How to Draw a Turkey (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)
To draw a turkey, start with a big circle for the body and a smaller circle on top for the head. Add two eyes, a triangle beak and a red snood. Then fan eleven feathers behind the body and finish with wings and legs.
- Steps
- 6 easy steps
- You need
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Black marker
- Crayons or markers
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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 turkey step by step
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Step 1 of 6: Draw a big circle for the body and a smaller circle on top for the head.
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Step 2 of 6: Add two round eyes, a triangle beak and a floppy snood.
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Step 3 of 6: Draw a fan of rounded feathers behind the body, five on each side and one on top.
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Step 4 of 6: Add a rounded wing on each side of the body.
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Step 5 of 6: Draw two short legs with three toes on each foot.
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Step 6 of 6: Color the body brown, the beak and legs orange, and the feathers red, orange and yellow.
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 the top feather first, then five on each side. Starting at the top keeps both halves the same size.
Tip: Use bright crayons for the feathers. Red, orange and yellow look like fall leaves.
Make it yours
Hand turkey
Trace your child's hand with the fingers spread. The thumb becomes the head, and the four fingers become the feathers.
Thankful turkey
Write one thing your child is thankful for on each feather. It doubles as a Thanksgiving place card.
Pilgrim turkey
Add a tall black hat with a yellow buckle on top of the head.
Common mistakes and easy fixes
No room left for the feathers
Start the body circle low on the page. The feathers need the whole top half of the paper.
The head floats above the body
Let the head circle overlap the top of the body a little. This cartoon turkey has no neck to draw.
The feather fan looks lopsided
Count the feathers before coloring. Put five on each side of the top feather, and the fan looks even.
Fun facts about the turkey
A wild turkey has 5,000 to 6,000 feathers. This drawing needs only eleven of them. (Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Male turkeys fan out their tail feathers to look bigger. That fan is the shape kids draw behind the body. (Source: National Wild Turkey Federation)
The floppy flap by the beak is called a snood. It helps a turkey lose heat in hot weather. (Source: National Wild Turkey Federation)
Wild turkeys can run about 18 miles per hour. In the air, they can reach up to 50 miles per hour. (Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Questions grown-ups ask
How do you draw a turkey with your hand?
Spread your child's fingers on the paper and trace around the hand. The thumb becomes the head, so add an eye, a beak and a snood there. Color each finger as a feather and draw two legs under the palm.
How do you draw a simple turkey?
Use two circles: a big one for the body and a small one for the head. Add a face, a fan of oval feathers behind the body and two stick legs. The 6 steps above follow that order.
How do you draw a Thanksgiving turkey?
Draw the turkey with the steps above, then add one Thanksgiving detail. A pilgrim hat, a fall leaf or a thankful word on each feather all work.
If one feather came out bigger than the rest, call it the turkey's favorite feather. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.