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

Kangaroo drawing ideas come with a bonus that no other animal on this site can offer: a second animal built in. The moment children realise they get to draw a tiny joey peeking out of the pouch, the whole tutorial becomes a story. Learning how to draw a kangaroo is really learning how to draw a mother and a baby at the same time, and that is a lovely thing to bring to the drawing table.

I also like this tutorial because a kangaroo stands upright. That sounds like it should be harder, but it is actually easier than a four-legged animal for a beginner: there are only two feet to line up, the body is a simple tall oval, and the big tail props everything up like a kickstand. Once you know the trick, the pose is very forgiving.

In this tutorial we will build a friendly orange kangaroo with a joey in her pouch 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 kangaroo starts looking like a rabbit or a deer. Grab a pencil and an orange crayon, and let us draw.

The 6 steps to easy kangaroo drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the head and ears

Start with the head, near the top of the paper and a little to the left, because the tail will sweep out to the right at the bottom. Draw a soft rounded shape that is a little longer than it is tall, narrowing gently toward the muzzle, like a plump rounded bean tilted slightly downward. The muzzle should be soft and rounded, not pointed.

Now the ears, which are the first big kangaroo clue. Draw two tall, upright ears on top of the head, each one a long rounded oval standing up like a rabbit's, leaning very slightly outward. Make them tall — roughly as tall as the head itself. Big upright ears are what make the kangaroo look alert and friendly.

Step 2 — Add the face

Now the kangaroo 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. At the end of the muzzle, draw a small rounded nose, and just beneath it a gentle curved smile. A cute kangaroo has a soft, sleepy-happy expression, so keep the eyes big and the smile small.

Add a long curved line inside each ear, following the outer shape, so the ears look like they are facing forward. If you like, add a tiny curved line under each eye for a cheek, and a small dot or two on the muzzle for whisker spots. Keep everything light; you will darken the keeper lines at the end.

Step 3 — Add the body

Under the head, draw the body: a tall rounded shape, narrower at the top where it meets the neck and wider at the bottom, like a big soft pear or an egg standing on its wide end. It should be about twice as tall as the head. Let the back curve gently and the front bulge a little at the belly, because kangaroos have a comfortable, rounded tummy.

Then draw the belly patch: a second, slightly smaller rounded shape inside the body, running from just below the chin down to the bottom, leaving a band of body on each side. This will be colored cream at the end, and it is the shape the pouch will sit on. Keep the pencil light here; the pouch line goes on top later.

Step 4 — Add the arms, feet and tail

Draw the arms first: two short, curved arms coming down from the upper chest and bending forward, ending in small rounded paws held in front of the body, as if the kangaroo is holding an invisible cup. Kangaroo arms are little — much shorter than the body — and keeping them small is one of the things that makes the drawing look right.

Then the feet and the tail. At the bottom of the body, draw two big, long, flat feet pointing forward, like two flippers or long loaves of bread. They should be noticeably bigger than the arms. Finally, from the back of the body near the bottom, draw a long, thick tail curving down to the ground and stretching out behind, tapering to a rounded tip. The tail should rest on the ground and be at least as long as the body is tall.

Step 5 — Add the pouch and joey

Now the part everyone has been waiting for. Across the lower half of the belly patch, draw a wide curved line like a smile — that is the top edge of the pouch. It should curve up at both ends and dip in the middle, so it looks like a soft pocket sewn onto the tummy.

Then the joey. Just above the pouch line, draw a tiny version of the kangaroo's head: a small rounded shape with two little upright ears, two dot eyes, a tiny nose and a little smile. Only the head and maybe two tiny paws should show, as if the joey is peeking out to see what is going on. Keep it small — about a third the size of the mother's head — and tucked close to the pouch line.

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 arms, the bit of the belly patch inside the pouch, and any ground line you sketched. Then color: fill the head, ears, body, arms, feet and tail a warm orange-tan, and color the belly patch, the pouch and the muzzle a soft cream. The joey is the same orange with a cream face.

Color the inner ears pink and leave the shine dots in the eyes uncolored so they sparkle. Then give your kangaroo somewhere to be — red desert ground, a big yellow sun, a gum tree, a few clouds. Sign your name in the corner; every finished drawing deserves a signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

A short or lifted tail

This is the mistake that makes more kangaroos look wrong than any other. Hands draw a tail the way they would on a dog: short, and lifted off the ground. But a kangaroo's tail is huge and heavy, and it is the third leg the animal leans on.

Draw the tail long, thick at the base and resting flat on the ground behind the feet. If yours came out short, simply extend it along the ground line; if it is lifted, erase it and redraw it lower. The kangaroo will immediately look balanced and solid.

Arms that are too big

Beginners often draw the arms the same size as the legs, the way they would for a person. That makes the kangaroo look like a bear or a rabbit standing up, and it loses that distinctive top-heavy-on-the-bottom kangaroo shape.

Keep the arms small and bent, with little paws held in front of the chest. The feet, by contrast, should be big and long. Small arms and big feet are the kangaroo's signature proportions.

Ears that are too small or too far apart

Tiny ears make the kangaroo look like a deer, and ears set wide apart on the sides of the head make it look like a mouse. Both are common because the head shape is so similar to other animals.

Draw the ears tall, upright and set on top of the head with only a small gap between them, each leaning gently outward. They should be about as tall as the head.

Troubleshooting

“My kangaroo looks like a rabbit”

Lengthen the muzzle a little so the face is more oval than round, make the tail long and thick along the ground, and enlarge the feet. Then add the pouch line — rabbits have no pouch, and that single curve settles it.

“My kangaroo looks like it is falling over”

The tail is not touching the ground, or the body is leaning forward. Redraw the tail so its tip rests on the same line as the feet, and tilt the body back slightly so the kangaroo leans onto its tail.

“The joey looks stuck on”

The pouch line is probably running behind the joey instead of in front. Erase where the two overlap and redraw the pouch curve so it passes in front of the joey's chin. Make the joey a little smaller too if it is crowding the belly.

Key takeaways

FAQ

What age is this kangaroo 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 upright pose is actually easier than a four-legged animal because there are fewer legs to line up.

Do I have to draw the joey? No, but children almost always want to. The joey is just a tiny version of the kangaroo's head peeking over the pouch line, so it takes about a minute. If you skip it, draw the pouch as a simple curved line across the belly.

What materials do we need? A pencil, an eraser, paper, and crayons or markers in orange-tan or light brown for the body, cream for the belly and pink for the inner ears. A grey kangaroo looks great too.

How do I make the kangaroo stand up properly? The tail is the secret. Draw it long and thick, resting on the ground behind the feet, so the kangaroo is balanced on a tripod of two feet and a tail. A short or lifted tail makes the animal look like it is about to fall over.

That is your kangaroo — and your joey! Whether it came out neat and tidy or a little bit wobbly, you built two animals out of a handful of soft shapes — and that belongs on the fridge. Keep the sheet handy, draw a whole mob bouncing across the outback, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

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