In this free art lesson, you'll learn how to draw a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly step-by-step.

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To draw this Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly step by step, follow along with the video tutorial below and pause the video after each step to draw at your own pace. You may find it easier to follow the step-by-step drawings below the video. The new lines in each step are shown in red, so you'll know exactly what to draw next. You may want to open the video in a new tab and use both drawing methods. Take your time and draw at your own pace.

The Written step-by-step video tutorial:

For the first few steps, don't press down too hard with your pencil. Use light, smooth strokes to begin.

Step 1: Draw a small oval in the middle of the paper as a guide for the tiger swallowtail butterfly's body or thorax. To draw the oval, first make four marks to determine the height and width. Then connect the marks using curved lines.

Step 2: Below the thorax, draw a longer oval as a guide for the lower part of the butterfly's body or abdomen. This shape should be about one and a half times the height of the thorax, and it should be thin.

Step 3: Starting on the top, left side of the body, draw a long, curved, horizontal line as a guide for the top of the wing. Pay attention to the length of this line in relation to the butterfly's body. To the right, draw another line for the other wing. Make both lines the same length and curvature for a symmetrical look.

Step 4: Below the curved line on the left, draw a long, angled line as a guide for the bottom of the butterfly's forewing. The line should be similar to a wide letter V. The line should connect to the middle of the thorax oval. On the right, draw a similar angled line for the bottom edge of the other forewing. Both sides don't have to be exactly the same, but try to keep the lines symmetrical.

Step 5: Under the abdomen, draw two long, vertical, parallel lines as guides for the first part of the butterfly's hindwings. On either side, draw a long, curved line to finish the guide for the hindwings. The sides of the swallowtail's hindwings should end below the section where the forewings bend.

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That's it for the guides! From this point on, press harder with your pencil for a more defined drawing of a tiger swallowtail butterfly.

Step 6: On top of the first oval, draw a very small arc for the tip of the butterfly's head. On either side of the tip of the head, draw a small, curved line for the eyes. Darken the top of the initial oval to create the rest of the head. Use a series of short strokes to draw the outline of the swallowtail's head for a fuzzy texture. On the tip of the head, draw two long lines for the antennae. Make the tips of the antennae a bit thicker than the bottoms. Make the antennae the same length. They should be farther apart at the top.

Step 7: Darken the rest of the first oval to complete the shape of the tiger swallowtail butterfly's thorax. Use a series of short strokes as you follow the path of the guide for a fuzzy texture.

Step 8: Use the big, triangular shapes at the top as guides to draw the forewings. Darken the top and bottom lines but make the sides and corners curvier. As you darken the outer edges of the shapes, use wavy lines to give the wings a more organic shape. Make both forewings the same so that they're symmetrical. The top corners of the wings on both sides should be curvier than the initial guide lines. Make sure that the outer edges of the forewings are wavy and the inner edges are flat.

Step 9: Use the big shapes at the bottom as guides to draw the butterfly's hindwings. Darken the shape on the lower, left side but use wavier lines as you follow the path. At the bottom, draw a thin, long shape to give the wing the "swallowtail" shape. Use wavy lines as you darken the left edge of the guide. Make the wavy lines curvier than the inner edge. Use the shape on the right to draw the tiger swallowtail's other hindwing the same way. Just follow the shape of the guides and make the lines wavier as you darken the path. On the bottom, draw a thin, long shape to give the hindwing the "swallowtail" look. Finish the shape of the wing by using wavy lines along the right edge of the guide.

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Step 10: Inside the butterfly's left forewing, near the top, draw a thin, long, oval-like shape for the first vein. Make the right side of the shape thinner than the left. Sketch lightly at first. Darken the lines when you get the shape right. Add a line on the top, left side for more of the vein. Draw a similar shape inside the top of the forewing on the right side for another vein. Draw a thin, oval-like shape along the top for the main part of the vein. Then add a curved line at the top. Inside each of the swallowtail's hindwings, at the top, draw a thin, curved line for more veins. Make these lines thinner than the shapes at the top. The lines should be similar in shape to the letter U.

Step 11: Inside the swallowtail's forewing on the left, draw a series of sloping lines for more veins. Follow the slope of the lower, right edge of the forewing as you draw the lines for the veins. Don't overlap the big, oval-like vein at the top as you draw the sloping lines at the bottom. Draw similar lines on the right side for the veins on the butterfly's other forewing. The veins on the right side should slope in the opposite direction of the veins on the left side. Follow the slope of the bottom, left edge of the forewing as you draw the veins. Don't draw too many of these lines. Space them out and don't overlap the oval-like vein at the top.

Step 12: Inside the left forewing, near the left side, draw a sloping line for part of the tiger swallowtail butterfly's wing pattern. Inside the right forewing, near the right edge, draw another sloping line for more of the pattern. Inside the left hindwing, near the right edge, draw a long line for more of the pattern. Continue drawing the line at the bottom and curve it upward. Follow the curvature of the lower edge of the hindwing. Don't draw the bottom pattern line too close to the lower edge. Make the line wavy. Draw a similar line on the butterfly's right hindwing for more of the pattern. Make the right side similar to the left side.

Step 13: Draw a long line across the butterfly's entire wing on the left side for the first part of the "tiger" stripes. Draw another line on the left to complete the shape of the long stripe. Make the shape wider at the top than the bottom. This long stripe should curve inward at the bottom. To the right draw a shorter stripe using shorter lines. These lines shouldn't be perfectly straight. Use wavy lines as you draw the stripes. Add two more short stripes to the left the same way for a total of three short stripes. Inside the entire wing on the right, draw a similar set of stripes using more wavy lines. The inner stripe should be the longest, and it should curve inward. To the right, draw three shorter lines. All of these stripes should overlap the veins. The wings on either side should be perfectly symmetrical but draw the pattern similar to each other.

Step 14: Go over the final sketch lines with a pen, marker or any other type of permanent ink. Take your time and be careful when you ink to avoid any accidents. After inking, get rid of every pencil mark with an eraser for a cleaner drawing of a tiger swallowtail butterfly.

Final Step: Color your butterfly drawing! Use black to create more of the pattern on the wings. Add spots around the edges. Push lightly with your pencil at first and slowly build up darker colors. The body should also be black except for the outer edges. It's a good idea to use reference as you draw for a more accurate depiction of a tiger swallowtail butterfly. Continue coloring until you finish adding the black section of the pattern to the entire body. Coloring can be time-consuming, so be patient and take breaks.

Use blue to color the top edge of the butterfly's wings and also a section near the bottom edge. Use yellow-orange and orange to color in a few spots on the hind wings. Then start adding light yellow to the rest of the wings. Add yellow and yellow-orange to the rest of the swallowtail's wings. Don't smudge the black as you color the yellow sections. Don't forget to pause the video after each step to draw at your own pace.

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