How to Draw a Jaguar (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)
To draw a jaguar, start with a round head with two small ears. Add a long body, four legs with round paws and a curved tail. Finish with a cute face, ring spots and whiskers.
- Steps
- 8 easy steps
- You need
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Black marker
- Orange, dark orange, pink and cream crayons
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Teaching this to a class?
Show one step at a time on the board and wait for the class before the next. The directed drawing for kids page explains how to run it.
How to draw a jaguar step by step
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Step 1 of 8: Draw a round head with two small round ears on top. Add a curve inside each ear.
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Step 2 of 8: Draw a long rounded body to the left, joined to the lower left side of the head.
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Step 3 of 8: Add four legs with round paws and two toe lines on each. Erase the old bottom of the body.
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Step 4 of 8: Draw a long tail that curves up from the back and ends in a rounded tip.
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Step 5 of 8: Add two round eyes, a triangle nose and a smile. Draw three small ovals on the tail.
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Step 6 of 8: Draw rings, most with a dot inside, on the body and legs. Add tiny head spots and a tail oval.
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Step 7 of 8: Add thin whiskers on both cheeks, two or three on each side.
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Step 8 of 8: Color the body orange, spots dark orange, inner ears and nose pink, muzzle, chest and belly cream.
Tips for little artists
Tip: Press lightly with the pencil first. Trace the lines you like with the marker, then erase the rest.
Tip: Make the head big and round so your jaguar looks like a cute cub.
Tip: Mix big and small rings for the spots, and leave space between them.
Make it yours
Jaguar in the jungle
Draw big leaves, a vine and a tree branch around your jaguar.
Black jaguar
Color the whole jaguar dark gray, then draw the rings in black on top.
Sleeping jaguar
Draw the eyes as two curved lines and wrap the tail around the paws.
Common mistakes and easy fixes
The jaguar looks like a house cat
Make the legs thick with big round paws, and add plenty of ring spots.
The spots look like a cheetah
Draw rings with a small dot inside instead of solid dots.
The tail is too short
Make the tail long enough to curve up above the back.
Fun facts about the jaguar
Jaguars have dark spots called rosettes, with a broken border and often a spot in the center. (Source: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
Unlike many other cats, jaguars do not avoid water, and they are quite good swimmers. (Source: National Geographic)
The jaguar has the strongest bite of all the felines, the cat family. (Source: WWF)
Questions grown-ups ask
How to draw a jaguar easy?
Start with a round head and a long body. Add legs, a tail, a face, ring spots and whiskers, one part at a time.
How to draw a jaguar for kids?
Follow the 8 steps above, one new part in each step. Print the step sheet and draw your jaguar in the Your turn box.
How to draw jaguar spots?
Draw small rings and put a dot inside most of them. Mix big and small rings, and draw small ovals on the tail.
If your jaguar's spots came out in different places, that's fine. Your jaguar has its own spots. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.