How to Draw Simba Step by Step (Easy Lion Cub for Beginners)

Young Simba is all head and paws, and that's exactly why he's fun to draw. A cub doesn't have a mane yet, so instead of fighting with a big fluffy ring you get to focus on a round face, huge eyes and a cheeky smile. In this tutorial I'll show you how to draw Simba step by step, starting with two light ovals and ending with a sitting cub who tilts his head like he's asking you a question. This is my own simple fan-art version for practice, not official art.

How to draw simba step by step - finished colored Simba drawing — Here's the cub you're aiming for. Twelve small steps get you from two pencil ovals to this curious little face.

Every picture shows that step's fresh lines in blue. Gray lines are the parts you drew before, so you always know which bit to copy next.

Quick overview
⏱️ Time: around 30 to 40 minutes including coloring
🎯 Level: easy, fine for kids aged about 6 and up
✏️ Steps: 12
🦁 You'll draw: young Simba sitting in a three-quarter view with his head tilted

Supplies for Sketching a Lion Cub

A pencil that makes light marks (HB works well)
A soft eraser that won't smudge
A black fineliner or thin marker for the final outline
Colored pencils or crayons: golden yellow, cream, red brown, amber, pink
Plain white paper, ideally printer paper or a sketchbook page

Leave a little room on the right side of the page, because the tail curls out that way.

How to Draw Simba Step by Step

Step 1: Sketch a tilted head oval and a body oval

Draw a flat line near the bottom of the page for the ground. Up top, a little to the left, sketch a wide oval for the head, then tip it slightly so one side sits lower. Below it, overlapping a bit, add a bigger oval for the body that touches the ground line. Finish the head with a cross: one line down the middle and a gentle curve across, both following the tilt.

💡 Tip: Keep the head oval nearly as wide as the body. Cubs look young because their heads are so big.

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

Inside the right half of the body oval, draw a circle that rests on the ground. That's the back haunch, the folded back leg you see from the side. Two straight vertical lines on the left mark where the front legs will stand. Then pull one long curve out from behind the haunch along the ground and up into a hook for the tail.

💡 Tip: Place the two leg lines close together. Wide apart, they make the cub look like it's doing the splits.

Step 3: Outline the round head and the hair tuft

Now go over the head oval with a firmer line, keeping the cheeks full and round. On top, slightly off-center, draw a small tuft made of three soft flicks that lean forward. Don't close the head line under the tuft, because the hair sits in front of it.

💡 Tip: Stop at three flicks. More than that starts to look like a grown-up mane.

Step 4: Draw two big round ears

Simba's ears are large for his size and almost perfect circles. Put one on each upper corner of the head so they peek out from behind it. Add a smaller circle inside each one for the inner ear. Only draw the parts that show above the head outline.

💡 Tip: Tilt the ears along with the head. If they sit level while the face leans, it looks off.

Step 5: Shape the slim body and back haunch

Start just under the chin on the left and bring a line down for the chest. On the right, draw the back as a long slope from behind the head down to the ground, curving around at the bottom like a rounded hill. Then trace the haunch circle and add a flat oval in front of it for the back paw.

💡 Tip: Let the back slope gently. A hunched, steep back makes him look like an adult cat.

Step 6: Add front legs and oversized paws

Follow the two leg guides with straight, slightly tapered lines that start inside the chest. You don't need a line across the top, since the legs grow out of the body. At the bottom of each leg draw a wide oval paw, clearly wider than the leg. Two short lines on every paw split the toes.

💡 Tip: Make the paws bigger than feels right. Oversized feet are the giveaway for any baby animal.

Step 7: Draw a thin tail with a fluffy tip

Trace the tail guide with two lines close together, starting from behind the haunch. A cub's tail is thin, so keep the gap narrow. At the top, draw a teardrop-shaped tuft that points up. You'll color it the same red brown as the hair on his head.

💡 Tip: Narrow the tail a touch as it rises. A tail that stays thick all the way looks stiff.

