How to Draw a Penguin
One tall, wide oval carries this whole penguin. The head in step 2 overlaps its top a little, and the face patch and belly in step 3 are drawn inside it.
Face, flippers and scarf
The face gives the penguin its character. The white patch has a small dip at the top center that turns it into a heart, and the pupils sit a little off center inside two eye rings. A small triangle beak goes between them. Flippers follow in step 5, then two feet with toe lines. The scarf is the last step, and it is the one part a child can make their own, in any color or pattern. Across the nine boxes of the 3 by 3 grid, new lines show in orange and earlier ones stay black. Box eight is the finished penguin and box nine is a dashed space for a first try.
Who it suits
This penguin is tagged for ages 6 to 8, and because it is almost all ovals and circles, younger children can draw it too with an adult working beside them. Page 2 has a big Draw yours here box under the finished drawing and steps. Step captions under the nine boxes can get cut off when the page is shrunk, so keep the A4 or Letter PDF at 100 percent.
Draw a penguin in 7 steps
New lines in each step are orange. Where a new part covers an earlier line, that bit turns dashed gray: rub it out.
Draw a big oval for the body.
Add a round head on top.
Draw a white face and a white belly.
Add two big eyes and a little beak.
Draw two flippers on the sides.
Add two orange feet with toes.
Finish with a cozy scarf.
Tips to make your penguin drawing easy
- Make the body oval tall and wide, since every later shape sits inside or against it.
- Let the round head overlap the top of the body a little, the way the example shows.
- Draw the face patch with a small dip at the top center so it looks like a heart.
- Keep the pupils off center in each eye ring to give the penguin a friendly look.
- Sketch everything lightly in pencil, then go over the lines you want to keep.
- Color the scarf last and let your child pick any color or pattern for it.
Penguin outline to print and trace
Print the finished outline on its own: trace over it with a pencil to learn the shapes, or use the dashed tracing sheet for younger kids who are still building pencil control. Both fit A4 and US Letter.
Color your penguin
Finished drawing? Print one of our 2 penguin coloring pages to color the same character in 2 difficulty levels, or color your own drawing with the step sheet beside you.
More penguin activities
Frequently asked questions
What if the first oval comes out too small?
Everything after it gets cramped, because the head sits over its top and the face patch and belly are drawn inside it. A tall, wide oval leaves room for all of that.
Does the scarf have to be one color?
No. Any color or pattern will do. The scarf comes last, so a child can decide once everything else is drawn.
How do I get the face to look right?
Give the white face patch a small dip at the top center so it looks like a heart, and set the pupils a little off center in each eye ring. Both happen in steps 3 and 4.
Is there a way to practice before drawing freehand?
Yes. The page also includes the whole penguin as a dashed outline to trace, plus a short animation of about 17 seconds that draws it line by line.
About this printable
- Made with AI assistance (vector drawing authored by a language model) and checked by automated tests and an AI reviewer.
- Checked by automated tests and an AI reviewer on 22 Oct 2026.
- Free for personal and single-classroom use. See the license. Read the license · How these are made · Report a problem.
- Vector PDF, 2 pages, 186×254 mm art box — prints edge-safe on A4 and US Letter.
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