How to Draw an Eagle Step by Step (Easy for Beginners)

A bald eagle sitting on a cliff edge looks serious without even trying, and that look is easier to draw than most people expect. Here you'll learn how to draw an eagle step by step, starting from one circle and one oval. In my experience two small details do most of the work: a heavy brow over the eye and a beak that hooks down at the tip.

How to draw an eagle step by step - finished colored eagle drawing — Here's the eagle you'll end up with, keeping watch from its rocky ledge after twelve steps.

Copy only what shows up in bright blue in each picture. Gray lines are already on your paper from earlier, and the pale blue shapes are faint guides that the eraser takes away in step 11.

Quick overview
⏱️ Time: about 40 minutes
🎯 Level: easy to medium, good for kids around 8 and up
✏️ Steps: 12
🦅 You'll draw: a bald eagle perched on a gray rock, looking out over the edge

Eagle Supplies From Pencil to Golden Yellow

An HB pencil for light guide lines
A soft eraser that won't smear
A black fineliner or thin marker
Colored pencils or markers: dark brown, light brown, yellow, light gray, gray, black and green
A sheet of paper turned sideways

You don't need a white pencil, since the paper itself gives you the white head and tail.

How to Draw an Eagle Step by Step

Step 1: Sketch the guide shapes and the perch line

Draw a long flat line across the lower part of the page for the top of the rock. Above its right half, draw a tall oval leaning a little to the right, then a circle on top that overlaps it. Add a pointed triangle off the circle for the beak, a slanted tail line down to the left and two short leg lines.

💡 Tip: Make the oval about three times as tall as the circle. Eagles sit upright, so a round body looks like a pigeon.

Step 2: Outline the head and body

Trace around the top of the circle and let the line flow down the back. On the front, start under the beak area, curve out for the chest and sweep under the belly. I leave the lower back open on purpose, because the wing covers it later.

💡 Tip: Push the chest slightly past the oval on the right. A full chest is what makes an eagle look proud.

Step 3: Draw the big hooked beak

Use the triangle as a size guide. The top edge curves forward and then bends down sharply into a hook. Bring the lower edge back under it in a straighter line, then add a mouth line toward the hook and a small oval nostril near the base.

💡 Tip: Keep the hook short and sharp. A long, rounded curl turns the eagle into a parrot.

Step 4: Add the eye under a heavy brow

Place the eye close to the beak, roughly level with its top edge. First draw a short, nearly flat brow line, then a round eye tucked right underneath so the line cuts off its top. Put a pupil inside, a little toward the beak. That flat line is the whole secret of the eagle's stern face.

💡 Tip: Slant the brow only slightly. Tip it too steeply and your eagle looks angry instead of alert.

Step 5: Draw the white head feather line

About halfway between the beak and the middle of the oval, draw a row of small bumps across the body from the back to the chest. Everything above this line will stay white. Most beginners stop the white too high, right at the chin, but on a real bald eagle the white feathers reach down onto the upper chest.

💡 Tip: Draw five or six bumps of roughly the same size so the line reads as feathers, not as a scarf.

Step 6: Draw the folded wing

The wing sits on the side of the body like a long teardrop. Begin just under the feather line, follow the back down and finish in a point that reaches past the oval toward the tail guide. Swing the front edge back up across the body to the top.

💡 Tip: Let the wing cover more than half of the body. Eagle wings are huge, even when they're folded.

Step 7: Add the layered wing feathers

Inside the wing, draw two rows of wide bumps, one below the other, like overlapping roof tiles. Then pull three long lines down into the wing tip for the flight feathers. On the chest, add two short rows of smaller bumps so the body has some texture too.

💡 Tip: Make the chest bumps smaller than the wing bumps. Different sizes keep the feathers from looking like a pattern.

Step 8: Draw the white tail feathers

Below the wing tip, draw a wedge that widens as it goes down and left, ending in a gently curved edge. Its top is tucked behind the wing and the body, so only draw the parts you can see. Two lines inside split it into feathers.

💡 Tip: Widen the tail toward the end. If both sides run parallel, it looks like a white stick.