Step 8: Draw the muzzle, the nose and an open smile

Low in the face, draw two puffy cheek bumps side by side with a smaller chin bump below. Where the cheeks meet, place a rounded, upside-down triangle for the nose. Under it, drop a short line that splits into two curved smile lines. Between them, add a small open mouth shaped like a U, with a tongue at the bottom.

💡 Tip: Turn the ends of the smile lines upward. That small lift is what makes the face playful.

Step 9: Add the chest patch and whisker dots

Draw a tall rounded patch on the front of the chest, right under the chin. It turns cream later and gives the body some shape. Then put three tiny dots on each cheek puff for whiskers. Space them a little apart so they don't blur together after coloring.

💡 Tip: Small kids can skip the chest patch. The drawing still works without it.

Step 10: Draw big shiny eyes and raised brows

Sit two tall ovals on the cross line, one on each side, with a gap about the width of the nose between them. Inside each oval draw a round iris, a smaller pupil and a little shine circle near the top. Above the eyes, add two short brows arched upward. Raised brows read as curious, which suits a cub.

💡 Tip: Put both shine circles on the same side. If they point different ways, the eyes look crossed.

Step 11: Ink Simba and erase the guides

With your fineliner, trace every line you want to keep. When I do this I start with the face, because that's where a wobble shows most. Leave the ovals, the cross and the leg guides alone. Let the ink dry for a minute, then erase all the pencil underneath.

💡 Tip: Turn your page as you ink round shapes like the paws, so your hand always pulls the pen toward you.

Step 12: Color your Simba

Use golden yellow for the head and body, plus the legs and tail. The muzzle, chest patch and paws are cream. Color the hair tuft and the tail tip red brown, the irises amber and the nose a soft pink brown. Fill the inner ears light brown and the tongue pink. A darker yellow under the chin adds a shadow.

💡 Tip: Color in small circles instead of back and forth. It hides the stroke marks on big areas like the body.

Why a Simba Sketch Can Look Too Grown-Up

A head that's too small. A cub with an adult-sized head just looks like a small lion. Make the head almost as wide as the body.
Drawing a full mane. Young Simba only has a little tuft. Keep it to a few flicks on top of the head.
Tiny eyes. Small dot eyes take away the baby look. Give each eye a tall oval with an iris and a shine.
Skinny paws. Paws the same width as the legs look like sticks. Widen them into ovals that clearly stick out.
A head that sits perfectly straight. The tilt adds the personality. If your guide oval came out level, tip it before you go on.

New Poses and Moods for Your Cub

Once you're happy with this version, try flipping the tilt the other way or closing one eye in a wink. You can add a butterfly on his nose, or sketch a rock under him for a little Pride Rock scene. If you'd like to see what Simba grows into, the lion drawing tutorial is a good next step, and for another favorite character there's the Disney character drawing tutorial with Nemo.

Free Simba Coloring Page and Printable Step Guide

The free Simba coloring page has a small colored cub at the top to copy from, a key that tells you which color goes on which part, and a big outline below that's ready to fill in. The step-by-step guide PDF has all 12 steps with pictures and tips, so you can draw without a screen nearby. Both pages print on Letter or A4.

🎨

Free PDF

Simba 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

✏️

Free PDF

Step-by-Step Simba 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 Cub Steps for Drawing Time

How to draw simba step by step - all 12 steps on one page (Pinterest) — Every Simba step on one tall image. Save it to Pinterest or print it for drawing time.

These are step-by-step tutorials for more animals and a few favorite extras, each one broken into small stages.

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Snow Leopard Drawing: The snow leopard drawing tutorial ends with the cat resting on a mountain rock, one eye on you.
Leopard Drawing: Another big cat sits with amber eyes and a curled tail in the leopard drawing step by step guide.
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Cat Eye Drawing: Learn how to draw a cat eye with a slit pupil for daylight and a round one for night.

Simba Drawing Questions From Young Artists

How do you draw baby Simba easily?

Start with a big tilted oval for the head and a bigger oval for the body. Add round ears, a small tuft, a cream muzzle and large eyes, then the legs with wide paws.