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How to Draw a Hippo with Its Mouth Open

13 steps · Medium · about 10 min

Draw a hippo with its mouth open in 13 easy steps, about 10 minutes. Free, with a printable worksheet.

Each picture adds one red line. Draw that line, then scroll to the next picture. Rub out any dashed helper lines at the end. First up: round head.

Step 1: Round head
Near the top left, draw a big round head, a little wider than tall. Leave room for the body.
Step 2: Big eyes
Draw 2 big oval eyes in the top half of the head, each with a dark dot and a shine.
Step 3: Wide snout
Across the bottom of the head, draw a huge wide snout hanging below the chin. Add 2 nostrils.
Tip Rub out the head line inside the snout.
Step 4: Open mouth
Hang a giant U jaw from the snout's corners, with a smaller U inside. Add a tongue and 2 teeth.
Tip Rub out the snout line inside the jaw.
Step 5: Tiny ears
On each top corner of the head, draw a round cookie ear with a smaller curve inside.
Tip Rub out the lines where each ear overlaps the head.
Step 6: The neck
From behind the head, draw a short neck line sloping down to the right. Stop where the back will start.
Step 7: Barrel body
Start at the neck. Draw a long back, a big round bottom, and the tummy back up to the neck.
Step 8: Two legs
Draw a ground line, then 2 short fat legs under the chest and bottom. Rub out the tummy inside them.
Tip Make each leg thinner at the ankle, with a round foot and 3 toenails.
Step 9: Far legs
Beside each near leg, draw a far leg peeking out from the tummy, with its foot on the ground.
Step 10: The tail
Start on the top corner of the bottom. Draw a short tail that gets thinner, with a soft round tip.
Tip Rub out the body line inside the tail.
Step 11: Pink and cream
Colour the toenails cream. Colour the snout, lips, tongue and ear insides pink. Leave the rest of the mouth white.
Step 12: Inside the mouth
Colour the inside of the mouth red around the tongue. Leave the teeth white.
Step 13: Colour it purple
Go over your lines. Colour the rest of the hippo purple around the pink and red. Leave the eyes white.