How to Draw the Tortoise and the Hare (Easy Step by Step)
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This drawing tells the famous race story in one sleepy picture: a hare napping beside a tree while a slow, steady tortoise plods toward the finish flag. It is built from simple shapes like ovals, half circles, a puffy cloud and a few straight lines, so beginners can finish it with confidence.
- Medium
- 20 minutes
- 8 steps
You need: paper, a pencil, an eraser, and crayons or markers for coloring.
Start drawing
In this article (7 sections)
How to draw the tortoise and the hare step by step
How to Draw the Tortoise and the Hare · tinyhandscreate.com
Step 1: Guide shapes
Lightly sketch this oval. It only shows where the big parts go, so press softly. You will erase it at the end.
Step 2: The ground line
Draw one long, gently curved line across the bottom of the page. This is the grassy ground where our two friends will rest.
Step 3: The tortoise shell
Draw a big dome like half a circle sitting above the ground line. Close the bottom with a gently curved line that runs from one side of the dome to the other.
Step 4: Tortoise head
Draw a small circle for the head, tucked against the right side of the shell.
Step 5: Hare, legs and shell pattern
Draw a long rounded oval body for the hare lying on the ground at the left, with a little curl at its back end and a round head on its right end. Add little curved lines for the sleeping eyes. Then give the tortoise four short stubby legs and a tiny pointed tail on the left, a dot eye and small mouth on its head, and a six-sided shape on the shell with short lines going out from its corners.
Step 6: Long hare ears
Draw two tall, skinny ovals pointing up from the top of the hare's head. Make one a little taller and let them lean away from each other.
Step 7: The big tree
Draw a puffy, wavy circle like a cloud for the leaves. Add two straight lines going down from it for the trunk, ending behind the hare.
Step 8: Flag and sleepy Zs
Draw a tall straight pole on the right with a small triangle flag at the top. Then add a Z and a little slanted dash above the hare to show it is snoring.
All done!
Erase the guide shapes, go over your lines, then color it in.
Finished your tortoise and the hare? Keep the pencils out and learn how to draw the fox and the grapes or how to draw the Pied Piper next.
Tips for drawing the tortoise and the hare
- Draw the tortoise shell as a half circle first, and the six-sided pattern after, so the lines stay neat inside the dome.
- Make the hare's ears long, thin ovals. Start each one at the top of the head and let them lean a little apart.
- Keep the tree trunk lines straight and side by side. Use a slow hand if the lines wobble.
Free tortoise and the hare coloring page
Want to go straight to coloring? Open this tortoise and the hare coloring page at full size and print it. It is the same drawing you just learned, with clean lines ready for crayons or markers.
How to color your tortoise and the hare drawing
Try a green shell with brown pattern lines, a soft gray hare, and a leafy green tree. For a creative twist, color the sky in sunset shades to show that the hare slept all day.
Tortoise and the hare fun fact for kids
A Seychelles giant tortoise named Jonathan is believed to have hatched around 1832, which makes him one of the oldest known living land animals.
Questions about drawing the tortoise and the hare
What shapes do I need to draw the tortoise and the hare?
You need a half circle for the shell, a small circle for the tortoise head, a long oval for the hare's body, a round head and two long thin ovals for ears. The tree uses a wavy circle and two straight lines, and the flag uses a straight pole and a small triangle.
How do I make the sleeping hare look cuter?
Draw the eyes as small curved lines, like happy upside-down smiles. A Z and a little dash floating above make the nap clear.
How do I draw the shell pattern on the tortoise?
Draw a six-sided shape in the middle of the dome. Then add short lines going out from its corners toward the edge of the shell.
