How to Draw Little Red Riding Hood: Easy 10-Step Guide

Bring this classic fairytale character to life with our simple, kid-friendly drawing guide. Designed for ages 5 and up, this activity requires only a pencil, paper, and an eraser to build confidence and artistic precision. Follow along to master the proportions of her iconic cape and basket.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

A finished, colorful drawing of Little Red Riding Hood holding a basket and flower.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sketching the Face

Sketching the oval face shape and facial features for Little Red Riding Hood.

Draw a soft, rounded shape for the face. Add two small ovals for eyes and a tiny curve for the mouth. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil pressure light so you can easily adjust the eye placement if they look a bit lopsided.

Step 2: Adding Hair and Details

Adding eyelashes and jagged hair lines around the face.

Outline the eyes with short, delicate strokes for lashes. Use jagged, curved lines to frame her face with hair. Teacher's Tip: Use short, quick flicks of your wrist to make the hair look natural and soft rather than stiff.

Step 3: Drawing the Hood

Drawing the neck, bow, and the large curved hood.

Draw two short lines for the neck and a bow beneath it. Enclose the top of the head with large, sweeping curves to form the hood. Teacher's Tip: Make sure the hood lines overlap slightly to give the fabric a sense of depth.

Step 4: Creating the Arms

Adding detail to the bow and drawing the arm with a lacey sleeve cuff.

Add detail to the bow, then sketch the arm and sleeve cuff using curved lines. Teacher's Tip: Focus on the 'lacey' cuff—small, scalloped lines make it look like real fabric.

Step 5: Adding the Flower

Drawing a small flower in the character's hand and sketching the torso.

Draw a small flower in her hand using a central oval and U-shaped petals. Sketch the torso and the start of the opposite arm. Teacher's Tip: Keep the flower simple so it doesn't distract from the character's face.

Step 6: The Basket Handle

Drawing the basket handle and the second arm.

Sketch the basket handle over her arm and add the cloth inside. Finish the second arm. Teacher's Tip: The handle is just a simple arch—don't worry if it's not perfectly symmetrical!

Step 7: Cape and Skirt

Drawing the belt, skirt, and flowing cape.

Complete the basket, then use long, flowing curved lines to draw the belt, skirt, and cape. Teacher's Tip: Use long strokes for the cape to make the fabric look like it's draping naturally.

Step 8: Legs and Shoes

Add the bottom hem of the dress with overlapping curves. Sketch the legs and simple, rounded shoes. Teacher's Tip: Keep the shoes small to maintain the character's cute proportions.

Step 9: Adding Texture

Adding texture to the dress and cross-hatching to the basket.

Add texture to the dress and basket. Use a cross-hatching pattern for the basket weave. Teacher's Tip: Cross-hatching is just a series of diagonal lines crossing each other—take your time to keep them evenly spaced.

Step 10: Final Coloring

Final colored version of Little Red Riding Hood.

Your outline is complete! Use vibrant reds for the cape and hood to make her stand out. Teacher's Tip: Use light pressure with your red pencil first, then layer more color to create shadows in the folds of the cape.