Step 9: Add the feathered legs and the talons

Eagles have feathers down their legs, almost like baggy trousers. Draw two short rounded shapes under the belly, each with three little feather tips at the bottom. Below them, add short yellow ankles and thick toes that rest on the perch line. Every toe ends in a curved, pointed talon that hooks down.

💡 Tip: Curl the talons over the rock instead of drawing them straight. That's what makes the eagle look like it's holding on.

Step 10: Draw the rocky cliff ledge

Now build the rock around the perch line. Raise a bumpy hump on the left, keep the top flat under the feet and drop a steep, uneven edge on the right so the eagle looks out over a drop. Finish with a few cracks, one pebble and two grass tufts.

💡 Tip: Use short straight segments for the rock outline. Smooth curves make stone look like a pillow.

Step 11: Ink the lines and erase the guides

Go over every line you want to keep with the fineliner. I start with the face, because the brow and the beak need the steadiest hand, and finish with the rock. Wait until the ink is completely dry, then erase the circle, the oval and all the guide lines.

💡 Tip: Turn the page as you ink the feather rows, so you always pull the pen toward yourself.

Step 12: Color the bald eagle

Leave the head and tail white, with light gray only along the back of the head, under the brow and at the tail's lower edge. Fill the body, wing and legs with dark brown, then add light brown just above each row of feather bumps. Use yellow for the beak, the eye and the feet, and black for the talons and pupil. Gray rock and green grass finish it.

💡 Tip: Color the yellow parts last, with a clean pencil tip, so no brown gets dragged into the beak.

Eagle Sketches That Turn Into Parrots or Hawks

A long, curly beak. It reads as a parrot right away. Keep the hook short and pointed, bending down at the very tip.
No brow over the eye. Without it the face looks surprised. A short flat line cutting off the top of the eye fixes it instantly.
White that stops at the chin. The head then looks too small. Bring the feather line down onto the upper chest.
A small, short wing. The eagle turns into a sparrow. Let the folded wing cover most of the side and reach past the body.
Thin stick legs. Eagles have feathered legs. Draw rounded leg feathers first and keep only the feet yellow.

Flying, Fishing or Nesting: More Eagle Ideas

Once the perched pose feels easy, try a young eagle. Juvenile bald eagles are mottled brown and only get their white head and tail at about four or five years old, so you can color one brown all over. You could also put a fish in the talons or add a big stick nest to the rock. Small kids can skip the feather rows and just shade the wing darker. The easy bird drawing tutorial is a good next stop, and the owl drawing step by step lesson uses the same upright body with a very different face.

Bald Eagle Coloring Page and a Printable Step PDF

Want to color on paper? The free eagle coloring page shows a finished eagle at the top with a color key for every part, and a big clean outline underneath with room for a sky. The PDF drawing guide holds all 12 steps and tips, and it prints on Letter or A4.

🎨

Free PDF

Eagle Coloring Page

1 pageUS LetterColor key

Black outlines with a colored example and the color names at the top. Ready to print and color.

⬇️ Download Coloring Page

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Free PDF

Step-by-Step Eagle Drawing Guide

7 pagesA4All 12 steps

Every step picture with its instructions and tips, to keep beside your paper while you draw.

⬇️ Download Drawing Guide

📱 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.

Pin the Bald Eagle Lesson to a Bird Board

How to draw an eagle step by step - all 12 steps on one page (Pinterest) — All twelve eagle steps fit on this one tall picture. Pin it, or print it for the next art session.

Eagle Drawing Questions From Bird Fans

What is the easiest way to draw an eagle?

Start with a tall oval for the body and a circle for the head, then add a hooked beak and a flat brow over the eye. Those two head details tell everyone it's an eagle, even before you add feathers.

Why is it called a bald eagle if it has feathers on its head?

Bald eagles aren't bald at all. The name comes from an old English word for white, used to describe animals with white patches, like the eagle's white head.

How do you color a white head on white paper?

Leave most of it as bare paper and add light gray only in the shadows: the back of the head, under the brow and near the feather line. The gray edges make the white look solid instead of empty.