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How to Draw a Swallowtail Butterfly
Draw a swallowtail butterfly 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: egg head.
Step 1: Egg head
Above the middle of your paper, draw a big soft egg, a little wider than tall. Leave room for wings.
Step 2: Two big eyes
Below the middle of the head, draw 2 big egg eyes a finger apart. Colour black dots with white shines.
Step 3: Smile and cheeks
Draw a small U smile from below one black dot to the other. Add a cheek under each eye.
Step 4: The body
Start under the head's left. Draw a chest bump, then a plump teardrop tummy, back up to the right.
Step 5: Two stripes
Across the tummy, draw 2 little smile curves, one under the other, from the left edge to the right edge.
Step 6: Pointed top wings
Start on the left of the chest. Draw a wing out to a point, back to the tummy. Same right.
Step 7: Bottom wings with tails
From halfway along each top wing, swoop a round bottom wing down into a long tail, back to the body.
Step 8: Long curly feelers
Start on top of the head. Draw a long lazy S up and out, ending in a dot. Same right.
Step 9: Band and stripes
Beside each top wing's outside edge, draw a curve from the top down to the bottom. Add 2 slanted stripes.
Step 10: Bumps and dots
Along each bottom wing's edge, draw 4 little bumps, the last across the tail. Add 2 round dots above them.
Step 11: Yellow and pink
Colour the butterfly yellow, around the stripes, edges, tails and dots. Colour the cheeks pink. Leave the eyes white.
Step 12: Blue dots
Colour the little round dots on the bottom wings blue.
Step 13: Black edges and tails
Colour the wing edges, stripes, bumps and tails black.
Your finished drawing
Follow the steps above and this is where you end up: a swallowtail butterfly, drawn by you.
Every step in one picture
