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How to Draw a Swan with Cygnets

13 steps · Medium · about 10 min

Draw a swan with cygnets 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: small round head.

Step 1: Small round head
Near the top left, draw a small round head, a little wider than tall, with a smooth dome on top.
Tip Leave lots of room under it for a long neck and a big body.
Step 2: Orange bill
Start on the head's front. Draw a short flat bill out left to a round tip, back to the chin.
Step 3: Eye and bill patch
Draw a big round eye with a dot and shine in the head. Add a thin crescent patch by the bill.
Step 4: Long S neck
From under the head, draw 2 slim neck lines down in an S, stopping 2 heads lower.
Tip Smooth and curvy, no corners: thicker at the body, thinner at the head.
Step 5: Chest and back
From the front neck, draw a chest down. From the back neck, a long low back up to a tail.
Tip The swan sits low: a long flat body, tail poking up at the back.
Step 6: Teardrop wing
Just behind the neck, draw a teardrop wing: a round shoulder, sweeping back to a point near the rump.
Step 7: Wavy water
From the left edge, draw a soft wavy water line across to the right edge, under the swan. Add ripples.
Step 8: A cygnet in front
In front of the swan, draw a small round cygnet head with a stubby bill and a big eye.
Step 9: Its fluffy body
From the cygnet's chin, draw its chest down to the water. From behind its head, a round bumpy back too.
Step 10: A cygnet riding
Draw a tiny cygnet head on the swan's back. From it, draw a fluffy body down to the back line.
Tip Cygnets hitch rides on their mother's back, tucked in front of the big wing.
Step 11: White swan, cream wing
Leave the swan and her eye white, like the paper. Colour her wing cream.
Step 12: Orange bill, blue water
Colour the bill orange. Colour the water blue under the wavy line, all the way across.
Step 13: Grey cygnets, black patch
Colour the cygnets grey and their bills dark grey, leaving eyes white. Colour the swan's patch black.