This episode of the 100 Days Sketching Challenge takes on the mighty elephant — the largest land animal on Earth. With its huge ears, long trunk, and tusks, the elephant is a rewarding animal to draw. Parikshet shows you how to sketch an elephant step by step.

🖍️ What You Need

  • Pencil and eraser
  • Grey markers (light and dark)
  • Pink for the inner ears
  • Black pen for outlines

How to Draw an Elephant Step by Step

  1. Draw the head — a large rounded shape, domed at the top.
  2. Add the huge ears — two large fan-shaped ears on each side of the head.
  3. Draw the trunk — a long, thick tube curving down from between the eyes, tapering toward the tip, with wrinkle lines.
  4. Add the tusks — two curved ivory tusks beside the trunk.
  5. Draw the small eyes — gentle, small eyes for such a big animal.
  6. Sketch the large body — a big rounded body with a slightly arched back.
  7. Add the thick legs — four sturdy, column-like legs with rounded toenails.
  8. Colour — grey body, pink inner ears, with a thin tufted tail.
💡 Parikshet's Tip: The trunk and big ears make an elephant unmistakable — draw the trunk as a long, thick curving tube with wrinkle lines, and make the ears large and fan-shaped. Nail those two features and your drawing reads as an elephant straight away.

🌟 Did You Know?

An elephant's trunk has around 40,000 muscles — compared to about 600 in the whole human body! Elephants use their trunks to breathe, smell, drink, grab food, trumpet, and even hug. Elephants are also extremely intelligent and emotional: they live in close family groups, help each other, and have been seen showing grief when a member of their herd dies.

Elephant Drawing Key Features

  • Long wrinkled trunk — the most distinctive feature
  • Large fan-shaped ears — help the elephant keep cool
  • Curved ivory tusks — beside the trunk
  • Thick column legs — sturdy like tree trunks

🎯 Try This: Draw an Elephant Family

  1. Draw a large adult elephant using this guide.
  2. Add a baby elephant (calf) beside it — smaller, with a shorter trunk.
  3. Show the baby holding the adult's tail with its trunk (elephants really do this!).
  4. Add a savanna background with an acacia tree.