How to Draw a Raccoon: Easy 10-Step Guide for Kids

Ready to bring a forest friend to life? This tutorial is designed for young artists ages 5 and up. Grab your pencil, eraser, and paper, and follow these simple steps to master drawing a raccoon’s iconic mask and fluffy tail.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

A friendly, finished raccoon illustration set against a clean background.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sketching the Head Base

A light pencil sketch of a single oval representing the raccoon head shape.

Draw a light oval to serve as the raccoon’s head. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil strokes very light so you can easily erase these guidelines later!

Step 2: Defining the First Cheek

Drawing the first curved cheek line extending from the side of the head oval.

Draw a curved line starting inside the top of the oval, extending outward, and looping back to the bottom. This creates the raccoon’s signature fluffy cheek.

Step 3: Adding the Second Cheek

Adding the second cheek line to complete the raccoon's face shape.

Repeat the process on the other side to create the second cheek. Tip: Try to make both sides symmetrical to give your raccoon a balanced, friendly look.

Step 4: Cleaning Up the Face

The face outline after erasing the internal construction lines.

Carefully erase the original oval guidelines inside the cheeks. Now you have a clean, solid outline of your raccoon's face.

Step 5: Drawing the Snout

Adding the nose and snout structure to the center of the face.

Sketch a small triangle at the bottom of the face for the nose and shade it in. Add a curved line above it to define the snout area.

Step 6: Refining the Snout

Cleaned up snout area with unnecessary lines removed.

Erase any overlapping guide lines around the snout to make it look like it belongs to the face. A clean drawing makes coloring much easier later!

Step 7: Sketching the Body

Outlining the raccoon's body and feet using simple curved lines.

Draw two long, curved lines downward from the head to form the body. Add small, irregular shapes at the bottom for the feet.

Step 8: Adding Arms and Tail

Adding arms, fingers, and a large striped tail to the raccoon body.

Draw the arms with small 'U' shapes for fingers. Add a large, fluffy tail with parallel curved lines—this is where the raccoon's stripes will go!

Step 9: Final Facial Details

Adding ears, eye masks, and a smile to finish the raccoon's face.

Draw the ears, the iconic bandit mask around the eyes, and a happy smile. Tip: Use small circles for the eyes to give your raccoon a cute, curious expression.

Step 10: Bring Your Raccoon to Life

The completed raccoon drawing fully colored with grey, black, and white.

Time to color! Use grey for the body, black for the mask and tail stripes, and a light pink or peach for the nose. Great job!