How to Draw a T-Rex Step by Step (Easy for Beginners)

Ask any kid to draw a dinosaur and there's a good chance they'll want the king of them all. The trick to a T-Rex that looks like a T-Rex is simple: make the head huge and the arms almost silly small. In this lesson I'll show you how to draw a t-rex step by step, starting from two ovals and ending with a green, grinning dinosaur standing on its strong back legs. No dinosaur knowledge needed, just a pencil you can press lightly.

How to draw a t-rex step by step - finished colored t-rex drawing — The finished T-Rex: a giant smiling head, a pale belly, dark green back spots and two tiny arms tucked under the chin.

Follow the blue: that's the new line work for the step you're on, while gray shows what you've drawn already. Copy the blue, compare, then move on.

Quick overview
⏱️ Time: around 30 minutes, plus coloring
🎯 Level: easy, good for kids from about 6
✏️ Steps: 12
🦖 You'll draw: a cartoon T-Rex standing in side view

Supplies for a Grinning Dinosaur

A pencil for light sketching (HB or 2B)
A clean eraser
A black fine-liner or marker for the final lines
Two or three greens, light and dark
Pale yellow for the belly, plus a little pink
White paper, turned sideways

Turn the paper sideways before you start, because the tail needs a lot of room on the left.

How to Draw a T-Rex Step by Step

Step 1: Sketch a head oval and a body oval

Draw a light ground line near the bottom of the page. Put a wide oval up on the right for the head, then a bigger, slightly tilted oval for the body below and to the left of it. The two ovals should almost touch.

💡 Tip: Make the head oval nearly as wide as the body oval. It feels too big, and that's exactly right for a T-Rex.

Step 2: Add guides for the neck, tail and legs

Join the ovals with a short curve for the neck. From the back of the body, swing one long curved line out to the left for the tail, ending a little higher than it started. Then add a circle for the thigh and two lines down to the ground for the legs.

💡 Tip: Let the tail line rise at the end. A tail that droops to the floor makes the dinosaur look tired.

Step 3: Outline the big rounded head

Trace around the head oval with one confident line. Keep the top of the skull fairly flat, round off the snout at the front, and let the jaw curve back toward the neck. The back of the head dips in a little where the neck will join.

💡 Tip: Square up the snout just slightly. A perfectly round head starts to look like a frog.

Step 4: Join the body and the long tail

Now connect everything into one smooth shape. Start under the jaw, run down the chest and belly, then follow the tail guide to a point on the left. Come back along the top of the tail, over the back and up the thick neck to the back of the head.

💡 Tip: Keep the tail thick where it leaves the body. It should taper slowly, like a carrot, not snap thin right away.

Step 5: Add a strong back leg

The near leg is the T-Rex's powerhouse. Draw a big oval thigh over the lower body, then a shorter, sturdy shin coming down from it. At the bottom, add a long foot with three rounded toes pointing forward and a small claw on each.

💡 Tip: I make the thigh bigger than looks real. Chunky legs are what make this dinosaur look strong enough to hold that head up.

Step 6: Draw the far leg stepping ahead

The second leg steps forward, a little to the right of the first one. You only see the shin and the foot, because the body hides its thigh. Give it the same three toes and claws so the pair matches.

💡 Tip: Keep the far foot on the same ground line. If it floats higher, the T-Rex looks like it's hopping.

Step 7: Give it two tiny arms

Here's the famous part. Just below the neck, draw a small bent arm with two little fingers at the end. Tuck a second arm just behind it and slightly higher, so only part of it peeks out.

💡 Tip: Measure the arm against the head: it should be shorter than the eye is from the nose. Long arms turn it into a different dinosaur.

Step 8: Draw the eye with a brow and a nostril

Place a big oval eye in the back half of the head, closer to the top than the jaw. Inside it, draw a round pupil looking forward with a small shine circle. Add a curved brow above the eye and a tiny nostril at the tip of the snout.

💡 Tip: That bump of a brow is what makes it look like a T-Rex instead of a lizard, so don't skip it.

Step 9: Add a wide smile with small teeth

Draw a long, curved smile from under the eye almost to the end of the snout, with a little hook at the back corner. Hang a row of small triangle teeth just under the line. Then add an oval cheek near the corner of the mouth.

