How to Draw a Dove Step by Step (Easy Peace Dove)

A white bird with its wings lifted and a green sprig in its beak says "peace" in almost any country. This lesson shows you how to draw a dove step by step, from two soft guide shapes to a colored dove in mid-flight. The wings look tricky, but they're only three rows of simple feathers, and I'll break each row down for you.

Look for the bright blue strokes in every picture: they're the only new lines in that step. Gray lines are finished work, and the faint blue shapes are guides you erase later.

Quick overview
⏱️ Time: about 30 to 45 minutes
🎯 Level: easy to medium, good for kids around 8 and up
✏️ Steps: 12
🕊️ You'll draw: a white peace dove flying with an olive branch

Supplies for a Soft White Dove

• An HB pencil for the light guide shapes
• A kneaded or soft white eraser
• A black fineliner or felt-tip pen
• Colored pencils: light blue-gray, gray, black, olive green, brown
• Plain white paper, turned sideways

You won't color most of the bird at all, since the white paper does that job, so a pale blue-gray pencil is the one color that really matters.

How to Draw a Dove Step by Step

Step 1: Sketch the head and body guides

Near the left middle of the page, draw a small circle for the head. To its right, draw a wide oval for the body, about four times as wide as the circle and touching it. Leave empty paper above the oval, because the wings rise high into that space.

💡 Tip: Press so lightly that you can barely see the lines. These shapes get erased later.

Step 2: Add guides for the wings, tail and beak

From the top of the oval, just behind the head, draw a long line sweeping up and right for the near wing, and a second one a little further back for the far wing. At the right end, draw two lines spreading like an open fan for the tail. Add a tiny triangle on the head and a curved line hanging from it for the branch.

💡 Tip: Angle both wing lines upward. Flat wing lines make the dove look like it's gliding down instead of flying.

Step 3: Draw the round head and plump body

Trace the head circle, let the line dip in slightly at the throat, then swell out into a full, rounded chest. Carry it along the belly to a point at the tail end. Draw the back too, leaving a gap where the wing will sit. Doves have a puffed-out chest, so make the front of the body deeper than the back.

💡 Tip: Keep the head small. On a dove it's barely a third the height of the body.

Step 4: Add the small beak and the eye

On the front of the head, draw a short, slim pointed beak with a tiny mouth line along the middle. Place the eye a little above and behind it, as a small circle. I keep the beak short on purpose. A long one quickly turns a dove into a seagull.

💡 Tip: Put the eye closer to the beak than to the back of the head. That placement makes the face look gentle.

Step 5: Draw the rounded top feathers

Start at the top of the back and draw the front edge of the near wing curving up. Turn it around at the top, then come back down with a row of small round bumps, like the edge of a cloud. This shape holds all the long feathers you'll add next.

💡 Tip: Make the bumps different sizes. Perfectly even scallops look stamped instead of feathery.

Step 6: Add the middle row of wing feathers

Below the scalloped edge, draw five medium feathers poking out to the right, each a short leaf shape with a pointed tip. Let them overlap like roof tiles, drawing only the part you can see. The upper ones tilt upward, the lower ones point straight back.

💡 Tip: Draw each feather with one smooth stroke from base to tip, then return to the base on the other side.

Step 7: Draw the long flight feathers

Now add the long feathers that make the wing reach up. They follow the same fan as the middle row but stick out much further. Most beginners make them all one length. Let them grow from short near the body to long at the top, and the wing looks lifted.

💡 Tip: Follow your wing guide line for the tallest feather so the wing keeps its upward angle.

Step 8: Sketch the far wing behind

The second wing sits on the far side of the bird, so only its upper half shows. Draw its rounded top peeking out behind the first wing, then five long pointed feathers fanning toward its guide. Stop each line where it meets the near wing or the back. Those hidden lines push the wing behind.

💡 Tip: Tilt the far wing a little further back than the near one, so the two never line up exactly.

Step 9: Add the fan-shaped tail

At the back of the body, between the tail guides, draw five long feathers spreading like a paper fan. Give each one a rounded tip, because a dove's tail feathers are blunt at the ends. Draw the middle feathers first, then tuck the outer ones behind them.

💡 Tip: Let the bottom tail feather droop lower than the top one. It gives the bird a sense of movement.

Step 10: Draw the olive branch in the beak

Follow the branch guide with a thin twig that starts at the beak and slims down as it hangs to the left. Add three narrow olive leaves: one near the beak pointing left, one hanging from the middle and one at the tip. Give each leaf a center vein.

💡 Tip: Olive leaves are long and slim, so stretch them out. Wide, round leaves will read as a generic plant.

