How to Draw a Reindeer (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)
To draw a reindeer, start with a round head and a wide oval muzzle at the bottom. Add two pointed ears and two branching antlers. Finish with the eyes, a big round nose, rosy cheeks and a smile.
- Steps
- 6 easy steps
- You need
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Black marker
- Brown, red, pink and tan 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 reindeer step by step
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Step 1 of 6: Draw a round head with a wide oval muzzle at the bottom.
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Step 2 of 6: Add a pointed ear on each side of the head, with a line inside each one.
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Step 3 of 6: Draw two branching antlers on top of the head.
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Step 4 of 6: Add two oval eyes with a shine dot and a big round nose at the top of the muzzle.
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Step 5 of 6: Draw two small cheek circles and a smile under the nose.
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Step 6 of 6: Color the head brown, the antlers dark brown, the muzzle tan, the nose bright red and the cheeks pink.
Tips for little artists
Tip: Press lightly with the pencil first. Trace the lines you like with the marker, then erase the rest.
Tip: Draw each antler as one thick branch with two bumps on the side. Rounded tips are easier than sharp points.
Tip: Leave a white dot in each oval eye. That small shine makes the reindeer look alive.
Make it yours
Red-nosed reindeer
Color the nose bright red and add short lines around it, so it looks like it is glowing.
Reindeer in a hat
Put a small Santa hat between the antlers, with a fluffy brim and a pom-pom.
Reindeer ornament
Draw the face inside a circle and add a loop on top. Cut it out and hang it on the tree.
Common mistakes and easy fixes
The antlers look like sticks
Draw each antler with two outlines, like a thick tube. Add the side branches with the same thickness.
The muzzle floats off the face
Let the muzzle overlap the bottom of the head. Erase the head line that runs inside it.
The ears and antlers crowd together
Put the ears on the sides of the head and the antlers on top. Leave a small gap between them.
Fun facts about the reindeer
Reindeer and caribou are the same species. Domesticated and semi-domesticated caribou are called reindeer. (Source: Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Caribou are the only member of the deer family in which both males and females grow antlers. (Source: Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Reindeer tend to have shorter legs and slightly larger noses than caribou. (Source: Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Caribou shed their antlers every year. Each antler has a long, sweeping main beam up to five feet wide. (Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Questions grown-ups ask
How do you draw a reindeer face?
Start with a round head and a wide oval muzzle at the bottom. Add ears on the sides, antlers on top, two eyes and a big round nose. The 6 steps above show each part.
How do you draw a cute reindeer?
Give it a big round head, a wide muzzle and large eyes with a white shine dot. Pink cheeks, a small smile and a red nose finish the cute look.
How do you draw an easy reindeer?
Draw only the face, not the whole body. A head, a muzzle, ears, antlers and a red nose are enough for a cute reindeer.
If one antler came out bigger than the other, that's fine. Your reindeer still looks like a reindeer. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.