🐵 FREE MONKEY DRAWING
Monkey Drawing for Kids How to Draw A Monkey in 6 Easy Steps
Quick Answer
Draw a monkey in six easy steps: a small upright oval body, a big round head with ears and a hair tuft, a smiling face, a belly patch and feet, then long arms and a curly tail. Color it warm brown with a tan face. Made for ages 3 and up — print free, no signup.
At a Glance
- Subject: How to draw a monkey
- Ages: 3+
- Steps: 6 steps
- Time: ~15 min
- Difficulty: Easy
- Supplies: Paper, crayons
Monkeys are made of circles and ovals — a small body, a big round head, circle ears, and one long curly tail. This tutorial stacks those simple shapes in order, so the monkey builds itself one friendly piece at a time.
✏️ Draw Your Monkey in 6 Easy Steps
One step per box — this step by step monkey drawing shows each new part in a different color so kids can see exactly what changed.
Step 1: The Body
Draw one upright oval in the lower-middle of your paper — that's the monkey's body. Leave lots of empty space above it for the head.
Step 2: The Head and Ears
Add a big circle above the body for the head, its bottom edge just touching the top of the body. Add a circle ear with a smaller circle inside it on each side of the head, and three small bumps in a row on top for the hair tuft.
Step 3: The Face
Draw a wide oval across the lower half of the head — that's the muzzle. Add two eye dots above the oval, two tiny nostril dots inside the top of it, and one big smile curve.
Step 4: The Belly and Feet
Add one big oval on the front of the body for the belly patch, and one flat oval foot at the bottom on each side of the body.
Step 5: The Arms and Tail
Add one long arm hanging down each side of the body, starting at the body's middle and ending in a round hand. Then add one long tail curling out from behind the body.
Step 6: Color It In
Color your monkey! Warm medium brown for the body, head, ears, hair tuft, arms, tail, and feet, light tan for the muzzle, belly, and inner ears, and dark brown for the eyes, nostrils, and smile. Great drawing!
📊 Monkey Drawing by Age
Every age can join in — just adjust the job.
| Age | What they can do | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 3-4 | Draw the body oval and color the finished monkey warm brown. | Draw the body low on the page — the big head sits above it and needs all the headroom it can get. |
| 4-5 | Add the head with its circle ears and hair tuft, the belly patch, and the two feet. | The head just touches the top of the body at one point, like a ball resting there — show them that 'kiss' point before they draw. |
| 6+ | Finish all six steps, including the muzzle face, the long arms with round hands, and the tail's spiral curl. | Let older kids curl the tail into a tighter spiral or loop it around a banana they draw beside the monkey. |
🖨️ Download Your Free Monkey Drawing Printable
The printable lays out all 6 steps one per box, big enough for little hands — kids draw right alongside each step.
⬇️ Open Free Printable 🖨️ Print🎁 Free printable for ages 3+
🐵 Monkey Jungle Page
Give your monkey a jungle: draw two or three curvy vines hanging from the top of the page, big leaves in the corners, and a banana or two within reach of that long tail. Then decide together what this monkey is up to — swinging to visit a friend, guarding the best bananas, or playing hide-and-seek in the leaves. Write one sentence about the monkey under the drawing (or dictate it for a grown-up to write).
What You'll Need to Draw A Monkey
All you need is a pencil, an eraser, and crayons or markers. For the colors in the tutorial, have warm medium brown ready for the body, head, ears, hair tuft, arms, tail, and feet, light tan for the muzzle patch, belly patch, and inner ears, and dark brown for the eyes, nostrils, and smile. Regular printer paper or a sketchbook both work.
What They're Learning
This tutorial practices ovals and circles at several sizes, symmetry (two ears, two feet, two arms placed the same on both sides), and counting small sets — two ears, three hair bumps, two nostrils. Kids also work on placement: keeping the head above the body and touching at one point, and controlling a long curving line for the tail that finishes in a spiral.
Make It Yours
Try a monkey holding a banana (one curved yellow shape in a round hand), a sleeping monkey with curved closed eyes and Z letters, a baby monkey drawn with the same steps but smaller and with an even bigger head, or a whole troop of monkeys down a page, each with a different tail curl.
🛒 Our Favorite Drawing Supplies
These are the supplies we reach for in our own home — washable (because kids), quality paper, and enough colors to avoid fights.
