How To Draw a T-Rex Dinosaur

Drawing large, meat-eating dinosaurs like a tyrannosaurus rex is lots fun to try. They don't always have to look scary - you can draw a T-Rex with a happy smile too! Learn how to draw this prehistoric monster easily by following Quickdraw's step by step guide: the YouTube video has a voiceover and read subtitles; the illustrations are also laid out below.

Art materials needed:

Step 1: Drawing a T-Rex with pencil

  • Greetings boys and girls, it’s time for another creative art class. In this video we will be drawing a roaring T-Rex dinosaur. 

    We always begin with a circle. Everything starts from here. Draw it in the centre of your page. 

  • Now we’re going to add a curved line upwards, from the right of the circle. And then another curved line from the top. This will form the long neck of the T-Rex. 

    Join up those two lines with a smaller circle, which will turn into the powerful jawbone. 

  • From the small circle, draw a semi circle line for the top of the T-Rex’s head. And then extend this out - what we’re drawing here is the top of the mouth which is like a cross between a mammal’s snout and a bird’s beak. 

    Then the bottom half of the mouth, joining back into the circle or jawline. 

  • It’s not quite dinosaur-ish enough, is it? 

    Let’s add some curves. One to the neck. Two more on the other side of the big circle for the T-Rex’s gigantic tail. 

    On to the legs. These are like giant chicken bones. Having a cross in the big circle makes it easier to know where to start.. Here goes. 

    In the bottom right part of the circle draw a curvy line for the thigh and then keep going downwards. 

    Some super sharp claws for catching prey and probably picking bits of food out of its teeth. 

    And the second leg, this always looks smaller because it’s behind the body. 

  • Halfway down the dinosaur’s body sketch out an arm. DinT-Rex’s arms are tiny compared to their legs because they aren’t as well developed or muscular.

    Then the second arm poking out from the other side of its body, claws at the end. The same as its feet. 

    This tail needs to be more ferocious if it’s going to cause mayhem in the dinosaur kingdom. Let’s make it longer and wider. 

    Back up top for some facial features… an eye, and a menacing set of razor-teeth to roar with. 

  • What’s missing..? T-Rex spikes! 

    Add a long row of small triangles all the way down your dinosaur’s body from head to tail. 

    For extra special detail you can draw a line from the tail to the body and then out the other side up to the neck. This will be the dinosaur’s belly and can be a different colour to the rest of the body.

    Last touches now. A dimple. A nostril. 

    Time for some tidying up on this page to get rid of a few messy lines. Take your eraser and gently rub out any overlapping lines on the arms, body and tail like this. 

    Oh wow, that’s one fancy looking T-Rex. Great job guys.

Step 2: Inking your T-Rex with pen

  • This part is lots of fun. Grab your black marker and trace around the outlines. 

    A nice thick black line is going to make our dinosaur drawing stand out even after we add some colour. 

    Take your time, nice and smooth. 

    Don’t forget those extra details we added on, like the belly line, claws, triangle spikes across its back and jagged teeth. 

    Once that black marker ink is dry you can take out your eraser and remove all of the original pencil lines like this. 

Step 3: Colouring in your T-Rex

  • Oh, this is the best part of all. The shading in. 

    What prehistoric colours are you going to bring your T-Rex to life with? Dinosaurs like this were usually brown, green, grey but hey it’s your work of art so go nuts - throw in some purple or orange if that’s what you feel like. 

    Dark, midtone, and light shades of green and brown work well because they are natural colours to help reptiles camouflage against their surroundings. 

    Think of the modern cold-blooded creatures you see today on TV or in zoos like crocodiles, snakes and lizards. They all have some form of green on their body which is great for blending into trees, swamps and leafy habitat. These animals are super scary but wouldn’t stand a chance against a real T-Rex. 

    Come to think of it, a T-Rex wouldn’t hide from anyone or anything! It was Jurassic royalty. 

    How’s that colouring looking now? Try some different tones and shades for the spiky spine and belly. 

    Hey, want to hear a cool dinosaur joke you can tell your friends? Here goes… 

    What do you call a dog that belongs to a dinosaur with one eye? A Do-you-think-he-saurus rex. 

    Haha, that was a good one. 

    Nearly done now. 

    A last check now. Looking good. 

    What a masterpiece, you’ve done an amazing job. 

More animal drawing ideas right here...

Helpful tips and ideas

How long does it take to draw a T-Rex?

The YouTube video on this page is 20 minutes long. That includes instructions on which art materials to use and how to draw your T-Rex. 20 minutes may seem like a long time but that can go by fast when you are being creative! If you want to make a T-Rex drawing quicker you may want to skip some of the details and colouring in.

What is the hardest part to draw?

Drawing a meat-eating tyrannosaurus dinosaur is a bit like drawing a dragon. Both creatures have sharp teeth, long tails and claws. The hardest part is making sure the body of your dinosaur has all of these features in the correct place. The YouTube video above wals you through it step by step. Don't worry - you'll pick it up in no time!

What other dinosaurs can I learn to draw?

Millions of years ago there were lots of different breeds of dinoaur roaming the planet. You might have seen some of them in films like Jurassic Park. Other than drawing a T-Rex, you can try sketching dinosaurs that walked on all fours like a Triceratops, or dinosaurs that flew and swam.