Step 11: Ink the lines and erase the guides

Go over every line you're keeping with the black pen. My habit is to ink the head and beak first while my hand is fresh, then the wings, then the tail. Skip the guides. Once the ink is fully dry, erase the circle, the oval and every guide line.

💡 Tip: Turn the paper as you ink the feathers, so your hand always pulls the pen toward you.

Step 12: Color your dove

Leave most of the dove white. Shade a thin band along the bottom of the belly with light blue-gray, and color the far wing the same blue-gray so it falls back. Give the long wing feathers a very light gray. The beak is gray, the eye black with a white dot, the twig brown and the leaves olive green.

💡 Tip: Shade softly with the side of the pencil tip. Heavy blue-gray makes a white dove look dirty.

Small Slips That Turn a Dove Into a Seagull

• A long, sharp beak. It changes the bird's whole character. Keep it short and slim, roughly as long as three eyes in a row.
• Wings stuck straight out sideways. That reads as a plane or a gull. Raise both wings and let the feathers fan upward and back.
• Every feather the same length. The wing looks like a comb. Grow the feathers from short near the body to long at the top.
• No shading at all. A white bird on white paper vanishes. A light blue-gray belly band and a blue-gray far wing give it shape.
• Drawing the far wing in full. It then sits on top. Stop its lines wherever the near wing or body covers it.

Fresh Twists on the Peace Dove

Once this version feels comfortable, try flipping it so the dove flies to the right, or draw two doves crossing paths for a greeting card. You can swap the olive branch for a ribbon, a heart or a small rolled letter. Small kids can skip the far wing and still get a lovely result. If you enjoy the wings, the flying bird drawing tutorial shows a barn swallow climbing through the sky, and the feather drawing tutorial helps you add more detail to each feather.

Peace Dove Coloring Page and a Printable Guide

Prefer paper? The free dove coloring page has a small colored example at the top with a key that names every color and where it goes, plus a large clean outline to color underneath. The PDF drawing guide keeps all 12 steps and their tips together and prints on Letter or A4 paper.

📱 On a phone? Tap a download button, then open the file and choose Share → Save to Files or Print. On a computer, the PDF opens or saves straight to your Downloads folder.

Every Dove Step on One Pinnable Image

Dove Done? Draw More Animals Step by Step

Every one of these is a step-by-step tutorial, with birds, pets and sea animals built from the same kind of light guide shapes.

• Chicken Drawing: A brown hen and her yellow chick stand on a strip of grass in this how to draw a chicken step by step lesson.
• Chalk Art: The chalk art tutorial moves you to the sidewalk for a hopscotch grid, a rainbow and a smiling sun.
• Elephant Drawing: Draw a gray-blue elephant spraying water from its raised trunk in the elephant drawing tutorial.
• French Bulldog Drawing: Bat ears and a red bow tie finish the sitting Frenchie in this French bulldog drawing step by step guide.
• Fish Drawing: One oval grows into a goldfish with a fan tail in the how to draw a fish lesson.
• Bear Drawing: The bear drawing tutorial walks a brown bear through the grass, one paw stepping forward.
• Family Drawing: Hold hands in a row with the family drawing tutorial, which ends with a puppy and a red balloon.
• Cardinal Drawing: Another bird to try: a red cardinal perched on a winter branch in the cardinal drawing step by step lesson.
• Spider Drawing: A friendly purple spider hangs from its thread next to a round web in this spider drawing tutorial.
• Shark Drawing: The how to draw a shark lesson builds a smiling great white from one long oval.
• Dog Drawing: Three circles and stick legs turn into a beagle-style dog in the dog drawing tutorial.

Dove Drawing Questions Readers Often Ask

What is the easiest way to draw a dove?

Start with a small circle for the head and a wide oval for the body. Add one raised wing made of rounded top feathers and a few long pointed ones, a fan tail, and a tiny beak. Everything else is optional detail.

Why is a dove with an olive branch a symbol of peace?

It comes from the story of Noah's flood, where a dove returns to the ark carrying an olive leaf as a sign that the water was going down. Over time the picture of a white dove with an olive branch came to stand for peace and hope.

How do you color a white bird on white paper?

Leave most of it white and add pale blue-gray only where the shadows fall: under the belly, on the far wing and lightly on the long feathers. A dark outline does the rest.

Is a dove hard to draw for kids?

The body and head are simple for most children. The wings take more patience, so younger kids can draw fewer feathers or leave out the far wing and still end up with a clear flying dove.

Pick up your pencil and send a little peace across the page. I hope your dove ends up on a card for someone you care about. 🕊️🌿

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