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

Moose drawing ideas are a favorite with children who like big, goofy animals, and a moose is about as big and goofy as they come. It has a huge droopy nose, a pair of enormous flat antlers like two dinner plates, and long gangly legs, and somehow it manages to look both majestic and a little bit silly at the same time. Learning how to draw a moose is really learning how to draw a deer's tall cousin with a much better nose.

I especially enjoy teaching the antlers. Children expect them to be hard, and then I tell them to draw two open hands on top of the head, fingers spread, and suddenly it is easy. That little trick unlocks the whole drawing, and the moment the antlers go on, everyone at the table can see it is a moose.

In this tutorial we will build a friendly dark brown moose 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 moose starts looking like a deer or a cow. Grab a pencil and a brown crayon, and let us draw.

The 6 steps to easy moose drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the head and ears

Start with the head, a little above the middle of the paper and toward the left, because the body will stretch out to the right. Draw a rounded shape for the top of the head, and then, hanging down and forward from it, a big rounded muzzle — broad and heavy, like a large soft bean or a big rounded shoe. The muzzle is the moose's most famous feature, so make it generous.

Then add two small rounded ears, one on each side of the top of the head, sticking out sideways like two little leaves. Moose ears are surprisingly small and rounded compared to the huge face, and keeping them small leaves room for the antlers in a later step. Keep the pencil light.

Step 2 — Add the face

Now the moose gets its personality. Draw two big round eyes in the upper part of the head, above where the muzzle begins, set a little apart, with a small white shine dot in each. Then, on the front of the muzzle, draw a soft rounded shape for the nose area — this will be colored a lighter tan — and put two small nostrils inside it, like two little curved commas.

Below the nose, draw a gentle curved smile, and add a curved line inside each ear for the inner ear. If you like, add a couple of tiny dots on each side of the nose for whisker spots. The big eyes and the small smile are what keep the moose looking friendly despite its enormous nose.

Step 3 — Add the antlers

Here is the step that makes a moose a moose. On top of the head, just inside each ear, draw an antler: think of an open hand with the fingers spread, palm facing you. Start with a short stem rising from the head, then widen it into a broad flat paddle shape, and draw four or five rounded bumps along its top and outer edge for the points.

Make the two antlers mirror each other, leaning slightly outward, and make them big — together they should be about as wide as the whole head and muzzle. Moose antlers are flat and broad like plates or paddles, not thin and branching like a deer's, so keep the shape wide and solid with bumps only along the edge.

Step 4 — Add the neck and body

From the back of the head, draw a short thick neck curving down and to the right, and then the body: a big chunky rounded shape, longer than it is tall, with a high rounded hump at the shoulders and a gently sagging belly. A moose is a heavy animal with a big hump behind its neck, and that hump is part of its shape.

Tuck the body in behind the head so the two overlap a little, and do not close the underside too neatly, because the legs will grow out of it in the next step. Keep the outline soft and rounded — there are no sharp corners on a cartoon moose.

Step 5 — Add the legs, tail and dewlap

Draw four legs hanging down from the body: two at the front and two at the back, each a pair of fairly straight lines, a little thicker at the top, ending in a rounded hoof. Moose legs are long and sturdy — about as tall as the body is deep — and that length is what gives the moose its gangly, lanky look.

Then add a short tail at the back of the body, just a small pointed flap, and finally the dewlap: a little rounded flap of skin hanging down under the chin, like a small beard made of skin rather than hair. It is a tiny detail, but it is one of the things that says “moose” rather than “deer”.

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 and legs a rich dark brown, color the antlers and the nose area a warm tan, and the hooves dark grey.

Color the inner ears a lighter brown and leave the shine dots in the eyes uncolored so they sparkle. Then give your moose somewhere to be — a pine tree or two, a lake, some mountains in the distance, a few snowflakes. Sign your name in the corner; every finished drawing deserves a signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

Thin, branching antlers

This is the mistake that turns more moose into deer than any other. Hands want to draw antlers as thin branches with lots of spiky twigs, because that is what a deer has. But a moose's antlers are big, wide and flat.

Draw each antler as a broad paddle shape — an open hand — with rounded bumps only along the edge. If yours came out thin, draw a wide shape around them and erase the branches inside.

A small, pointed nose

Beginners often draw a neat little nose at the end of a pointed face, which is a deer or a horse. The moose's nose is huge, droopy and rounded, and it is the second most important feature after the antlers.

Draw the muzzle as a big rounded shape hanging down and forward from the head, almost as big as the top of the head itself, with the nose area filling its front.

Legs that are too short

Short stubby legs make a moose look like a cow with antlers. A moose stands very tall on long, sturdy legs, and the height is part of its character.

Make the legs about as tall as the body is deep, fairly straight, thicker at the top, and line the hooves up on one baseline.

Troubleshooting

“My moose looks like a deer”

Widen the antlers into flat paddles with rounded bumps, enlarge the muzzle into a big droopy nose, and add the dewlap under the chin. Those three changes fix it every time.

“My moose looks like a cow”

Lengthen the legs, add the shoulder hump to the top of the body, and make sure the antlers are big and flat rather than small and curved. A moose is tall and lanky; a cow is short and boxy.

“The antlers look lopsided”

Draw the left antler first, then hold the paper up and mark where the right one should start and end before drawing it. Make both the same width and height, leaning outward at the same angle.

Key takeaways

FAQ

What age is this moose 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 antlers look tricky but they are just two open hands on top of the head.

How do I draw the antlers? Think of two hands with the fingers spread, palms facing you, one on each side of the head. Draw a wide flat shape and put four or five rounded bumps along its top edge. Moose antlers are broad and flat like paddles, not thin and branching like a deer's.

What materials do we need? A pencil, an eraser, paper, and crayons or markers in dark brown for the body and tan or light brown for the antlers and nose. Grey for the hooves is a nice extra.

How is a moose different from a deer? Three things: the big droopy rounded nose, the wide flat paddle-shaped antlers, and the little flap of skin under the chin called a dewlap. A deer has a small pointed face, thin branching antlers and no dewlap.

That is your moose! Whether it came out tall and stately or a little bit lumpy, you built the biggest deer in the world out of a few rounded shapes and two open hands — and that belongs on the fridge. Keep the sheet handy, draw a moose wading through a lake, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

More tutorials: All tutorials · How to draw a deer · How to draw a bear · How to draw a fox