💡 Tip: Keep every tooth small and about the same size. Big pointed fangs make it scary, and we want friendly.

Step 10: Draw the belly line and back spots

Draw one curved line parallel to the underside, from the throat down the chest, along the belly and a short way under the tail. That marks the pale belly. Then add a row of flat oval spots along the back and two small ones on top of the head.

💡 Tip: Make the spots smaller toward the tail. It helps the tail look like it's getting farther away.

Step 11: Ink your T-Rex and erase the guides

Trace all the keeper lines with your black marker. I go around the teeth slowly, since that's where the line wobbles most. When the ink is dry, erase the ovals, the tail curve and the leg lines.

💡 Tip: Give the ink a full minute before erasing. Smudged teeth are hard to fix.

Step 12: Color your T-Rex

Color the head, body, tail, near leg and arms with a bright green. Use a slightly darker green for the far leg and far arm so they sit back. The spots get dark green, the belly pale yellow, the claws cream and the cheek pink. Leave the teeth and the eye white.

💡 Tip: Orange with a yellow belly works just as well if you'd like a different dinosaur. Keep the spots one shade darker than the body.

Lizard or T-Rex? Fixing the Usual Slips

A small head. The head is the whole personality of a T-Rex. If yours looks like a lizard, make the head oval bigger before you do anything else.
Arms that are too long. Tiny arms are the giveaway. If they reach past the chin, shorten them by half.
A skinny tail. The tail balances the big head. Start it as wide as the hips and let it narrow slowly.
Legs placed too far back. Put the thigh under the middle of the body. Too far back and the dinosaur looks like it's about to tip over on its nose.
Scary teeth. Huge fangs change the mood fast. Small, even teeth keep it cartoon friendly for young kids.

New Looks for Your T-Rex

Once the basic T-Rex feels easy, try giving it an open roaring mouth, a baby T-Rex hatching from a cracked egg, or stripes instead of spots. Little kids can skip the teeth and the far leg and it still reads as a T-Rex, thanks to that head and those arms. If you like big upright reptiles, my Godzilla drawing tutorial uses the same heavy legs and thick tail, with spiky back plates added. Want a flying cousin? The dragon drawing step by step lesson adds wings to a very similar body. And for a quick break between drawings, print a few of these dinosaur coloring pages.

Free T-Rex Coloring Page and Step Guide

The free T-Rex coloring page shows a colored T-Rex at the top to copy, a small color key, and a big outline underneath with room around it for a volcano or a jungle. The step-by-step PDF guide holds all 12 steps with their pictures and tips. Both print on Letter or A4.

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Free PDF

T-Rex 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 T-Rex 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 Dinosaur Steps for Later

How to draw a t-rex step by step - all 12 steps on one page (Pinterest) — All twelve T-Rex steps on one tall image, handy for the next rainy afternoon.

Each of these is a full step-by-step lesson with a picture for every stage, so the shapes you just practiced carry straight over.

Godzilla Drawing: A big upright monster with back plates and a heavy tail in this how to draw Godzilla step by step lesson.
Dragon Drawing: Raise two bat wings over a long-tailed body in this dragon drawing tutorial.
Alligator Drawing: Practice a long snout and a low, wide tail with this alligator drawing step by step guide.
Turtle Drawing: A friendly reptile with a patterned shell in the how to draw a turtle tutorial.
Dragon Head Drawing: Zoom in on horns, teeth and a big eye with this dragon head drawing tutorial.

T-Rex Drawing Questions Kids Ask

What is the easiest way to draw a T-Rex?

Start with two ovals, a big one for the head and a slightly bigger one for the body, then add a long curved tail and a thick back leg. The tiny arms and the smile go on last.

Why does a T-Rex have such tiny arms?

Nobody knows for sure. Scientists have a few ideas, like holding food close or helping it get up from the ground. For drawing, the tiny arms are what make people recognize it right away.

How do I make my T-Rex look friendly and not scary?

Use a big round eye with a shine dot, a curved smile, small even teeth and a pink cheek. Bright greens or oranges also feel friendlier than dark brown or gray.