Detail, poses and the first hard ones

Drawing ideas for 9 year olds

Drawing ideas for nine-year-olds: detailed animals, people and faces, buildings and landmarks, and the first advanced lessons for kids ready for a challenge.

Nine-year-olds can hold a plan in their head: they will draw the guide shapes lightly because they know why. That opens up people and faces, landmarks, and the advanced lessons, fifteen or sixteen steps with real detail. The picks below mix reliable favourites with a shelf of harder ones; a nine-year-old who finishes a dragon breathing fire will be drawing for a week.

Detailed animals

How to Draw a Hammerhead Shark

12 steps

People and faces

How to Draw a Ponytail

13 steps

Places and landmarks

How to Draw a Castle

13 steps

How to Draw the Eiffel Tower

11 steps

How to Draw Big Ben

11 steps

How to Draw a Lighthouse

13 steps

How to Draw a Pirate Ship

13 steps

How to Draw a Tree House

12 steps

How to Draw a City Skyline

12 steps

How to Draw a Volcano

10 steps

Ready for a challenge

How to Draw a Tiger

15 steps

How to Draw a Peacock

13 steps

How to Draw a Snow Leopard

13 steps

How to Draw a Bison

12 steps

How to Draw a Giraffe Eating

14 steps

Tips for drawing with 9 year olds

Proportions first: on a face or a person, the light guide lines are the whole game. Do the first three steps slowly.
A second sheet of thin paper over the finished drawing is a free ‘clean copy’, trace the good lines, leave the guides.
Use the printable outline on page two of any worksheet as a trace sheet when confidence dips.

Questions parents and teachers ask

What should a 9 year old draw?

Anything with a pose or a face: a running horse, a person, a hand, an eye, and landmarks like a castle or the Eiffel Tower. Nine is also a good age to try the advanced lessons.

How many steps can a 9 year old follow?

Fifteen or more, happily, as long as each step is one clear move, which is how every lesson here is built.