How to draw a chicken - a free chicken drawing guide
Draw a friendly chicken step-by-step using simple shapes, add feathers, beak, and colors, and practice proportions and observation skills carefully.
Photos of friendly chicken drawings
Step-by-step guide to draw a friendly chicken
How To Draw A Chicken
Step 1
Gather your materials and place them where you can reach them easily.
Step 2
Lightly draw a circle near the top of the paper for the chicken's head.
Step 3
Draw a larger oval below the circle so it overlaps a little for the chicken's body.
Step 4
Draw a faint vertical line through the head to help place the face.
Step 5
Draw the face by adding two round eyes with tiny pupils and a small sideways triangle for the beak.
Step 6
Add a comb on top of the head using three soft rounded bumps.
Step 7
Draw a small teardrop shape under the beak for the wattle.
Step 8
Draw a curved wing shape on the side of the body.
Step 9
Add three long curved tail feathers at the back of the body.
Step 10
Draw two straight legs below the body and add three small toes to each foot.
Step 11
Add short curved lines on the body and wing to show feather texture.
Step 12
Look carefully at your drawing and gently change any shapes so the head and body look balanced.
Step 13
Trace the lines you like best with the black marker and then erase the pencil guidelines when the ink is dry.
Step 14
Color your chicken with your favorite coloring materials.
Step 15
Share your finished creation on DIY.org
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we don't have a black marker or certain coloring materials?
If you don't have a black marker, carefully trace the penciled lines with a dark-colored pencil, gel pen, or crayon and then erase the pencil guidelines when the tracing is set.
My chicken's head and body look off-balance—how can I fix that?
Lightly erase part of the circle or oval and redraw them using the faint vertical line through the head to reposition the face and overlap until the head and body look balanced before you trace with the black marker.
How can I adapt this drawing activity for different ages?
For younger children, pre-draw the circle, oval, comb, and wattle for them to color and add simple toes, while older kids can add extra tail feathers, detailed short curved feather lines, and shading with colored pencils before tracing and erasing pencil guidelines.
How can we extend or personalize the finished chicken drawing?
After coloring your chicken, cut it out and glue it onto a painted farm background, add patterned wing designs or googly eyes for texture, and write a name on it before sharing the finished creation on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to draw a friendly chicken
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Facts about drawing for kids
🪶 An adult chicken can have about 8,000 to 10,000 feathers — great detail to notice when drawing texture!
🐔 Chickens are descendants of the red junglefowl — knowing their wild roots helps you study natural posture and movement.
👀 Chickens can see more colors than humans (including ultraviolet), so they notice tiny patterns — use careful observation when sketching feathers.
🥚 Chicken eggs come in many colors (white, brown, blue, green) depending on breed — fun inspiration for coloring your drawing!
✏️ Starting with simple shapes like circles, ovals, and triangles makes it easy to build correct chicken proportions step-by-step.
