How to Draw Stegosaurus in 7 Steps

Stegosaurus is an incredible looking dinosaur. You'll have fun learning to draw its spiked tail, big muscles and tall armor plates.

In this section, we'll show you how to draw this Stegosaurus dinosaur. You can draw it freehand while looking at your computer monitor, or you can print out this page to get a closer look at each step.

Here, we'll show you an illustration of each step and then give you a description of how to draw it. Follow the red lines in each illustration to learn exactly what to draw in that step. The lines drawn in previous steps are shown in gray.

Ready to get started? Check out the next page to learn how to draw the body.

Contents

Draw the Head and Body
Add the Neck and Tail
Draw the Front and Hind Legs
Add the Opposite Legs
Add the Plates Along the Back
Draw the Muscle Detail
Add the Final Touches

1. Draw the Head and Body

Draw a large pear on its side for the body. Add a smaller pear in front for the head.

Learn how to draw the neck and tail on the next page.

2. Add the Neck and Tail

Draw a rounded triangle for the neck, connecting the small head to the larger body. Add a pointed, slightly curved tail at the other end.

Find out how to draw the legs on the next page.

3. Draw the Front and Hind Legs

Draw an oval for the thigh of the rear leg on the near side of the Stegosaurus. Make a smaller oval for the shin and a rounded rectangle for the foot. For the front leg, draw a circle for the shoulder, an oval for the upper leg, and a round shape that flares out at the bottom for the lower leg and foot.

Find out how to draw the opposite legs on the next page.

4. Add the Opposite Legs

To draw the back leg on the Stegosaurus's far side, draw an egg shape for the shin and a rounded rectangle for the top of the foot. Add a teardrop on its side for the bottom of the foot. For the front leg, draw an oval for the top of the foot and another teardrop on its side for the bottom of the foot.

Find out how to draw this dinosaur's plates on the next page.

5. Add the Plates Along the Back

Draw upside-down diamond shapes along the Stegosaurus's back for the plates. Add four pointed shapes at the end of the tail for spikes. Put more diamond shapes along the side of the body and neck to make smaller plate bumps.

In the next step, we'll add some elements that will make this dinosaur look more realistic.

6. Draw the Muscle Detail

Add ovals for the eye and the nostril. Sketch a slightly squiggly line for the mouth. Draw lines on the plates for detail. Add lines in the tail and leg for muscles and other lines in the neck and belly for skin folds.

We'll add the final touches to our drawing on the next page.

7. Add the Final Touches

Trace the pencil lines you want to keep with a felt-tip pen, and erase any extra lines.

Your dinosaur is finished! Even if you don't get it right the first time, keep practicing until you're happy with your drawing.

The Arrhinoceratops dinosaur's large horns and colorful head crest make it a truly unique dinosaur. Learn how to draw this dinosaur -- in just six steps.

See all How to Draw articles.