In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Triceratops 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 Triceratops.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Triceratops - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: First, draw the head and face. The triceratops had a large snout like a sharp, round bird’s beak with the smallest of its three horns just above the nose. The frill behind its face can be drawn as a bumpy circle, like broccoli.
Step 2: Draw the eyes and horns. The larger, longer horns—long, gently curving lines that come to a sharp point—sat above the eyes under the frill.
Step 3: Draw the body with two long lines from behind the head. The back of the triceratops was humped and the underside was round as well.
Step 4: Draw the front legs. These were short but thick, like elephant legs but with longer toes and sharper nails, and supported a much faster-moving and agile animal.
Step 5: Draw the hind legs. These would have been thicker, with even larger feet than the front legs. Remember to draw four very large, distinct toes on the back feet, which held a lot of the triceratops’ weight during movement.
Step 6: Draw the tail. Unlike T-Rex or larger bipedal dinosaurs, the triceratops wouldn’t have needed a long tail for balance, so make sure to draw a shorter, stubby tail that comes to a point.
Interesting Facts about the TRICERATOPS
The Triceratops is a member of the dinosaur group and the scientific term for them is T. horridus. Their Greek name “tri-cerat-ops” means “three-horned-face” in English. The Latin word “horridus” means “rough” in English, because of how harsh the animal could be. When faced with a threat, this animal could pierce the body of its enemy with either the long horn above each eye, or the short horn above their nose.
Did you know?
- The animal was first documented in 1889.
- They could grow to almost 30 feet long.
- Their height was almost 10 feet tall.
- The head was over 8 feet long.
- The horns were over 3 feet long.
- They could weigh about 26,000 pounds.
- Their hands had 3 hooves each.
- The feet had 4 hooves each.
he most common predator of this four-legged vegetarian was the Tyrannosaurus, a two-legged creature much taller than this species, which possessed a large head full of teeth. It couldn’t bite the neck of the smaller dinosaur, because of the bony frilled collar that was attached to the skull. Most of these animals lived in the northwest North America.
How to Draw a Triceratops – Step-by-Step Tutorial