In this free art lesson, you'll learn how to draw a Diplodocus step by step. Diplodocus were very large dinosaurs that lived 150 million years ago. Diplodocus carnegii is currently one of the longest dinosaurs known from a complete skeleton, with a total length of 82 feet! Diplodocus hallorum, known from partial remains, was even larger, and is estimated to have been the size of four elephants! Diplodocus also had an extremely long tail and some speculation exists as to whether it may have had a defensive or noisemaking function by cracking it like a whip.

 

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All of the tutorials on How2DrawAnimals.com are good drawing tutorials for beginners and experienced artists alike. The online tutorials are easy to follow; they teach you the how to draw basics while showing you how to draw animals step by step. Each animal has a video drawing tutorial option, as well as step-by-step photos and written text to follow.

 

The Time-Lapse (Speed Drawing) video:

 

To draw a Diplodocus 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 circle near the middle of the paper as a guide for the first part of the Diplodocus's body. First make four small marks to indicate the circle's height and width. Then connect the marks using curved lines. If you're struggling to draw the circle, trace the outer rim of a coin, a bottle cap or any other object with a circular edge. Diplodocus were very long dinosaurs, so be sure to leave plenty of room on either side of the circle for the dinosaur's neck and tail. For a more detailed guide on the different ways to draw a circle check out this tutorial: Four simple ways to draw a circle.

 

Step 2: Draw an arc on the left side of the circle as a guide for the front part of the Diplodocus's body. Make a small mark on the left, and then connect the mark using curved lines. Pay attention to the size of the arc in relation to the circle.

 

 

Step 3: Draw another arc to the right of the circle the same way. This arc should be a bit wider than the first arc. The overall shape for the dinosaur's body should be oval-like.

 

Step 4: To the left of the body, draw a long, slightly curved, horizontal line as a guide for the Diplodocus's neck.

 

 

Step 5: At the end of the line, draw a small circle as a guide for the head. Pay attention to the size of the Diplodocus's head in relation to the body.

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Step 6: To the left of the head, draw a small arc as a guide for the Diplodocus's muzzle.

 

Step 7: On the right side of the body, draw a very long line as a guide for the whip-like tail. Diplodocus had extremely long tails, so curve your line down if you don't have enough room to draw the entire thing on the right side. The tail, along with the dinosaur's body and neck, should have a long, horizontal orientation.

 

 

Step 8: Under the body, on the left side, draw a vertical line that slopes to the right and then bends to the left as a guide for the first front leg. To the left, draw a vertical line that slopes to the left and then bends to the left at the bottom for the Diplodocus's other front leg.

 

Step 9: Under the Diplodocus's body on the right side, draw a longer vertical line that bends near the middle and at the bottom as a guide for the first hind leg. To the right, draw the guide for the visible portion of the other hind leg as a shorter vertical line that bends at the bottom.

 

 

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

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Step 10: Inside the head, near the top, draw the small eye. The shape of the dinosaur's eye should be similar to a small football. The shape of the eye should be similar to a small football. Shade the inside of the eye to create the iris and pupil. Draw a series of small lines around the eye for the folds of skin. Around the skin, draw longer curved lines for the Diplodocus's cranial structure.

 

Step 11: Use the initial arc as a guide to draw the top part of the muzzle. Follow the path of the arc to create the top of the muzzle. Then curve the line inward toward the head to create the Diplodocus's mouth. The line for the mouth should end below the eye. Add a few lines at the front for extra detail.

 

 

Step 12: Use the initial arc as a guide to draw the bottom part of the Diplodocus's muzzle and the jaw. Add some lines inside the muzzle for detail, including a small slit at the top for the nostril.

 

Step 13: Connect the top part of the eye to the muzzle using a curved line to create the top of the head. Add some lines to the right of the jaw and eye to complete the shape of the head. Inside of the Diplodocus's head, add a few short lines for extra detail on the structure of the head.

 

 

Step 14: Draw the dinosaur's first front leg using the second line from the left as a guide. Follow the path of the guide and lightly sketch the shape of the leg around it. When you get the shape of the leg right, darken the lines. The shape of the leg should be thick around the guide like a tree trunk. Add a few tiny, curved lines near the middle for the wrinkled skin near the joints. At the bottom, draw the individual toes using short, sloping lines. Add a long claw on the tip of the outer toe. At the top of the Diplodocus's leg, draw a few curved lines for the folds of skin.

