Please PAUSE the "How to Draw a Toucan" 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 near the top of the paper as a guide for the toucan's head. First draw four small marks for the height and width of the circle, then connect the marks using curved lines. Sketch lightly at first so that it's easy to erase if you make a mistake. But the circles don't have to be perfect. They're just guides. If you do want a perfect circle, trace the outer rim of a coin, bottle cap or anything else that's circular.

 

Step 2: Draw two intersecting lines inside the toucan's head to help you place the facial features later. The end result should be similar to the crosshairs on a scope.

 

Step 3: Loosely measure the width of the circle, then use that measurement to mark how long the toucan's beak will be. Using the mark, draw an arc on the left side of the head as a guide for the beak. The length of the beak doesn't have to be exactly the width of the circle, just around that size. The bottom part of the arc should be placed higher up on the edge circle.

 

Step 4: Draw another circle on the bottom, right side as a guide for the toucan's body. This circle should be about twice the size of the head. Sketch lighly at first to get the shape right. Don't place the circle too far apart from the body, otherwise the bird's neck will be too long.

 

Step 5: Draw a couple of curved lines that connect the two circles for the toucan's neck. Then draw a wide U-shaped arc on the lower, right side to finish the guide for the bird's body.

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Step 6: Draw an angled line coming from the bottom of the big circle as a guide for the first leg. Draw a smaller angled line on the left as a guide for the leg that's on the other side of the toucan's body.

 

Step 7: Draw a long, narrow arc on the lower, right side of the body as a guide for the toucan's tail. The end result should be similar to a long letter U that's tilted to the left a bit.

 

That's it for the initial sketch! From this point on, press harder with your pencil to get a more defined sketch.

 

Step 8: Draw the toucan's eye as a small circle inside the head using the initial lines as guides for placement. Place the eye to the left of the vertical line and above the horizontal line. Draw a tiny circle inside the eye, off to the side, to represent glare and a bigger dot in the middle for the pupil. Using a value that's lighter than the pupil, shade the eye except for the tiny circle that represents glare. Add a few curved lines around the eye for the skin surrounding it.

 

Step 9: Draw the top part of the toucan's beak by using the initial arc as a guide. Follow the basic path of the arc but make the top part bulge up a bit more as you darken the line. Make the line extend out of the arc and point down to create the pointy tip of the beak. The bottom line for the top beak should be at around the same level as the horzontal line inside the head. Sketch the line lightly at first to get the position right. Use a series of short angled lines as you darken the bottom of the bird's beak for a serrated edge.

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Step 10: Finish the toucan's beak by first drawing the base of it on the right side, next to the eye. The base of the beak consists of a short, wavy line to the left of the eye. Now follow the basic path of the initial arc to create the bottom part of the beak. The bottom part of the bird's beak should be thinner than the top part, so draw the line a little higher as you darken it.

 

Step 11: Use the intial circle as a guide to draw the bird's head. Follow the path of the circle as you use quick, short strokes to create the feathery texture on the head. Darken the line under the toucan's beak, on the left side, for that side of the neck. Add a few more small, curved lines around the eyes for extra detail on the skin. Draw a longer curved line inside the head using quick, short strokes for the separation of color. This line should start next to the beak, go above the eye and then curve down until it's outside of the initial circle.

 

Step 12: Draw the right side of the toucan's wing by darkening the edges of the initial guides on the right. Now draw the tip of the folded wing using a line made up of quick, short strokes that goes in toward the body. Add the top part of the bird's wing as a broken -up, curved line that connects to the tip at the bottom.

 

Step 13: Use the remaining initial lines as guides to draw the rest of the toucan's body. Darken the outer edge of the initial shapes using a series of quick, short strokes to give the bird's body a feathery texture. Continue drawing the line that separates the color in toward the body and across the chest.

 

Step 14: Use the angled lines under the body as guides to draw the toucan's legs. Make the top part that's closest ot the body thick to create the feather-covered base of the leg. Follow the path of the guide but make the shape of the bird's foot thicker. Add a couple of curved lines at the end for the toes. Add the foot on the other side of the body by using the other angled line as a guide. Toucans have four toes, two pointing forward and two pointing backward, but from this angle only three are visible.

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Step 15: Use the U- shaped line on the bottom right as a guide to draw the toucan's tail. Follow the basic path of the guide but make the top part narrower and the bottom part wider as you darken the line.

 

Step 16: Draw a couple of lines under the toucan's feet to create a stick for the toucan to stand on. You can make the stick as long as you want but make sure that you don't overlap the lines for the feet.

 

Step 17 (optional): 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. You can also LIGHTLY erase some of the final lines so that the colors don't get too muddled with the graphite. If you accidentally erase too much of the final lines, be sure to re-draw them.

 

Final Step (optional): Toucans are colorful birds, so instead of the usual shading, try coloring your drawing. Use black for the main part of the body. You can start lightly at first and build up to the level of darkness that you want. Leave a strip at the base of the tail blank because that section will be red. Make a few streaks along the wing lighter to represent the feather's shine. Toucans have a very rich black color on their bodies, so push down hard with your pencil to achieve this. Use black for the bird's pupil and blue for the iris.

Now for the fun part: the beak! Color the tip of the toucan's beak different shades of red, including red- orange and brown. Just add different shades of red on top of each other, pushing harder each time to blend the colors until you achieve the color you want. This will be a keel- billed toucan, but because they're so similar, you can color yours as a toco toucan. Toco toucans are easier to color. Simply color the tip of the beak black and the rest of the beak orange.

To continue with the keel-billed toucan coloration, use yellow-orange to draw a curved shape on the top beak and then add blue- green around it. Now use yellow- green for the rest of the toucan's beak, excluding the tip and the yellow- orange shape. Add a few triangle- like spiky shapes along the beak's opening using blue- green and dark blue. Use blue along the beak's opening and bottom as well to accentuate the shadows. Use yellow-green to color a streak across the top part of the head, then color the rest of the patch yellow. Use a bit of yellow- orange on the sides of the face for shadows. Leave a strip along the chest blank. Use red for the strip across the bird's chest and at the base of the tail.

Color the toucan's feet using light blue, dark blue and violet. Use dark brown, light brown and even black to color the stick under the bird's feet.

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