How to Draw a Princess: Simple 9-Step Guide for Kids

Bring a fairytale character to life with this simple drawing guide, perfect for artists ages 5 and up. All you need is a pencil, an eraser, and your favorite coloring supplies to get started. Follow these steps to build confidence in your character design and storytelling skills.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

A colorful, finished illustration of a cartoon princess holding a small bird.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sketching the Expressive Eyes

Close-up of two cartoon princess eyes with pupils and eyelids drawn on white paper.

Start by drawing two rounded rectangles for the eyes. Add a small, shaded circle inside each for the pupil. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil pressure light so you can easily adjust the shape if the eyes look a bit uneven.

Step 2: Defining the Face and Hair

Drawing the princess's face shape, hair outline, and facial features.

Use soft, overlapping curves to outline the hair, cheeks, and chin. Add small circles for earrings and simple lines for the nose and mouth. Teacher's Tip: Use a 'U' shape for the chin to give her a friendly, gentle expression.

Step 3: Adding the Royal Crown

Adding a decorative royal crown with spikes and circles to the princess's head.

Draw a crown on top of her head using triangular spikes and small circles at the tips. Teacher's Tip: Imagine the crown is resting gently on her hair; keep the base curved to match the shape of her head.

Step 4: Creating the Bodice

Sketching the princess's neck, shoulders, and heart-shaped dress bodice.

Add texture to the hair with curved lines. Extend two lines for the neck and draw circles for the shoulders, connecting them with a heart-shaped bodice. Teacher's Tip: The heart shape is a great way to practice symmetry!

Step 5: Drawing the First Arm

Adding a scalloped sleeve and arm to the princess's left side.

Draw a scalloped sleeve below the shoulder, then extend lines to form the arm and hand. Teacher's Tip: Keep the arm lines slightly curved to make her pose look natural rather than stiff.

Step 6: Balancing the Pose

Adding the second arm and sleeve to complete the princess's upper body.

Repeat the process on the opposite side to draw the second scalloped sleeve, arm, and hand. Teacher's Tip: Check that both arms are roughly the same length to keep your character balanced.

Step 7: Finishing the Hair and Waist

Drawing the long hair flowing behind the princess and adding a waist ruffle.

Complete the hair by drawing curved lines that flow behind the arms. Add a scalloped ruffle at the waist of the dress. Teacher's Tip: Use long, sweeping strokes for the hair to show movement.

Step 8: Sketching the Flowing Skirt

Adding a long, flowing skirt with fabric folds to the princess drawing.

Extend long, wavy lines from the waist to create a full, flowing skirt. Add extra curved lines to suggest folds in the fabric. Teacher's Tip: Vary the width of your skirt lines to make the dress look like it has volume.

Step 9: Adding a Feathered Friend

Adding a small cartoon bird sitting on the princess's hand.

Draw a small bird perched on her hand using simple triangles for the beak and feet. Teacher's Tip: Keep the bird small so it doesn't distract from the princess's face.

Step 10: Bringing Your Princess to Life with Color

The finished, colored princess drawing with a bird on her hand.

Now for the best part! Color your princess using your favorite shades. We used pink, but feel free to experiment with blues, yellows, or purples to create your own unique royal style.