How to Draw Jane Goodall: Easy Step-by-Step Portrait Guide

Celebrate the legendary primatologist Jane Goodall by creating your own portrait! This tutorial is designed for young artists and beginners, requiring only a pencil, paper, and an eraser. Follow these steps to build confidence in drawing facial features and capturing a likeness.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

A finished, colored portrait of Jane Goodall, perfect for educational art projects.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sketching the Eyes

Close-up sketch of Jane Goodall's eyes showing almond shapes and dark pupils.

Draw two almond-shaped outlines for the eyes. Add circles inside for the pupils and shade them in. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil pressure light here so you can easily adjust the symmetry if one eye looks a bit different than the other.

Step 2: Adding Brows and Nose

Drawing the eyebrows and the bridge of the nose using simple curved lines.

Sketch the eyebrows using gentle, arched lines above the eyes. Use a small 'L' and 'C' shape to form the nose. Teacher's Tip: The nose is often the trickiest part; keep these lines minimal to avoid making the nose look too heavy.

Step 3: Defining the Face and Mouth

Outlining the jawline and adding the mouth details to the face sketch.

Draw the curve of the jawline and add three lines to define the lips. Teacher's Tip: Use a very light touch for the mouth lines—a smile or neutral expression is created by the subtle curve of the center line.

Step 4: Drawing the Ear and Hairline

Adding the ear and hair framing the face using curved strokes.

Use overlapping curved lines to sketch the ear and the hair framing the side of the face. Teacher's Tip: Think of the ear as a 'C' shape that sits between the eye and nose level.

Step 5: Completing the Head Shape

Closing the top of the head and refining the ear details.

Draw a long, sweeping curve to enclose the top of the head. Add extra detail to the ear. Teacher's Tip: Don't worry if the hair line isn't perfect; hair is naturally messy and organic!

Step 6: Adding the Neck

Drawing the neck and adding subtle contour lines near the mouth.

Add contour lines around the mouth and draw two vertical lines down from the chin to form the neck. Teacher's Tip: Keep the neck lines parallel to give the portrait a natural, upright posture.

Step 7: Sketching the Shirt Collar

Adding the shirt collar and shoulder lines to the portrait.

Draw the triangular shapes of the collar and the start of the shoulders. Teacher's Tip: Use sharp, clean lines for the collar to contrast with the softer, curved lines of the face.

Step 8: Adding the Ponytail

Adding the ponytail and second shoulder to complete the silhouette.

Draw the second shoulder and the ponytail using jagged, overlapping lines to suggest hair texture. Teacher's Tip: Use quick, flicking motions with your pencil to make the hair look more realistic.

Step 9: Final Details

Refining the portrait with hair texture and facial detail lines.

Add subtle lines for facial wrinkles and texture the hair further. Teacher's Tip: Wrinkles tell a story! Keep them light to show character without making the portrait look aged too heavily.

Step 10: Coloring Your Portrait

Completed Jane Goodall portrait with color applied.

Time to bring your drawing to life! Use soft grays for the hair and natural skin tones. Teacher's Tip: When coloring hair, use light, directional strokes to follow the flow of the ponytail.