Lion Drawings

These lion drawings are easy to copy because they contain the basic lines needed for portrayal.

I've tried to simplify this animal as much as I could to provide you with a good outline to copy. Even if this isn't your favorite subject, grab a piece of paper and see what results you can achieve by copying an image that you perceive as do-able.

Really, I found these pencil drawings of lions were fairly easy to do.

Just lightly sketch in some thin lines (or use the side of your pencil) to give the impression of muscles and shading. You'll find that it turns out really good.

Learn About Lions

Lions are large, powerful, tawny colored wild cats.

They live in a family group called a pride. This pride can consist of up to 35 lions or so.

Lions hunt for hoofed animals such as deer, antelope and zebras.

They live in areas where those animals are found and also near a water supply.

A lion roars or leaves a scent to warn other animals to stay out of his territory.

Here we have a lion resting after a meal.

A large meal can satisfy a lion for days.

Male lions have a mane of long thick hair that covers their head, down to the shoulders and chest. It doesn't cover their face.

The lion is built for strength rather than speed and the mane makes him look bigger than he really is.

Their coloring helps them blend into their surroundings. They are similar to the color of dead grass, so they can sneak up on their prey without being seen.

Lions can live up to 25 years old.

Female lions, called lionesses, are smaller than the male and have no mane.

They do most of the hunting because they have to feed the cubs too.

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice doing an outline until you are satisfied with the resulting picture. Then, proceed to complete your lion drawings with shading and face details.

There are several methods you can use to get your lion drawing onto paper. To give a couple of examples, some artists choose to:

•   use regular shaped blocks to build the picture before them;
•   some like to trace to get the idea of outline;
•   then there is my favorite method, to simply draw what you are seeing.

In no time you are looking at your own pencil drawings of lions.

Scribble a bit of shadow on the ground and you are done. The shadow (or table line as it's sometimes called) makes your drawing look more realistic and it's a good habit to start including that from the beginning.

Out of all the drawings I did for this page, this lion drawing was my favorite. It was the last one I did so it shows the little bit of practice beforehand really did help me in the end.

Your drawings are special and you will improve with practice.