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💡 Monkey Drawing Tips for Parents
Step 2 sets up the whole drawing: the head sits above the body and just touches it at one point — it does not overlap. If your child draws the head overlapping the body, the monkey still works, but the stacked sock-monkey look comes from that single touching point. Also keep the body low on the page in step 1; a body drawn in the middle leaves no room for the head above it.
Step 5's arms start at the body's middle sides, not at the top — arms that start too high look like they're growing out of the head. Have your child point to the middle of the body before drawing each arm, let the arms hang long with the round hands beside the body's lower half, and finish with the tail in one confident sweep rather than lots of little lines.
✏️ Monkey Drawing Step by Step
Kids love monkeys and often stall on the same thing: the face. This tutorial saves the face for step 3, after the body and head are already standing on the page, so the muzzle, eyes, and smile land on a head that's already the right size and in the right place.
The construction is unusual and worth noticing: the body is a small upright oval drawn low on the page, and the big head sits above it, touching at a single point rather than overlapping. That stacked look is exactly how sock monkeys and storybook monkeys are drawn, and kids find it easy because each shape keeps its own clean outline.
Work through the steps in order and let your child check each one against the picture before moving on. The belly and feet arrive together at step 4 so the body is finished in one pass, and the arms and tail at step 5 balance each other — one on each side, plus the curl.
See free monkey printable for more.
✏️ One Shape Per Step, Six Steps Total
The order is deliberate: step 1, the upright body oval in the lower-middle of the page; step 2, the big head circle above it with a circle ear and inner circle on each side and three small bumps on top for the hair tuft; step 3, the wide muzzle oval with two eye dots, two nostril dots, and a big smile.
Step 4 adds the belly patch — one big oval on the front of the body — and a flat oval foot at the bottom on each side. Step 5 hangs one long arm with a round hand down each side of the body and sends one long tail curling out from behind it. Step 6 colors it in warm browns and tans.
Count the circles as you go: this monkey is built from almost nothing else. That's why it works for young kids — if a shape goes wobbly, it still looks like a monkey, because monkeys in picture books are wobbly in exactly the same places.
See free monkey printable for more.
🐵 Cute Monkey Drawing
What makes this a cute monkey drawing? The proportions. The head is bigger than the body is wide, the ears stick out like little handles, and the muzzle takes up the whole lower half of the face with a wide smile inside it. Big head plus big smile reads 'baby animal' to every kid who sees it.
The tan muzzle, belly, and inner ears do quiet work, too: they break the brown into friendly patches, the same way a real monkey's face and belly are paler than its back. Keep those three areas light when coloring and the monkey stays readable even in a quick crayon job.
If your child wants more, the tail is the place to play — a tighter curl, a tail holding a banana, or a second monkey hanging from the first one's tail. The base drawing stays the same; the tail is where personality lives.
See free monkey printable for more.
❓ Monkey Drawing FAQs
What is the easiest way to draw a monkey?
Start with one upright oval for the body, then stack simple shapes on it: a big round head above it, circle ears, an oval muzzle with a smile, a belly oval, long arms, and a curly tail. Every part is a circle or an oval, so there's nothing tricky to freehand.
What age is this monkey drawing for?
It's made for ages 3 and up. Younger kids can manage the body, head, and coloring, while older kids add the face details, arms, and tail curl themselves.
What supplies do we need?
A pencil, an eraser, paper, and crayons or markers. For colors you'll want warm medium brown, light tan for the muzzle, belly, and inner ears, and dark brown for the face lines.
Is the printable really free?
Yes — every printable on MomYouNeedThis is 100% free, including this monkey drawing tutorial. There is no signup, no email, and no catch — just download, print, and draw.
How do I print it?
Open the PDF and choose Print, then set the scale to 100% (sometimes called Actual Size) so the steps print at full size. The tutorial is designed for regular US Letter paper, and plain printer paper works perfectly.
Why does the monkey's head sit on top of its body?
In this drawing the head is a big circle that sits above the smaller body and just touches it at one point, like a ball resting on top. That big-head, small-body proportion is what makes the monkey read as cute and baby-like.
How do I draw the monkey's tail?
The tail comes out from behind the body's lower side, sweeps down and up in one big curve, and finishes in a small spiral curl. Draw one smooth line out, one smooth line back, then add the little swirl at the end.
Can my monkey be a different color?
Of course — try a gray monkey, a golden monkey, or a full rainbow party monkey. Keep the muzzle, belly, and inner ears a lighter color than the rest and it will still read clearly as a monkey.
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