How to Draw a Styracosaurus Dinosaur
Please PAUSE the "How to Draw a Styracosaurus Dinosaur" video after each step to draw at your own pace.
Time-Lapse (Speed Drawing) video:
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 on the left side of the paper as a guide for the Styracosaurus' head. First make four small marks to indicate the circle's height and width. Then connect the marks using curved lines. If you're having a hard time drawing the circle, trace the outer rim of a coin, a lid or any other object with a circular edge.
Step 2: Under the head, draw a curved line as a guide for the muzzle. The shape of the muzzle should be similar to the letter U. Pay attention to its size in relation to the dinosaur's head.
Step 3: Make a mark high above the head to determine the height of the Styracosaurus' frill. Add another small mark on the right side of the head too. Now draw a sloping line on the left side of the head for the front part of the frill. To finish the guide for the frill, draw a line that curves around the top part of the head and ends at the mark on the right side.
Step 4: At the top of the frill, draw four lines as guides for the frill spikes. The lines should start near the middle and curve outward. The spikes on the sides will be shorter, so make those guides smaller. Close to where the head meets the muzzle, on the left side, draw another curved line as a guide for the Styracosaurus' nose horn.
Step 5: To the right of the head, draw a big circle as a guide for the front part of the body. Draw this circle like the head: make some marks, then connect the marks using curved lines. Notice the size of this circle in relation to the dinosaur's head.
Step 6: On the right side, draw another circle as a guide for the back portion of the Styracosaurus' body. Draw this circle the same way and make it slightly smaller than the circle for the front part of the body.
Step 7: Under the circle on the left, draw two angled lines as guides for the Styracosaurus dinosaur's front legs. Bend the lines to indicate where the joints will be. The foot on the left will be stepping forward, so draw that guide line sloping.
Step 8: Draw two more angled lines under the circle on the right as guides for the hind legs. Pay attention to how these lines bend, as this will help you draw the Styracosaurus' joints and feet later on.
Step 9: Draw two short, curved lines that connect the head to the body to create the neck. Draw two longer curved lines that connect the two big circles to finish the guide for the body. On the right side of the body, draw two long, wavy lines as guides for the dinosaur's tail. The left side of the tail should be wide, and the right side should end at a thin, pointy tip.
That's it for the guides! From this point on, press harder with your pencil for a more defined drawing.
Step 10: Inside the head, near the middle, lightly sketch a small circle for the dinosaur's eye. When you get the placement and shape right, darken the lines. Make the top and bottom pointier. In the middle of the eye, draw a dot for the pupil. Off to the side, draw a tiny circle to represent glare. Draw a couple of curved lines above and below the eye for the eyelids. Add more curved lines around the eye for the skin's wrinkles. To the left of the eye, draw a curved line with small, triangle-like shapes on top for the Styracosaurus' spiky brow.
Step 11: Use the line on the muzzle as a guide for drawing the horn on the nose. Follow the basic path of the guide and draw the shape of the horn around it. The shape of the horn should be wide at the base, get gradually thinner and end at a pointy tip. Add a few lines below the base of the Styracosaurus' horn for the wrinkles on the skin.
Step 12: Use the U-shaped line under the head as a guide to draw the top part of the Styracosaurus' mouth. The mouth is shaped like a bird's beak, so make the top part curved and the tip pointy. Add a wavy line above the beak for the fleshy base of the mouth.
Step 13: Draw the bottom part of the beak to the right and use the U-shaped line as a guide. Darken the right edge of the U- shaped guide to create the dinosaur's jaw. For the nostril, draw a slit shape on the edge of the initial circle guide.
Step 14: Draw a series of triangle- like shapes along the left edge of the initial circle for the other brow. On the right side of the head, draw a larger triangle- like shape for the spike on the cheekbone. Draw a smaller triangle-like shape on the left side for the Styracosaurus' other cheekbone spike.
Step 15: Use the lines on the frill as guides to draw the Styracosaurus' frill spikes. Just like with the nose horn, follow the path of the guide as you draw the shape of the spike around it. The base of the spikes should be wide, and the tops should end in pointy tips. Curve the shapes of the spikes outward. The spikes on the left will overlap each other a bit. You can also make the dinosaur's spikes a bit longer or shorter if you'd like.
Step 16: Continue adding more spikes along the edge of the frill guide. If you're having a hard time drawing the spikes freehand, draw a few guide lines first. Make the spikes smaller the farther down the frill they are.
Step 17: Keep drawing smaller spikes along the edges of the frill guide. These spikes should be similar to small triangles. The side of the frill should come in toward the eye a bit. Add a few curved, broken lines inside the frill to emphasize the rough texture. Add a couple of tiny triangle- shaped spikes at the top of the Styracosaurus' frill.
Step 18: Use the second line from the left as a guide to draw the Styracosaurus' first front leg. Follow the path of the guide and lightly sketch the shape of the leg around it. When you get the shape and size of the leg right, darken the lines. Add a few extra lines at the joints for the folds on the skin. Draw a series of small triangle- like shapes at the bottom for the toes and hoof-like nails. The bottom of the foot should be wide and flat. The dinosaur's toes should be short and stubby. Use curved lines to draw the shape of the leg to emphasize the muscle structure. Add a few more lines within the shape for more folds on the skin.
Step 19: Use the sloping line on the left side as a guide to draw the other front leg the same way. Follow the path of the guide and draw the shape of the leg around it. Curve the shape of the leg so that it's raised and stepping forward. Because the Styracosaurus' leg is raised, the row of hoof-like nails will be at the bottom. Add curved lines along the way at the joints for the skin's wrinkles.
Step 20: Use the line on the far right side as a guide to draw the hind leg that's on this side of the body. Follow the basic 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 top of the leg starts high inside the body. The top should also be pretty wide. Add the dinosaur's visible toes and hoof-like nails at the bottom. The bottom of the leg should be thinner than the top. Curve the lines to emphasize the muscle structure. Add wrinkles at the joints.
Step 21: Use the last line under the dinosaur's body as a guide to draw the other hind leg the same way. Draw the shape of the leg around the guide and add the hoof-like nails at the bottom. The top of the leg will be hidden by the body, so only draw the lower, visible portion.
Step 22: Use the remaining lines as guides to draw the rest of the Styracosaurus dinosaur's body. Simply darken the outer edges of the initial guide lines to create the shape of the body. Don't overlap the legs that are on this side of the body. Make the tail a bit wavier to make it less rigid and more organic.
Step 23: 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 Styracosaurus dinosaur drawing to give it more dimension and volume. 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. Add the value lightly at first, then gradually build up to the level of darkness that you want.
Add even more value throughout your Styracosaurus drawing for extra detail. No one is exactly sure what Styracosaurus looked like (some dinosaurs even had feathers!), so you can shade your drawing however you'd like. You can even color it! For a rough, scaly texture like this, draw random tiny, squiggly lines throughout the body. This process may seem more intricate than it actually is. Don't overthink it. Just add random squiggly lines all over the dinosaur's body. For even simpler shading, just add a medium value to the entire body. If you want to add stripes, draw triangle-like shapes using a darker value all over the 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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