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How to Draw a Volcano (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)

To draw a volcano, start with a wide mountain with a flat top. Add a crater and wavy lava dripping down the sides. Finish with a smoke cloud, two lava splashes, a ground line and three rocks.

Finished cartoon volcano, brown with red and orange lava and splashes, an orange rim, a dark brown crater, gray smoke and rocks and green ground
The finished volcano
Steps
6 easy steps
You need
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Black marker
  • Brown, dark brown, red, orange, gray and green crayons

Updated

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 volcano step by step

  1. A wide mountain with curved sides, a rounded bottom and a small oval on its flat top

    Step 1 of 6: Draw a wide mountain with curved sides and a rounded bottom, with a small oval on its flat top.

  2. A second, smaller oval inside the top oval, making the crater rim

    Step 2 of 6: Add a smaller oval inside the top oval to make the crater rim.

  3. Wavy lava under the rim with two long rounded drips down the front and a short drip over each side, side lines erased

    Step 3 of 6: Draw wavy lava with two long drips and a short drip over each side. Erase the side lines under it.

  4. A puffy smoke cloud rising from the crater, the rim line inside it erased, and a small lava splash drop on each side

    Step 4 of 6: Add a puffy smoke cloud from the crater, a splash on each side. Erase the rim line in the smoke.

  5. A wavy ground line at the base with two big rocks and one small rock, and the rounded bottom line erased

    Step 5 of 6: Draw a wavy ground line, two big rocks and one small rock. Erase the old rounded bottom line.

  6. The volcano colored brown with red and orange lava and splashes, an orange rim, a dark brown crater, gray smoke and rocks and green ground

    Step 6 of 6: Color it brown, crater dark brown, rim orange, lava red and orange, smoke, rocks gray, grass green.

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 bottom of the mountain much wider than the top so it looks tall and strong.

  • Tip: Draw the lava drips different lengths so they look like they are flowing.

Make it yours

  • Night volcano

    Color the sky dark blue around the volcano and add a few stars.

  • Island volcano

    Draw blue waves around the base instead of green ground.

  • Dinosaur volcano

    Draw a small dinosaur on the ground looking up at the smoke.

Common mistakes and easy fixes

  • The mountain looks like a triangle

    Curve the sides out a little and keep the top flat.

  • The lava looks like stripes

    Round the end of every drip like a drop of paint.

  • The smoke floats away

    Start the smoke cloud right at the crater opening.

Fun facts about the volcano

  • Volcanoes are openings, or vents, where lava, small rocks called tephra, and steam erupt onto Earth's surface. (Source: USGS)

  • There are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes around the world, not counting the ones under the oceans. (Source: USGS)

  • Erupting lava from Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii is about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. (Source: National Park Service)

Questions grown-ups ask

How to draw a volcano easy?

Draw a wide mountain with a flat top and a crater. Add wavy lava, a smoke cloud, a ground line and a few rocks.

How to draw a volcano step by step?

Draw the mountain, the crater rim, the lava, the smoke and splashes, and the ground and rocks. Color the lava red and orange last.

How to draw a volcano for kids?

Use one wide mountain shape and round drips for the lava. A puffy cloud on top makes it look like it is erupting.

If your lava came out extra drippy, that's fine. Your volcano is full of fire. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.

Step 1 of 6

A wide mountain with curved sides, a rounded bottom and a small oval on its flat top
Draw a wide mountain with curved sides and a rounded bottom, with a small oval on its flat top.