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

Chameleon drawing ideas are a treat for children who love strange creatures, because a chameleon is one of the strangest and most charming animals there is. It has a curly tail like a party streamer, a googly eye that sticks out in a little cone, and skin that can be any color you like. Learning how to draw a chameleon is really learning how to draw a friendly green blob with the best accessories in the animal kingdom.

I especially like teaching the tail. Children who have already drawn a snail know the spiral, and here it goes on the end of a tail instead of inside a shell. And the coloring stage is a delight, because there is no wrong answer: a chameleon can be lime green, or rainbow striped, or hot pink with purple dots, and it is still a chameleon.

In this tutorial we will build a cheerful lime-green chameleon sitting on a branch 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 chameleon starts looking like a lizard or a frog. Grab a pencil and a green crayon, and let us draw.

The 6 steps to easy chameleon drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the body and head

Start with the body and head together, in the middle of the paper and a little to the left, because the tail will curl out to the right. Draw one soft rounded shape lying on its side, a bit like a big smooth bean or a rounded loaf: taller and rounder at the left end where the head is, sloping gently down toward the right where the tail will start. On top of the head end, add a small bump — the chameleon's little crest.

Keep the whole shape smooth and plump. A chameleon's body and head flow into each other with no neck, so do not draw a line between them. Keep the pencil light; you will darken the keeper lines at the end.

Step 2 — Add the face

Here is the step that makes a chameleon a chameleon. On the side of the head, draw a big round bump sticking out like a little cone or a volcano — this is the eye turret. On its tip, draw a circle for the eye, then a smaller dark circle inside it, and a tiny white shine dot in the corner. The eye should look like it is perched on the end of the bump, peering around.

Below the eye, draw a long curved smile running from the front of the face back toward the body — chameleons have wide, cheerful mouths. Add a soft blush circle on the cheek beneath the eye. That is the whole face, and it already has more personality than most animals.

Step 3 — Add the spiral tail

From the narrow back end of the body, draw the tail: two lines close together sweeping down and back, getting a little thinner as they go, and then curling inward into a spiral with two or three turns, like a snail shell or a curled ribbon. The spiral should hang below the level of the body, so it will dangle under the branch later.

Draw the outer line of the spiral first in one slow stroke, then the inner line following it, keeping the gap between them narrowing as it winds toward the center. Do not worry if it wobbles; a slightly wonky spiral looks perfectly natural on a chameleon.

Step 4 — Add the legs and branch

Draw four short legs hanging down from the body: two at the front near the head and two at the back near the tail. Each leg bends outward at a little elbow and ends in a tiny two-pronged foot, like a small pair of tongs, because chameleons grip branches with feet that work like mittens.

Then draw the branch: a long, slightly wavy horizontal line under the feet, with a second line beneath it to give the branch some thickness, and a little twig or two poking off it. Let the feet wrap around the top of the branch so the chameleon looks like it is holding on. The branch should run the full width of the drawing.

Step 5 — Add the stripes and dots

Now the pattern. Draw three or four curved stripes across the body, running from the back down toward the belly, each one a soft arc that follows the roundness of the body. Space them evenly and stop each stripe before it reaches the belly line, so they look like markings rather than cuts.

Then scatter a few small dots along the top of the back and down the tail — five or six is plenty. If you like, add a row of tiny bumps along the very top of the back for the chameleon's spiky ridge. Keep everything light and simple; the stripes and dots will be a darker green at the end.

Step 6 — Finish and color

Darken the lines you want to keep and erase the light scaffolding underneath — the part of the branch hidden behind the feet, and any guide lines. Then color: fill the body, head, legs and tail a bright lime green, color the stripes a darker green and the dots a lighter yellow-green, and color the branch brown.

Color the blush cheek pink and leave the shine dot in the eye uncolored so it sparkles. Or ignore all of that and make your chameleon rainbow striped — it is allowed. Then give your chameleon somewhere to be — a few leaves on the branch, a fly to look at, a big sun. Sign your name in the corner; every finished drawing deserves a signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

A flat eye

This is the mistake that turns more chameleons into lizards than any other. Hands want to draw an eye on the face the way every other animal has one, but a chameleon's eye sits in a raised cone, and that cone is the most recognisable thing about it.

Draw a big round bump sticking out of the side of the head first, then put the eye on its tip. If yours is flat, draw a circle around it and shade it to look raised.

A tail that does not spiral

A straight or gently curved tail makes the chameleon look like an ordinary lizard. The tight spiral is the second big chameleon clue.

Curl the tail inward with two or three turns, like a snail shell, hanging below the body. Draw the outer line first in one slow stroke, then follow it with the inner line.

Legs that are too long

Long legs make the chameleon look like it is standing up or running. Chameleons are slow, clinging animals with short bent legs.

Keep the legs short and bent outward at a little elbow, with tiny gripping feet wrapped around the branch.

Troubleshooting

“My chameleon looks like a lizard”

Add the eye turret, curl the tail into a spiral, and put the little crest bump on top of the head. Then add curved stripes. Those four things separate a chameleon from every other lizard.

“My chameleon looks like a frog”

The body is probably too short and round and the legs too big. Stretch the body longer toward the tail, shrink the legs, and add the spiral tail. Frogs have no tails.

“It looks like it is floating”

The feet are not touching the branch. Redraw the branch so it runs right under the feet, and let each foot wrap over the top of it. Add a twig or two so the branch looks solid.

Key takeaways

FAQ

What age is this chameleon 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 spiral tail is the only part that takes a little care, and it is the same spiral as a snail shell.

How do I draw the chameleon's eye? Draw a big cone or bump sticking out from the side of the head, then a circle on its tip, then a smaller dark circle inside with a shine dot. A chameleon's eye sits in a raised turret, and that bump is what makes the face look right.

What materials do we need? A pencil, an eraser, paper, and crayons or markers in lime green for the body, a darker green for the stripes and brown for the branch. Any bright color works, though, because chameleons can be whatever color you like.

Which way should the tail curl? Downward and inward, so the spiral hangs below the branch like a curled ribbon. Start from the back of the body, sweep down and around, and spiral inward with two or three turns, keeping the gap between the loops even.

That is your chameleon! Whether it came out neat and green or wildly rainbow, you built one of the oddest and most wonderful animals in the world out of a blob, a bump and a spiral — and that belongs on the fridge. Keep the sheet handy, draw a whole branch full of chameleons in different colors, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

More tutorials: All tutorials · How to draw a frog · How to draw a snail · How to draw a turtle