye two or three little eyelashes, because camels are famous for their long lashes and it makes the face instantly sweeter. At the end of the muzzle draw two small nostrils, and beneath them a gentle smile.

Then add two small rounded ears on top of the head toward the back, and a little tuft of hair between them — three or four small rounded bumps, like a tiny mop. The tuft is a small detail, but it is one of the things that says “camel” rather than “horse”.

Step 3 — Add the body and humps

Here is the step that makes a camel a camel. From the bottom of the neck, draw the body stretching out to the right: a long rounded shape with a gently curved belly. Then, along the top of the back, draw two big rounded humps side by side, like two hills or two scoops of ice cream, with a small dip between them. The humps should rise well above the line of the back.

Make the humps generous and round — they are the camel's most famous feature, and small timid humps look like a lumpy horse. Let the front hump start just behind the neck and the back hump end just before the rear of the body. Do not close off the underside too neatly; the legs will grow out of it next.

Step 4 — Add the legs and tail

Draw four legs hanging down from the body: two at the front and two at the back, each a pair of long, fairly straight lines, slightly knobbly at the knee if you like, ending in a wide rounded foot. Camel legs are long — about as tall as the body is deep — and their feet are big soft pads, wider than the leg, for walking on sand.

Then the tail: a thin line hanging down from the back of the body, curving gently, with a small teardrop-shaped tuft at the tip. Keep it thin and not too long. Line all four feet up along the same imaginary ground line so the camel stands evenly.

Step 5 — Add the saddle blanket

Now the fun part. In the dip between the two humps, draw a small blanket hanging down over the side of the body: a rectangle with a gently curved top that follows the shape of the back, and a straight bottom edge with a row of tiny dangling tassels. Inside the blanket, add a simple pattern — a diamond in the middle, a stripe along the edge, or a row of dots. Keep it small enough to fit neatly between the humps.

Then draw a short curved line across each foot, just above the pad, so the feet look like separate shapes from the legs. If you like, add a small curved line at each knee. Those little lines finish the legs and make the camel look ready to walk.

Step 6 — Finish and color

Darken the lines you want to keep and erase the light scaffolding underneath — the part of the body hidden behind the neck, the tops of the legs inside the body, and any ground line you sketched. Then color: fill the head, neck, body, humps and legs a warm sandy tan, and color the feet and the tail tuft a darker brown. The hair tuft on the head can be a slightly darker tan too.

Color the saddle blanket bright red with a gold pattern and gold tassels, and leave the shine dots in the eyes uncolored so they sparkle. Then give your camel somewhere to be — rolling yellow sand dunes, a big orange sun, a palm tree, a pyramid in the distance. Sign your name in the corner; every finished drawing deserves a signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

Humps that are too small

This is the mistake that turns more camels into horses than any other. Small timid bumps on the back look like a saddle or a mistake rather than proper humps, and the camel loses its whole character.

Make the humps big, round and clearly separate, rising well above the line of the back with a dip between them. If yours came out small, simply draw bigger curves around them and erase the small ones.

A straight, stiff neck

Beginners often draw the neck as a straight tube from head to body, which makes the camel look like a coat rack. The camel's neck is long and curved, and the curve is where its grace comes from.

Give the neck a gentle S: down from the head, slightly forward, then back into the chest. Draw each side in one slow stroke and keep the thickness the same all the way down.

Tiny feet

Camel feet are big soft pads, wider than the legs, made for walking on sand. Tiny hooves make the camel look like a deer on stilts.

Draw each foot as a wide rounded pad, a little broader than the leg above it, with a short line across the top to separate it from the leg.

Troubleshooting

“My camel looks like a horse”

Enlarge the humps until they rise clearly above the back, add the hair tuft between the ears, and give the face a droopier muzzle with long lashes. Widen the feet into pads. The humps alone usually fix it.

“My camel looks like a llama”

The neck is probably too upright and the body too fluffy. Curve the neck forward into an S, keep the body outline smooth, and make sure the humps are big and round. Llamas have no humps.

“The legs look wrong”

They are probably too short or not lined up. Lengthen them to about the depth of the body, keep them fairly straight with a small knee bump, and make sure all four feet touch the same ground line.

Key takeaways

FAQ

What age is this camel drawing tutorial for? The six-step version works from about age 5 with a grown-up nearby, and most kids around 7 and up can follow the sheet on their own. The humps are the fun part and they are just two bumps on the back.

One hump or two? Either is correct: dromedary camels have one hump and Bactrian camels have two. This tutorial uses two because it looks friendlier and gives the saddle blanket somewhere to sit, but leave one out if you prefer.

What materials do we need? A pencil, an eraser, paper, and crayons or markers in sandy tan or light brown for the body, plus red and gold for the saddle blanket. Dark brown for the feet is a nice extra.

How do I draw the long neck without it looking stiff? Curve it like a gentle S: it drops down from the head, bends forward a little, then curves back into the chest. Draw it in one slow stroke and keep it the same thickness. A straight neck makes the camel look like a coat rack.

That is your camel! Whether the humps came out perfectly matched or a little bit lopsided, you built the ship of the desert out of a few curves and two scoops of ice cream — and that belongs on the fridge. Keep the sheet handy, draw a whole caravan crossing the dunes, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

More tutorials: All tutorials · How to draw a llama · How to draw a horse · How to draw a giraffe