How To Draw Cute Panda Bears

With this Quickdraw guide you can learn to draw panda bears easily. The video tutorial and written art guide walk you through sketching and colouring pands step by step. And don't forget your art materials and stationery - pencils, pens and a marker. You can also find more children's drawing ideas for animals on the Quickdraw YouTube channel - check it out today!

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 a panda standing up

    Nǐ hǎo boys and girls. That’s hello in Chinese. 

    One of China’s most iconic animals is the panda bear. And today you’ll learn how to draw, not one, not two, but three panda bears. 

    Pencil cases open. Pick up a pencil, eraser and a black marker pen. 

    Our first panda bear is going to be standing up and waving. 

    A nice circle for the head, with some guidelines inside to mark out the face. 

  • One small triangle for our panda’s nose. 

    Now for the eyes. Draw two sloppy blobs, they don’t have to be perfectly round. 

    Under the nose, the panda’s mouth, which is made up of two curved lines. 

    Two small circles inside the eyes. Hey, they look like fried eggs! 

    Now a pair of semi circle ears on top of the head like this. 

    Hmmm. maybe a tongue poking out of our panda’s mouth. 

  • Let’s sketch out the body now. A plump circle like a plum or beach ball. 

    A top line and bottom line across the belly. 

    Next, a short, stumpy pair of legs like wellington boots. 

    We’ll draw the first arm now, down by one side. 

    The other arm will be waving, so this will point in an upward direction. 

  • Alright, time for some colouring in. 

    A quick tip guys… so the outer layer of the eyes is always black, and those smaller circles inside are white. You can add an even tinier black dot in the middle for the panda’s pupils. 

    The ears and nose should also be coloured black. 

    And for the body, leave that plump belly white, and all those other bits - arms, legs and bottom can be coloured in black.

  • Now guys, if you want some more panda art fun let’s try one climbing a tree. 

    We’ll be repeating the same steps as before starting with the panda’s head. 

  • Make a circle. A triangle nose. Fried egg eyes. A double curve smile. Semi circle ears. 

    Nice job. 

  • Now for that tree. Think of it as a thick pipe or pole. 

    We want to show that our panda is hugging this tree so we need a curved line for its arm like this. 

    Then join that arm and shoulder back up to the head. 

  • Next, the white belly. 

    Here’s a leg. A short egg shape that overlaps the tree trunk. 

    Back up for the second arm. A small semi circle inside the tree trunk like so. 

    Then we take that line outside the tree, downwards. 

    Finally, a small semi circle poking out behind the tree for the other leg. 

    Oh, and if you want to add some extra detail, how about a leaf or two? Panda’s eat those all day long. 

  • Colouring time again, guys! 

    Take your black marker and trace over the outside lines. 

    Careful with that tree - the idea is to only show the parts of the tree that are behind the panda climbing it. 

    Oh wow, that’s awesome drawing.

  • And lastly, let’s learn how to draw a sleepy panda having a nap on the ground. 

    Circle for the head. But a weird, half blob for the body - flat against the floor. 

    A front flipper for the arms. And a curvy thick shape for the back leg. 

    Then we’ll mark out lines for our panda’s belly and tail. 

  • For our little friendly, furry guys face we can draw the nose, eyes and ears at a different angle. Because the panda’s face is closer to the floor, remember? 

  • Ok, our last colouring stint for this art tutorial… ready? 

    A quick tip for you, folks… if your panda is sleeping then all of its eye shape can be black because the eyes are closed. 

  • For the rest of the body, follow our black and white rules. 

    Yeah, we are about done! What a super cool set of panda friends. Well done. 

    Oh, a line of sleeping zed’s to finish off. 

    Thanks for stopping by - see you next time! 

    If you had a fun time sketching and colouring in panda bears then don't stop there! Quickdraw has plenty more drawing exercises for bears for you to get stuck in to. Try drawing a Christmas Teddy, or a couple of famous bears from books and television like Paddington and Pooh.