How to Draw a Girl
Draw a stylized girl step by step using basic shapes, facial features, hair, clothing, and shading. Practice proportions, pose variation, and creative expression.
About this tutorial
Draw a stylized girl step by step using basic shapes, facial features, hair, clothing, and shading. Practice proportions, pose variation, and creative expression.
What you need
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Gather your materials and place them on a flat surface.
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Step 2
Draw a light vertical guideline down the center of your paper.
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Step 3
Sketch a light oval near the top third of the paper for the head centered on the guideline.
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Step 4
Draw a horizontal eye line halfway down the oval.
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Step 5
Draw two almond-shaped eyes on the eye line spaced about one eye-width apart.
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Step 6
Draw a small nose centered below the eye line.
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Step 7
Draw a simple smiling mouth below the nose.
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Step 8
Draw two short curved lines above the eyes for eyebrows.
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Step 9
Draw ears on each side of the head aligned with the eye line.
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Step 10
Draw the hair outline around the head in the style you like such as long short or a ponytail.
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Step 11
Draw a short neck below the head centered on the guideline.
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Step 12
Draw shoulders and a simple outfit shape for the torso below the neck.
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Step 13
Gently erase the light guidelines you no longer need.
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Step 14
Add light shading under the chin and along one side of the hair using a pencil or tissue to blend.
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Step 15
Color your girl drawing with your coloring materials and then share your finished creation on DIY.org.
Get inspired
Fun facts
How do I draw a girl step by step for kids?
Start with light basic shapes: draw a circle for the head and a vertical guideline for face symmetry. Add horizontal lines for eye placement, then sketch eyes, a small nose and a smiling mouth. Draw the neck and a simple oval or rectangle for the torso. Add arms and legs using tapered lines, then block in hair and clothing shapes. Erase guidelines, add simple shading where light hits, and finish with color.
What materials do I need to draw a girl with simple shading?
You’ll need plain drawing paper, a soft HB pencil for sketching and a 2B for darker lines or shading, an eraser, and a sharpener. For color, use colored pencils, crayons, or washable markers. Optional items: a blending stump or cotton swab for smooth shading, a ruler for proportions, and a fine black pen to outline. Choose non-toxic, washable supplies for young children.
What ages is step-by-step girl drawing suitable for?
This activity suits a wide range: preschoolers (4–5) can copy simple shapes and color; early elementary (6–9) can follow step-by-step proportions and add basic facial features; older children (10+) can practice more accurate proportions, shading, and hair detail. Adapt complexity to the child’s ability, offer larger shapes for younger kids, and supervise when using sharpeners or scissors.
What are the benefits and safe variations of drawing a girl for kids?
Drawing a girl step-by-step builds observation, proportion understanding, fine motor control, and self-expression while boosting confidence. It also supports hand-eye coordination and patience. For safe variations, try cartoon-style figures, different hairstyles and outfits, or cultural clothing to teach diversity. Use non-toxic art supplies, supervise sharp tools, and offer thicker pencils or larger paper for younger children to reduce frustration.
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can I use if I don't have a pencil, eraser, tissue, or certain coloring materials listed in the instructions?
If you don't have a blending tissue, use a cotton swab, fingertip, or blending stump to smudge the light shading under the chin and along the hair, and if you lack an eraser or colored markers use a kneaded or vinyl eraser and colored pencils or crayons to color your girl drawing.
My eyes or features look uneven—what step should I redo to fix proportions?
Use the light vertical guideline and the horizontal eye line, measure about one eye-width between the almond-shaped eyes, then gently erase and redraw them so they sit evenly on the eye line inside your oval head shape.
How can I adapt this activity for different ages or skill levels?
For younger children simplify to a circle head, dot eyes and a smile and skip shading, while older kids can add the short neck, detailed hair outlines, light shading under the chin, and more complex outfit shapes as described in the steps.
How can we extend or personalize our finished girl drawing beyond the basic steps?
Personalize by adding a background scene, accessories or patterned clothing, experimenting with different hairstyles and pencil textures before coloring with your materials, and then share the finished creation on DIY.org.