How to Draw a Cartoon Giraffe
(the Easy Way)

Stand tall! It's time to learn how to draw a cartoon giraffe – the tallest animal in the land! This awesome creature is native to Africa and instantly recognizable thanks to her long neck and distinctive markings. So, let's rise above the rest and get our pencils at the ready as you add another amazing animal to your portfolio!

STEP-1: The Long and Short of it – Giraffe Basics
The first part of learning how to draw a cartoon giraffe is to sketch out that amazingly long neck, which our African princess needs to reach the tastiest leaves in the tree! She could easily be a model with her stature and graceful poise.First of all, draw an oval shape for the head, followed by a long neck which meets in a curve at the bottom. We now have the basis for another amazing animal illustration!

STEP-2: Adding Some More Features to our African Princess
Now we've got the basics, it's time to add some more features to our cartoon giraffe to make her stand head and shoulders above the rest!At the top of the head, draw a small curved line, then draw two circles for her eyes followed by a curved box shape for the mouth. For the next step in how to draw a cartoon giraffe, draw two angular lines either side of the body – these will eventually form our graceful giant's front legs or arms. Finally, draw two curved vertical lines at the bottom of the body which are the beginning of the back legs.Our cartoon giraffe will soon be standing tall!

STEP-3: Creating Some Features for our Leggy Lady
Now, you may have thought our cartoon giraffe was looking more like an ostrich in the last step and you'd be right! However, it's time to change that now by adding some features unique to this amazing creature.Starting at the top of the head, draw two horns with flat ends. 

Are you enjoying learning how to draw a cartoon giraffe? Now, draw two small oval shapes for the nostrils, followed by a short vertical line beneath for our leggy lady's mouth. Did you know giraffes have muscles in their nostrils which allow them to open or close them? This is thought to protect them in sandstorms! Change the basic shape of the head slightly as in our illustration – note how we've made the jawline more angular in our illustration. Once you've done this, it's time to finish off the legs of our cartoon giraffe. Make them long and spindly – a giraffe can grow as tall as six meters!

STEP-4: Let's Give our Giraffe Some Personality!
Now we've got the outline of the body all sketched out, let's add some more details to give our African princess some personality! Starting with the head, draw two large ears either side and draw a smaller shape inside each to represent the inner ear of our cartoon giraffe. 

For the next step in how to draw a cartoon giraffe, add two short angled lines for eyebrows, followed by two circles with smaller ones inside for the eyes. We can also add some more lines around the eyes and nose to give the face some real form. After this, draw a hoof on the end of each leg, giving our cartoon giraffe two 'toes' on each. Did you know giraffes can reach a speed of 60 km per hour when sprinting? 

This is one fast lady! On the body, draw an irregular shape for the chest, followed by a tail towards the bottom left of the body – remember to make the end bushy. When galloping, a giraffe's tail will curl up to make her more aerodynamic!

STEP-5: Adding Those Unique Markings to our Cartoon Giraffe
Now that we're almost done sketching out our cartoon giraffe, we need to add those distinctive markings so she really cuts a dash in the desert!Draw a series of irregular shapes all over the neck and body stopping just at the top of the legs. Our leggy lady is now suitably camouflaged and looking very fashionable – stripes are so last season! Awesome! Our drawing is all done and so now all we need to do is color in our cartoon giraffe to make her really stand out.

STEP-6: Getting Groovy With Some Giraffe Color!
Out cartoon giraffe always likes to look like she's the height of fashion, so to cut a dash on the catwalk and at home in the plains of Africa, we need to add some vibrant color to finish off her super-stylish look! First of all, draw around the outline in dark purple, then rub out any lines you don't need. 

Next, take your favorite blue and color in the body, leaving her chest and distinctive markings blank for now. Select a light purple for the inner ears, then choose a nice bright pink for the nose and color in the nostrils using a dark brown. Choose a gray for the eyebrows and the area around the eyes, then use this same color for the markings of our cartoon giraffe and the end of her tail. She's looking swish! 

Finally, add a dash of high fashion by coloring the hooves in green. Our cartoon giraffe is finished and ready to stroll out majestically on the plain!  Aren't you glad you learned how to draw a cartoon giraffe!

Now you've created such a fashion icon, why not try drawing some trees around her? Remember, this classy lady always reaches for the stars and selects the tastiest leaves!