In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Kangaroo Rat in 6 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Kangaroo Rat.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Kangaroo Rat - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Kangaroo Rats are tiny desert rodents, who hop to keep their feet from burning on the hot sands. Start drawing one by making the head, a small round curve for the nose, connected to a slanting line that goes up and to the right, rounding off to make the top of the head. Below the nose, make a slightly bumpy down and right slanting line to make the chin and half of its lower body.
Step 2: Put in an oval above and behind the nose to make the eye. Put in another, almost complete oval just above and behind the eye to make an ear. Put another almost completed oval, leaving a gap at the bottom left to imply its connection to the Kangroo Rat's head.
Step 3: Next we draw the body. The top is a small horizontal line, that then gives way to a big hump, going up briefly and then down. Leave space to draw the tail later! The belly is drawn with a slightly longer horizontal line, before putting in a curve that goes down, then straight back.
Step 4: To draw the leg, make a curve that goes from the very back of the belly you've drawn, down slightly but to the left. Make a loop back with the line to make the first toe. Add two more loops just underneath to make the next two toes, before drawing a line that curves slightly up and to the right, curving up at the end to connect to the body. At the back of the leg, put in another curve that almost touches the back. Did you know that with these legs, Kangaroo rats can jump seven to eight feet into the air?
Step 5: Now for the long tail! It can be made with two sweeping curves that start on either side of the gap you've left. It can start horizontal like shown here, before turning down and to the left. The lines should in with a gentle point. Note that the tail is actually longer than the Kangaroo Rat's body!
Step 6: To make the hands, simply imply them with a few looping horizontal lines just underneath the whiskers. Now you've drawn your Kangaroo Rat!
Interesting Facts about Kangaroo Rats
Kangaroo rats are small rodents that are native to North America. They got their name from the way they hop on their hind legs, which are larger than their two front legs. They move quickly when they hop.
Did You Know?
- The Merriam’s kangaroo rat can leap as high as seven to eight feet.
- Depending on the species, kangaroo rats can be between nine and 14 inches long. The banner-tailed kangaroo rat is the largest species.
- The kangaroo rat’s tail is longer than its body.
- Kangaroo rats are born blind and hairless.
- Kangaroo rats typically live in desert habitats.
- Kangaroo rats mainly eat seeds, and they occasionally eat vegetation and insects.
- Kangaroo rats have pouches on the outside of their cheeks used for carrying food back to their underground burrows, which is where they live.
- Kangaroo rats can live up to five years.
Like rooms in your house, the chambers of an underground burrow system are used for sleeping, eating, and storing food. The number of chambers depends on how many kangaroo rats live in one burrow system. Kangaroo rats sometimes live in large groups called colonies, but they tend to be solitary creatures.
How To Draw A Kangaroo Rat – Step-by-Step Tutorial