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

Platypus drawing ideas are a favorite request whenever we cover unusual animals in the studio, because every child has a moment of surprise the first time they learn what a platypus actually looks like: a duck bill, a beaver tail, otter feet, and fur all on one small, fuzzy body. It sounds like it should be complicated to draw, and that is exactly why I love teaching it — the surprise is how simple it turns out to be.

Here is the secret. A platypus is an oval head, a flat bill, a long low body, four little webbed feet, and a flat paddle tail. Every one of those shapes is soft and rounded, with nothing sharp or fiddly anywhere. Once a child has drawn the bill once, they realize it is really just a wide, flattened oval, and the whole animal stops feeling mysterious and starts feeling fun.

In this tutorial we will build a friendly cartoon platypus in six easy steps, following the practice sheet below. I will share the pro tips I use with my youngest students, the three mistakes that turn a cute platypus into a confusing blob, and a few ideas for what to draw once the first one is finished. Find something brown and something cream, and let us begin.

The 6 steps to easy platypus drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the head

Start with a single rounded oval, a little wider than it is tall, in the upper middle of your paper. This is the head, and it sits slightly flatter than a perfect circle, closer to the shape of a gently squashed ball. Press lightly, since every line here is a guide line you may want to adjust.

Leave good space in front of the oval, toward one side of the page. That empty area is where the bill is going to sit, and it is surprisingly wide once it is finished — almost as wide as the head itself — so give it plenty of room rather than crowding it against the edge of the paper.

Step 2 — Add the eyes

Unlike many of our other cartoon animals, a platypus's eyes sit small and high on the head, close to the top rather than in the middle of the face — that is where a real platypus's eyes are placed too, since the rest of the face is taken up by the bill. Draw two small round eyes side by side, each with a dark pupil and a tiny white highlight dot.

Because there is no visible nose on a platypus (the bill takes care of that), you can skip straight from the eyes to the next step. This makes step two delightfully quick, which is always a nice surprise partway through a tutorial.

Step 3 — Add the bill

Now for the most famous part of the platypus. At the front of the head, draw a wide, flat oval shape — think of a rounded spoon lying on its side, wider than it is tall, with soft, gentle corners rather than a sharp point. This is the bill, and it should be almost as wide as the whole head.

Attach the bill directly to the front of the head oval, letting the two shapes overlap slightly rather than leaving a gap between them. A single curved line under the bill can suggest the mouth line, but keep it simple — the bill's flat, rounded shape does most of the work on its own.

Step 4 — Add the body and feet

Below and behind the head, draw a long, low, rounded body — more stretched out than round, a bit like a loaf of bread lying on its side. The body should be noticeably longer than the head, since platypuses have a stretched-out, streamlined shape for swimming.

Add four short, stubby legs underneath the body, each ending in a small webbed foot — just a rounded paw shape with two or three short lines to suggest webbing between the toes. Keep the legs short; a platypus stays low and close to the ground (or the water), so tall legs will make the pose look wrong.

Step 5 — Add the tail

At the back of the body, draw a wide, flat, paddle-shaped tail — similar in spirit to the bill, but longer and a little more oval, attached where the body ends. It should widen out from the body before rounding off at the tip, echoing the flat shape of the bill on the other end of the animal.

A couple of short curved lines across the tail can suggest its flat, slightly ridged texture, but this is optional. The most important thing is that the tail reads as flat and paddle-like rather than thin and pointed like a mouse's tail.

Step 6 — Finish and color

Go over the lines you are keeping with a firmer pencil stroke or a fine black marker, then erase every leftover guide line, especially where the bill overlaps the head and where the body overlaps the tail. Clean outlines make even a wobbly platypus look finished and deliberate.

Now color. Our platypus is chocolate brown across the head, body and legs, with a softer grayish-brown for the bill, feet and tail, and a light cream patch for the belly. Fill the pupils with a dark color, and leave the eye highlights white so the face stays bright and friendly.

Common mistakes to avoid

The bill is drawn as a pointed beak

This is the number one platypus problem. Out of habit, many beginners draw a triangular or pointed beak, since that is how most bird beaks are drawn, and the result looks like a strange duck rather than a platypus.

If your bill has come out pointed, round off the tip and both side corners with soft curves, widening the shape as you go. The bill should look flat and gently rounded all the way around, almost like a spoon rather than a triangle.

The body is too short and round

A short, round body makes a platypus look like a generic furry blob instead of the long, low, streamlined swimmer it really is. This usually happens when the body oval is drawn about the same size as the head.

Stretch the body out by extending both the front and back edges, keeping the height low. The finished body should look noticeably longer than the head, more like a loaf than a ball.

The legs are drawn too tall

Long, tall legs belong on a horse or a giraffe, not a platypus. When the legs are drawn tall, the low, close-to-the-ground pose disappears and the animal looks oddly stretched.

Shorten tall legs by erasing the lower portion and redrawing the feet closer to the body. Platypus legs should be short and stubby, just enough to peek out from under the body.

Troubleshooting

My platypus looks like a duck

This almost always means the bill is too narrow or pointed, or the body is too round. Widen and flatten the bill, and stretch the body out longer and lower, and the duck-like look will fade quickly.

The bill and the head look disconnected

Check that the bill overlaps the front of the head oval rather than just touching it at one point. A small overlap, with the mouth line drawn underneath to connect the two shapes, keeps the bill looking attached rather than glued on.

My platypus looks flat and lifeless

Usually this means the lighter gray-brown areas were skipped. The contrast between the darker brown fur and the lighter bill, feet and tail is what gives the drawing depth and makes those special platypus features stand out.

Key takeaways

FAQ

Is a platypus easy to draw for kids? Yes — a cartoon platypus is a fun beginner animal because every part is a soft, simple shape: an oval head, a flat bill, a long low body, and a flat tail. The bill and tail look unusual but they are both just wide, rounded shapes, and children aged five and up usually finish this sheet in about twenty minutes.

How do I draw a platypus bill so it looks right? Draw the bill as a wide, flat oval attached to the front of the head, a little like a rounded spoon lying on its side. Keep it wider than it is tall, with softly rounded corners rather than a pointed beak — that flatness is what makes it read as a platypus bill instead of a duck's beak.

What colors do I need for a platypus drawing? Chocolate brown for the body, head and tail, a softer grayish-brown for the bill and feet, and a light cream for the belly patch. Dark brown or black works well for the eyes and outlines.

How can I make my platypus look extra cute? Keep the bill rounded and gentle rather than sharp, make the eyes big with a bright highlight, and give the body soft, low curves instead of straight lines. A platypus that looks like it is floating happily, rather than standing stiffly, always looks more charming.

And there is your platypus! Whether it came out neat or gloriously lopsided, you just drew one of the strangest, most wonderful animals in the world out of a few soft shapes — and that belongs on the fridge. Try drawing your platypus floating on a wavy blue line of water, or give it a little bubble trail, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

More tutorials: All tutorials · How to draw a dolphin · How to draw an otter · How to draw a beaver