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

Rhino drawing ideas are a hit with children who love big, strong animals, and a rhino is one of the simplest big animals to draw. Underneath all that armor, a cartoon rhino is just two rounded shapes — a big head and a chunky body — with a horn on the front and four short legs underneath. Learning how to draw a rhino is really learning how to draw a cheerful grey boulder with a face.

I like this tutorial because it is forgiving. Rhinos are heavy, lumpy animals, so a slightly lumpy outline looks completely right. There are no long legs to get wrong, no tricky mane or feathers, and the horn is a single triangle. Children who find horses and giraffes frustrating often find a rhino is the drawing that finally works.

In this tutorial we will build a friendly grey rhino 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 rhino starts looking like a hippo or a pig. Grab a pencil and a grey crayon, and let us draw.

The 6 steps to easy rhino drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the head and body

Start with the head, on the left side of the paper a little above the middle. Draw a big rounded shape, a bit like a large egg lying on its side, with the narrower end pointing forward and slightly down — that is where the horn will go. Make the head big; on a cute cartoon rhino the head is almost as large as the body.

Then draw the body: a chunky rounded shape to the right of the head, a little bigger than the head, overlapping it slightly so the two look joined. The body should be longer than it is tall, with a softly rounded back and a gently sagging belly. There is no neck; the head and body simply bump together. Keep the pencil light.

Step 2 — Add the horns and ears

Here is the step that makes a rhino a rhino. At the tip of the nose, on top of the head's narrow end, draw the big horn: a curved triangle rising up and leaning slightly backward, with a rounded tip. Make it about as tall as the eye will be, and let it curve gently rather than standing straight. Just behind it, draw a much smaller bump for the second horn.

Then add the ears: two small rounded ovals standing up on top of the head, toward the back, one slightly in front of the other so both show. Rhino ears are small and rounded like little leaves or tulip petals, and they sit high on the head. Keep them small; big ears turn the rhino into a pig or a hippo.

Step 3 — Add the face

Now the rhino gets its personality. Draw two big round eyes in the middle of the head, above and behind the horns, set a little apart, with a small white shine dot in each. On a side-view rhino the far eye may be partly hidden, so draw the near eye bigger. Big, round, gentle eyes are what make the rhino look sweet rather than grumpy.

Below the eyes, near the front of the head under the horn, draw a small curved smile, and add a soft blush circle on the cheek. Then draw a curved line inside each ear for the inner ear. If you like, add a tiny curved line for a nostril just behind the big horn. Keep everything small and soft.

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 short, thick, straight lines ending in a rounded foot. Rhino legs are short and sturdy, like tree stumps — about a third of the body height — and they are wide, because they have to hold up a very heavy animal.

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 fairly short. A big bushy tail would look wrong on a rhino; a thin whip with a little tassel is exactly right.

Step 5 — Add the skin folds and toes

Now the finishing details. Draw a curved line across the body where the head meets it, following the curve of the shoulder, and another curved line across the back half of the body in front of the hind legs. These are the folds in the rhino's thick skin — the “armor plates” — and two or three soft curves are all you need to suggest them.

Then add the toes: two short curved lines at the bottom of each foot, dividing it into three rounded toes. It is a tiny detail, but it turns four stumps into four feet. Keep the fold lines light and the toe lines small.

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 head, the tops of the legs inside the body, and any ground line you sketched. Then color: fill the head, body, legs and tail a soft grey, color the horns a lighter grey or cream, and the inner ears and blush cheeks pink.

Leave the shine dots in the eyes uncolored so they sparkle. Then give your rhino somewhere to be — golden savannah grass, a muddy puddle, a little bird sitting on its back, a bright sun. Sign your name in the corner; every finished drawing deserves a signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

Forgetting the horn or making it tiny

This sounds impossible, but it happens: children get absorbed in the face and legs and the horn ends up as a small bump. Without a proper horn, a rhino is just a grey hippo.

Make the big horn clearly visible, about as tall as the eye, curving gently back with a rounded tip, right at the end of the nose. Add the tiny second horn behind it for good measure.

Ears that are too big

Large floppy ears turn the rhino into a pig or an elephant. Rhino ears are small, rounded and stand up on top of the head.

Draw them as two small tulip-shaped ovals high on the head, no bigger than the eyes. If yours came out big, simply draw smaller ones inside and erase the outer lines.

Long legs

Tall legs make a rhino look like a horse in a grey coat. A rhino is built low and heavy, and the short stumpy legs are part of what makes it look strong.

Keep the legs about a third of the body height, thick and straight, ending in wide rounded feet with three toes.

Troubleshooting

“My rhino looks like a hippo”

Add or enlarge the horn at the end of the nose, make the ears small and upright, and add the skin-fold lines on the body. A hippo has a wide flat mouth and no horn; the horn settles it instantly.

“My rhino looks like a pig”

The ears are probably too big and the body too round. Shrink the ears, lengthen the head a little so the nose sticks forward, and make sure the horn is clearly there. Skin folds help too.

“The body looks like a blob”

Add the two skin-fold lines across the shoulder and hip, and make sure the head is clearly a separate rounded shape overlapping the body. Those folds are what give the rhino its armored look.

Key takeaways

FAQ

What age is this rhino drawing tutorial for? The six-step version works from about age 4 with a grown-up nearby, and most kids around 6 and up can follow the sheet on their own. A rhino is two big rounded shapes with short legs, which makes it one of the friendlier big animals to draw.

How many horns does a rhino have? Draw two: one bigger horn at the tip of the nose, and a much smaller bump just behind it. One horn is fine too, but the little second horn is a nice touch and it helps the drawing read as a rhino rather than a unicorn or a hippo.

What materials do we need? A pencil, an eraser, paper, and a grey crayon or marker for the body, plus a lighter grey or cream for the horns and pink for the blush cheeks and inner ears.

How do I make my rhino look different from a hippo? The horns and the ears. A hippo has a wide flat muzzle with no horn and tiny ears; a rhino has a horn on its nose and small pointed-oval ears standing up. Adding a couple of skin-fold lines on the body also helps.

That is your rhino! Whether it came out sleek and solid or a little bit lumpy, you built one of the strongest animals on Earth out of two rounded shapes and a horn — and that belongs on the fridge. Keep the sheet handy, draw a rhino splashing in a mud bath, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

More tutorials: All tutorials · How to draw a hippo · How to draw an elephant · How to draw a lion