If you want your stegosaurus to have more of a hunched spine, you can break the big circle into 2 parts. Draw a smaller circle for the front half and a larger circle for the back half. [1] X Research source Since you’ll be erasing all of the ovals later on, make sure you draw them in pencil. If you’re creating a digital drawing, draw these in a separate layer.
Make sure the furthest-left circle floats away from the body. The other 3 can overlap it. For a dinosaur that’s not walking, just angle these all downward. [3] X Research source
You may need to add a small oval or rectangle to connect the top of the second leg with the foot. Angle this slightly forward so that it looks like there’s a joint here. Angle the oval at the back so that it looks like just the toe is touching the ground. These 4 ovals can be smaller than the ones you drew for the legs.
Keep the head and tail roughly in line with each other; don’t make one too much higher than the other. [5] X Research source
Angle your lines so the plates fan out slightly. If you want to, you can add a second row of plates that peek out from behind this row. Just sketch in small triangles for the tops of these plates. If you’re making a digital drawing, create another layer for the outline of the plates.
If you’re working on a digital drawing, create this outline in the same layer as you did the outlines of the plates.
Once you see what your outline looks like, you can add details around the face. Feel free to add some wrinkled texture where the legs connect to the body and where the neck curves upwards. [8] X Research source
Look at some dinosaur books for inspiration on what colors and patterns to give your stegosaurus.
Make the second circle slightly smaller than the first.
Leave a little space between the V and the circles; don’t worry about connecting them at this point. If you want to add more detail at this stage, make these straight lines curved. [11] X Research source
This is the beginning of your T-rex’s face.
On a clock face, this line would be pointing toward the 4. Now it should look like you can see the roof of the T-rex’s mouth.
Leave just a small amount of space between this circle and the body. You’ll connect them later.
Feel free to adjust the angles of these ovals to create different arm poses.
Keep the bottoms of both legs even with each other.
You’re just roughing in the shapes of the digits at this step. These will serve as the foundation around which you can add more detail.
First, focus on sketching in the outline of the T-rex’s body parts. Then, go on to add finer details like teeth, claws, and eyes. Add some wrinkles around the eyes for the eyelids. [18] X Research source
If you accidentally erase some of your main drawing, just pencil those details back in before you keep erasing. At this point, you can lightly sketch in some lines to indicate where you’ll use different colors.
Use red inside the mouth to suggest a tongue, and use a darker color toward the back of the mouth to add some dimension. It will look like your T-rex is roaring really loudly!
Modify the angles of these curves if you want to show your dinosaur flying at a different angle. [21] X Research source
Keep the 2 triangles parted for an open beak, or close them if you want your pterodactyl’s mouth to be closed.
Angle the legs slightly outward so it looks like your pterodactyl is flying.
Sketch in the base of the wings by drawing a curved line between each ankle and tail. To add definition to the arms, draw another line under the first one you drew to suggest the thickness of the arms. Then use a few tiny ovals to suggest hands and fingers. To get the proportions right, make each wing about as wide as the total length of the body and beak.
Add some dots to the face and beak area for the eyes and nostrils, too.
Try making the wings a different color than the body if you’d like.
These don’t have to be perfect circles; they can be slightly flattened.
If you want your raptor looking ahead, place the U-shaped curve on the right side of the head.
Start the tail at the left side of the body. Raptors have long tails, so you can make these lines about twice as wide as the body.
Sketch 3 lines at the end of each hand to suggest the claws. Make sure the ovals for the hands are positioned vertically so it looks like the raptor’s hands are pointing down.
Make the ovals for the leg in the foreground on the left side. These can be thicker than the leg in the background which you can draw on the right side.
Draw the claws on the right side of each foot.
Add a jagged line for the mouth. Sketch in an oval for the eye. Add a vertical line inside for the pupil. Draw some small triangles at the end of the hands and feet for the claws.
Try creating wrinkles and muscle definition with squiggly lines. Add these around the center of each limb and on either side of the eye. Draw triangles along the raptor’s body for stripes.
Look online for pictures of raptors if you need some inspiration.
