How to draw a cute baby T-Rex in 3 easy steps

Dinosaurs are one of the most requested things to draw, and the T-Rex is the king of them all. The trick to making one cute instead of scary is simple: give it a huge head, tiny arms, round shapes everywhere and a big smile.

If you have been wondering how to draw a cute dinosaur that even beginners can manage, this is it. This tutorial follows the same three steps as the Baby T-Rex lesson in Sketchglass, so you can draw it freehand with a pencil and paper or trace it on your paper with your phone. Either way, you will have a happy little dino in about ten minutes.

What you need

• A sheet of paper, any kind
• A pencil (a soft one, like HB or 2B, is easiest to erase)
• An eraser
• A black pen or marker if you want to ink it at the end
• Optional: coloured pencils or markers

Draw lightly to start. You can always go over the lines you like with a darker stroke at the end.

Step 1: Head, body and tail

This step sets the pose, so take your time. Everything else hangs on these shapes.

1. Draw the head. Near the top of your page, draw a rounded shape that is wider than it is tall, a bit like a jelly bean on its side. Let the front end stick out further to make the snout.
2. Close the mouth line. Under the snout, draw a short flat line back towards the neck. That is the bottom of the jaw.
3. Draw the body. From the back of the head, draw a curve down and out, like the side of a pear, then round it off at the bottom and bring it back up to the neck. The body should be about the same size as the head, not bigger.
4. Add the tail. From the lower back of the body, draw a long, gently curved tail that sweeps out to the side and tapers to a point. A tail that curves upward at the tip looks happy.

If the head looks too small, make it bigger now. A big head is the secret to "baby" proportions.

Step 2: Face and tiny arms

Now your shape turns into a character.

1. Eye. Draw one round eye near the top of the head, a little behind the snout. Fill it in dark and leave a tiny white dot for the shine.
2. Nostril. Add a small dot at the tip of the snout.
3. Smile. Draw a soft curved line from the snout back towards the cheek.
4. Blush. A small oval under the eye makes it instantly cuter.
5. Tiny arms. On the front of the body, just below the neck, draw two very small arms, each a short zigzag line with two little claws. Keep them tiny; that is the classic T-Rex joke.

Step 3: Legs, belly and spikes

The last step adds the details that make it look finished.

1. Legs. Draw two short, chunky legs under the body. Each one is a short column with a flat foot that points forward.
2. Belly stripes. Inside the front of the body, draw three short curved lines stacked down the belly, like soft stripes.
3. Back spikes. Along the back of the head, neck and body, draw a row of small triangles. Make them smaller as they go down the tail.
4. Clean up. Erase any guide lines you no longer need, then go over the final lines a little darker or with a pen.

That is your baby T-Rex. Try a green body with a yellow belly, or go wild with purple and pink.

Drawing it with AR tracing

If freehand feels hard, tracing is a great way to learn the shapes first. In Sketchglass, Baby T-Rex is in the Dinos pack and is split into the same three steps: Head, body and tail, Face and tiny arms, and Legs, belly and spikes.

1. Prop your phone about a hand above your paper.
2. Open the Baby T-Rex sketch and place it on your page.
3. Lock it and trace one step at a time, following Pip the pencil.
4. Snap your drawing when you finish to get your stars and your card.

New to tracing with a phone? Our guide to what AR drawing is and how it works covers the setup in more detail.

Bring your dino to life

Once you snap the finished paper drawing, Sketchglass cuts it out and makes it dance, bounce, wiggle or walk. A T-Rex walking across your desk is a very good reason to finish your drawing.

Your drawing also becomes a card in your Sketchdex. One star makes a Common card, two stars a Rare card and three stars an Epic card. Three stars on a speed challenge, a Pro sketch or the last day of the course earns a Legendary card.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

• The dino looks scary. Make the head bigger, the eye rounder and the smile wider. Remove any pointy teeth.
• The body looks stiff. Curve the back and the tail more. Straight lines make dinosaurs look like furniture.
• The arms are too long. Shorten them until they look almost silly. That is the right size.
• The spikes are uneven. That is fine. Slightly different sizes look more natural than perfect copies.

Once you can draw the T-Rex, try the Long Neck and the Stegosaurus with the same big-shapes-first method. If you want a plan for practising a little every day, the 7-day drawing practice plan builds from warm-up shapes up to a full portrait.

FAQ

How do I make a dinosaur drawing look cute instead of scary?

Use round shapes, a big head compared to the body, a large round eye with a shine dot, a smile instead of teeth and tiny arms. Soft colours and a blush mark under the eye help too.

What is the easiest dinosaur to draw?

A baby T-Rex is one of the easiest because it is built from three simple shapes: a rounded head, a pear-shaped body and a curved tail. Long-necked dinosaurs are a good next step.

Can young kids follow this tutorial?

Yes. Each step uses simple shapes and short lines. Younger children may find it easier to trace the sketch first, then try drawing it freehand next to their traced version.

Is the Baby T-Rex free in Sketchglass?

Yes. Baby T-Rex is one of the free sketches in the Dinos pack. Some other dinosaurs, like the Stegosaurus, are part of Pro or can be unlocked by watching a short video.