How to draw a hippopotamus: in pencil, in stages, for children

“Oh, this is not an easy job / To drag a hippopotamus out of a swamp!” - in Russian-speaking countries everyone knows this well. It’s hard to argue, because a hippo weighs from 1.5 to 4.5 tons. But we will not pull him out of trouble, but draw, which is much simpler. If you think that this is too prosaic an animal to deal with his portrait, you probably have not heard much about him. Read on, and you will learn not only how to draw a hippo, but also a lot of interesting things about it. Indeed, despite the outward good nature, in his homeland the attacks of this animal are no less afraid than the lion.

Simple and realistic

Now we will show how to draw a hippopotamus with the help of several geometric shapes, without excessive detail, which makes it a good model for beginners.

1. Draw a circle for the head and a large oval that will be the body. The animal has slightly unusual proportions: the head is huge, can reach up to a quarter of its weight, and the neck is not very pronounced. Try to convey the heaviness and power of the beast - after all, after the elephant it is the second largest land animal.
2. Draw the outline of the muzzle and add the legs.
   
3. Make eyes, nostrils. Do not forget about the wide fleshy eyelids above the eyes. The ears of the animal are small, but very mobile - they drive insects away.
4. The hippo has very short legs, while walking the belly is almost dragged along the ground, so do not lengthen them. But this does not stop him from running at speeds up to 30 km / h. Draw them, as well as fingers and folds on the body.
   
5. Now let's move on to the trunk and hind legs.
6. It remains only to add wrinkles on the body, tail and claws on the legs. Erase the excess lines and the drawing is ready.
   

In 5 minutes

Literally with a few lines you can draw a hippo with a pencil.

1. Let's draw a head.
2. We continue the line and make the body.
   
3. We draw the jaw.
4. In one line, draw the front leg and abdomen of the animal.
   
5. Add the rest of the paws.
6. The drawing is almost ready: you just need to add ears, eyes, nostrils and a short tail.
   

Our hippo turned out to be quite funny, but in fact it is one of the most ferocious animals in Africa. He often does not like society, even his relatives, and even less so people. Which, however, is not surprising, because they hunt this animal for fangs, which are more expensive than ivory, and meat. Therefore, their population is rapidly declining.

How to draw a hippopotamus for children?

For the smallest, you can deviate from the real proportions of the animal and make it in a cartoon style.

In fact, this hippo consists of three ovals and a circle. See for yourself:

1. We draw basic forms.
2. Now add the nostrils, eyes with large eyelids at the very top of the circle, small oval ears.
3. Draw the mouth: do not hesitate to make it wider and do not forget about the teeth.
4. The body actually does not require modifications, but the legs can not be left in the form of sticks. Since our drawing is simplistic-cartoony, we could draw them simply in the form of rectangles, but it is better to add an extension to the hooves.
   
5. Add claws, remove excess and color the picture.

Like from the cartoon

If you’re thinking how to draw a hippopotamus similar to the cheerful Gloria from Madagascar, here's a sample for you. He has the same magnificent eyelashes and a cheerful look, and a preschooler can cope with his drawing.

1. Let's draw a central oval, and from it elongated semicircles up - for the forehead and down - for the jaw.
   
2. A few circles and curls for eyelashes - and we are ready for a smiling hippo.
3. Outline the trunk and forelegs.
4. Add hind legs, tail and claws to the animal. Colorize.
   

We complicate the task

This lesson will be very difficult, because we will retreat from simple geometric shapes and begin to work with pencils of different hardness.

So, how to draw a hippopotamus in stages in its "classic" pose for wildlife magazines - with its mouth wide open? It may seem that the artist went too far with her image, but in reality this is not the limit. The width of the jaws of the beast is 60-70 cm, and the mouth can open up to an angle of 150 degrees.

So, let's get started:

1. Let's draw an oval like a bean, we outline one part of it with a circle. This is the basis for the torso. Draw with a regular HB pencil, try not to put too much pressure on the stylus.
2. Now make a circle for the head and two ovals with the distance between them, as in the picture. This will be the jaw.
   
3. Connect the ovals with lines, forming the jaws of the animal, do not forget about small eyes and short legs.
   
4. Draw your ears and teeth. At the beast they are quite frightening, their number is 36. He uses them not only to chew on the grass, but also for digging and defense. But we will limit ourselves to only four large incisors.
5. Make a short ponytail. Do not forget that the hippopotamus has a rather big weight, and the fat is also enough, so mark large folds and wrinkles on its body.
6. Erase excess lines.
   
7. Using a soft pencil B4 or B6, draw the outline of the rhino.
8. Now shade the drawing. It is better to make the mouth brighter, the same goes for nails.
   

Now you not only know how to draw a hippopotamus, but also many interesting facts about it. Draw with pleasure.