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Step 15: Use the line on the far left side as a guide to draw the second front leg the same way. Lightly sketch the shape of the leg around the guide line. When you get the trunk-like shape right, darken the lines. At the bottom draw the Diplodocus's toes using short lines and give the inner toe a long claw. The top part of the leg will be hidden behind the body, so don't worry about drawing it.

 

Step 16: Use the long, angled, vertical line on the left as a guide to draw the first hind leg. Lightly sketch the shape of the leg around the guide and only darken the lines when you get the shape right. The shape of the hind leg should be a lot thicker at the top than the front leg. It should also be slightly longer. Bend the shape near the middle and add some short lines to emphasize the joint. Draw some curved lines at the top for the loose skin and the toes at the bottom using short, sloping lines. The toes on the Diplodocus's hind legs don't have the extra long claw, so don't draw it here.

 

 

Step 17: Use the line on the far right side as a guide to draw the dinosaur's second hind leg. Draw the shape of the leg around the guide. The top part will be behind the body, so don't draw it. Use short lines to draw the toes at the bottom and the folds of skin at the joints.

 

Step 18: Use the long line on the left as a guide to draw the neck. Just like with the legs, draw the shape of the neck around the initial guide line. Continue drawing the line next to the jaw toward the right to create the bottom part of the neck. Draw a few curved lines next to the dinosaur's body for the folds of loose skin. Draw the top part of the neck the same way. The neck should be thin near the head and gradually get thicker toward the body. Always sketch lightly at first so that it's easy to erase if you make a mistake. Add a bit of loose skin under the Diplodocus's head using a curved line.

 

 

Step 19: Continue drawing the line for the top of the neck across the initial shapes in the middle to create the Diplodocus's body. Continue drawing this line horizontally on the right side instead of dipping it down along the initial guides. Darken the lower edge of the guides in the middle to create the bottom of the body. Don't overlap the shapes of the legs.

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Step 20: Use the long line on the right as a guide to draw the Diplodocus's tail. Follow the path of the guide and lightly draw the top edge of the tail first. The farther along the guide you go, the closer your final line should get to the guide. This will form a thin tip. When you get the top edge of the tail right, darken the line. The tip of the tail should be very thin compared to the thick base near the dinosaur's body. Now draw the bottom edge of the tail the same way. First pick up the line for the body where you left off and continue drawing it toward the right. Then follow the path of the guide as you draw the curved bottom edge of the tail. Diplodocus had very long tails, so if you have room on your paper, you can make yours even longer if you'd like.

 

Step 21: For a cleaner look, erase as much as you can of the initial guide lines. Don't worry about erasing all of the guides. It's okay to leave some behind. Re-draw any final sketch lines you may have accidentally erased.

 

 

Final Step: Add some shading to your Diplodocus dinosaur drawing for more detail. No one is exactly sure what Diplodocus looked like (some dinosaurs even had feathers!), so you can shade your drawing however you'd like. You can even color it! For a simple shading technique, like this one, just use a medium value across the whole body. Add the value lightly at first, and then gradually build up to the level of darkness that you want. For a more detailed guide on how to shade, check out this tutorial: How to shade.

Diplodocus are thought to have had spikes along their necks, backs, and tails, so draw a row of them along the top edge of the entire body. The spikes are basically tiny triangles that are shaded in using a dark value.

Add more value throughout the dinosaur's body to create shadows. These shadows will give the figure more dimension and volume so that it doesn't look so flat. Pick the direction of the light source when shading so that the shadows are consistent with it. Vary the pressure on your pencil to get different degrees of tonal value. Don't worry about shading too smoothly; the rough value gives the Diplodocus's skin texture.

If you'd like, you can add more value to your drawing to give the dinosaur a skin pattern. For a stripe-like pattern, just add thin sections of darker value along the top edge of the entire body. Shading can be time-consuming, so be patient and take breaks.

Add a cast shadow underneath. This helps ground the dinosaur so it doesn't appear to be floating. Don't forget to pause the video after each step to draw at your own pace.

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