How To Draw Pikachu (Pokémon)
In this edition of Quickdraw's learn-to-draw series you will make your very own cartoon Pikachu illustration. Drawing Pikachu from the TV series Pokémon is simpler than you think when you have the right art kit and a step by step guide, like the one below. It's easy enough for kids aged 6 and above, and a whole lot of fun to try at home or in art class at school. Let's start drawing and colouring!
Art materials needed:
A plain sketchpad to draw on, a sharp pencil to draw with, an eraser to rub out messy lines, a black marker pen to go over pencil lines, and a bunch of colouring pencils or felt tip pens to add a splash of colour!
Step 1: Drawing with pencil
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Hey Pikachu fans, let’s get drawing. Grab a pencil, black marker pen, an eraser and some colouring pens from your art kit.
Pikachu is a tricky character to capture on paper, so we’ll make it easy for ourselves by drawing a circle for the head.
Rest this circle on a diagonal line. Looks like a rock rolling down a hill, right?
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A nice straight line down the middle to use as a guide. This will help mark out Pikachu’s arms, legs, tummy and tail when we come to drawing tose body parts.
Sketch out a curved body that’s wider at the bottom. Almost like a snowman’s body but not as round.
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Now for Pikachu mouth. In the centre of his head write a small W, and then a semi circle from edge to edge like this.
Two round eyes above the mouth like so.
Then in line with Pikachu’s eyes, sprout two long, pointy ears. They can be thin like a rabbit’s, and they should come to a sharp point.
The ear on the right goes straight up, while the ear on the left flops out to the side. Who knows why? Haha.
Hmm, if you want to be super detailed you can make his cheeks look bigger. See how we go in slightly on the left and right. Erase the outside line which is now the old part.
Now, on those chubby cheeks, draw a semi circle each side. We will colour these parts in red later.
Some more detail in the eyes, and a tongue. Looking good.
Don’t forget the button nose!
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Remember that diagonal line? Start where Pikachu’s neck is and draw an egg shape for his arm. Some small rabbit-like claws poking out.
His other arm will be raised, waving hello. To do this, draw a curved line up to meet the cheek. Sharp claws on this side too.
Hmmm. This body is slightly long the long side. You can easily make it shorter by drawing a line closer up the body. Yep, that looks better already.
Now for a small, cute pair of feet like little sticking out from under a huge rock.
We’re going to add a curvy line for some shading later, but this is totally optional.
What’s missing? Oh right, Pikachu’s tail.
Under his armpit, draw a sharp, lightning bolt-shaped tail. It should be thin at his waist and get wider at the end.
The final touches… a line across each ear, which will be coloured in black.
Step 2: Drawing with pen
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Ok awesome work so far, now for the next fun part.
Roll out the black marker and give our fluffy friend a nice strong outline.
You can take your time here, keep to a smooth and steady outline.
Hey, want to hear some cool facts about our Pokemon friend, Pikachu? You can impress your friends and classmates.
The gender of a Pikachu is actually determined by its tail. If the end of its tail is long and flat, it means that it is a male. The tail of the female species is shaped like a heart at its tip. However, when they evolve into Raichu, their tails look more similar to each other.
So the drawing we are doing today is male because the tail is sharp, long and flat.
Almost done with the black marker now. Let that ink dry and fetch the eraser, rub away all of those pencil lines - we don’t need those anymore.
Step 3: Colouring in
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Ok, so ready for some colour? Why not!
You will need a yellow pen or pencil for Pikachu’s body, a shade of red for his cheeks, and black to fill in the tips of his ears, and his eyes.
If you want to add that extra layer of detail - you might want to use two tones of yellow. The light tone will be for the main body parts, but the darker shade will be for the shadowy areas. Don’t worry if you’re not sure how to do that… watch and learn.
Awesome job on your Pokemon drawing - stay tuned for our next episode. Po-ke-monnn… gotta catch ‘em allll!
See you next time friends!
