How to Draw a Snow Leopard (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)
To draw a snow leopard, start with a big round head and two rounded ears. Add a sitting body, a long curling tail and a cute face. Finish with spots all over and color it gray.
- Steps
- 8 easy steps
- You need
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Black marker
- Light gray, dark gray and pink 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 snow leopard step by step
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Step 1 of 8: Draw a big round head with a flat bottom and a small bump on the lower right side.
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Step 2 of 8: Add two rounded ears with a curved line inside each. Erase the head line in the left ear.
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Step 3 of 8: Draw a sitting body with a curved back, a round back leg, two front legs and paws with toe lines.
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Step 4 of 8: Add a long, thick tail that rises behind the back and curls over at the tip.
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Step 5 of 8: Draw two big round eyes. Fill each one black, but leave a white edge and a shine dot.
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Step 6 of 8: Add two curved eyebrows, a small rounded triangle nose and a smile shaped like a w.
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Step 7 of 8: Draw rounded spots on the head, body and tail, and two tiny dots on the forehead.
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Step 8 of 8: Color the snow leopard light gray, the spots dark gray, and the inner ears and nose 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: Make the tail almost as long as the body and keep it thick all the way to the curl.
Tip: Draw the spots in different sizes so they look natural and not like a pattern.
Make it yours
Snow leopard on a rock
Draw a big gray rock under the paws and a few snowy mountain peaks behind it.
Snow leopard cub
Make the head even bigger and the body smaller to draw a baby snow leopard.
Sleeping snow leopard
Draw the cat lying down with closed eyes and its tail wrapped around its body.
Common mistakes and easy fixes
The snow leopard looks like a house cat
Give it a long, thick tail and lots of dark rounded spots.
The tail looks too thin
Draw two lines far apart for the tail and keep the space between them wide.
The spots look messy
Draw each spot as a small closed shape and leave gray space between them.
Fun facts about the snow leopard
A snow leopard's large paws work like snowshoes, letting the cat walk on snow without sinking. (Source: National Geographic Kids)
At night, snow leopards curl their tails around their bodies like a cozy scarf to keep warm. (Source: National Geographic Kids)
The snow leopard's long, thick tail helps with balance and is sometimes as long as the cat's body. (Source: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
Questions grown-ups ask
How to draw a snow leopard easy?
Start with a big round head and two rounded ears. Add a sitting body, a long tail, a face and spots one part at a time.
How to draw a snow leopard for kids?
Follow the 8 steps above, one new part in each step. Print the step sheet and draw your snow leopard in the Your turn box.
How to draw a snow leopard face?
Draw two big black eyes with white shine spots and two curved eyebrows. Add a small pink nose and a smile shaped like a w.
If your snow leopard's tail curls a different way, that's fine. Your snow leopard has its own style. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.