By Emily 
How To Draw A Pterodactyl Dinosaur with this how-to video and step-by-step drawing instructions. Easy animals to draw for beginners and kids.
Please see the drawing tutorial in the video below
You can refer to the simple step-by-step drawing guide below
Step 1
A perfect Pterodactyl framework!
As I mentioned above, this dinosaur closely resembles some of the dragons here on this site. Therefore, drawing this particular dinosaur and the framework… will be a good practice for any future dragon you plan to draw.
As you can see, the core of the pterodactyl is extremely simple – an oval for the body, a curved line for the neck, and a small circle for the head. Paint yours so it looks the same.
The rest of the framework is quite complicated that you have to take into account, the large openings…
Framework for a cartoon pterodactyl
When drawing the wing lines as you see above, it is important to keep them the same length. I say “about” when this particular dinosaur is turned slightly left (your right). As a result, the left wing (which is your right again) will appear to be a bit shorter.
Next, move on to drawing simple lines and shapes to bring out the main features of the dinosaur…
The pterodactyl’s beak and horn-like protrusion on the head of the pterodactyl are fairly straight forward, especially when you draw a cross first to maintain symmetry. Then draw on the legs – three straight lines… followed by four circles for the claws and the coming claws.
The final additions to your framework are two different colored vertical lines. Why? Well, they mark the halfway point between where each wing joins the fuselage and where each wingtip ends. And this is very useful for drawing skin membranes later.
And with that – you’re ready to go ahead and start drawing your animated pterodactyl! Go on…
Step 2
Draw your Pterodactyl’s head and body
The crosses are really helpful when drawing the actual head and body of your pterodactyl. To start, draw the head, then the arms like so…
Draw the head of the cartoon pterodactyl Draw the arm of the cartoon pterodactyl
Remember – change the look of your dinosaur. You have outlined all the proportions and so focusing on creating your own unique look is the thing to work towards.
Next, work your way up to pterodactyl reduction by drawing simple lines to complete the torso and shins…
Draw the body of the cartoon pterodactyl Draw the legs of the cartoon pterodactyl
And just like the cross on the circular part of the head, the cross on the oval part of the body is useful because it gives you a unique perspective of the drawing where you can balance the sides. left and right to match, keeping symmetry as you progress.
Well, with the head and body done, let’s move on to the next step!…
Step 3
Drawing stories and claws
Starting with the claws (foot), see the small example on your left. Using the circle that makes up the foot area on each leg, draw three pointed claws. To get yours like mine, first start with the innermost digit, then work your way aside.
Draw the nails of the cartoon pterodactyl
And then, once you’ve got the claws in place – let’s move on to the claws area – circles appear halfway along the top of each wing.
Just like with strokes, use circles to guide you as you draw three fingers on each nail. In fact, it’s four fingers, not three – the fourth is similar to a human ‘baby’ finger… and it extends all the way to the tip of the wing, supporting the webbed skin more than it allows. flying dinosaur.
Also, before you complete each swipe – make sure you leave a small space to draw each ‘baby finger’ that will extend to either end of the wing.
Step 4
Complete the Pterodactyl by Completing the Wings
At this point, everything is ready and all that’s left to paint are the wings. Lucky for you, you’ve got a very nice frame on which to place the rest of your drawing exactly – starting with ‘baby fingers’…
Drawing wings for cartoon pterodactyl
Looking at the example above, you can see that each of the remaining fingers protrudes and emerges from the nail to become a supporting branch for the rest of the wing. Draw each of these, keeping the shape of the frame intact. And also draw two dots – one on each colored line. Mark them with a distance down from two claws.
Completed pterodactyl animation drawing
The last thing then – use the red dot (and the green lines – written in pencil in your case) to draw the last part of each wing – the skin. It is the webbed skin that allows the pterodactyl to fly, like a dragon. The red dots, which mark points on the half of the wing, can make it easier to create a more curved look for this part of the wing. They also help balance the left and right wings symmetrically.
And there you have it, some final touches and you’re done!
Step 5
In fact, there aren’t too many details to add at this point. Again, it’s a fairly plain looking creature compared to a dragon, and so… why not keep it that way?
But of course – add some color to give your drawing some character. On top of that, I’ve come up with a unique combination of red-orange, orange, and yellow polka dots. But hey, try something a little different… purple or brown skin would look pretty neat too!
And so, this brings us to the end of another cartoon dinosaur drawing lesson. I hope you enjoyed creating this ‘powerful flying pterodactyl’ and I welcome you back soon for some more lessons!
HAN