How to draw a simple and easy butterfly for kids. This step-by-step butterfly drawing tutorial will help your students create their own beautiful butterfly in 6 easy steps! Featuring simple black outline drawings and illustrations, our butterfly drawing guide is quick and easy for beginners. Download our printable directed drawing worksheet or follow the full drawing tutorial below.
Butterfly Step-by-Step Directed Drawing
How to Draw a Butterfly
Step 1
Using a pencil (so you can erase), let’s start our butterfly with a simple circle! Draw a circle in the center of your paper – this will be the head of your butterfly. Make sure your circle isn’t too small or too big, as we’ll be adding more shapes below it.
How to Draw a Butterfly
Step 2
Now, let’s add the body below the head. Draw a long, thin oval shape pointing down from the circle. Think of it like drawing a stretched-out teardrop, with the narrow end at the bottom. This creates the butterfly’s body and helps give our butterfly that perfect shape!
How to Draw a Butterfly
Step 3
Time to add the first set of wings! Draw one large, rounded wing shape on the left side of the body. Start from near the top of the body and curve it outward, then back down. Remember to make this wing nice and big – butterflies have beautiful, wide wings!
Fun Fact: There are over 20,000 species of butterflies found around the world, living on every continent except Antarctica!
Fun Fact: Butterflies taste with their feet! They have special sensors on their legs that help them identify plants and find the perfect place to lay their eggs.
Fun Fact: A butterfly’s wings are actually transparent! The colors we see come from tiny scales that reflect light in different ways, creating beautiful patterns.
How to Draw a Butterfly
Step 4
Every butterfly needs matching wings! Add another large, rounded wing shape on the right side of the body – this is the mirror image of the wing you just drew. Make it the same size as the left wing so your butterfly looks balanced and symmetrical. These are the top wings of your butterfly!
How to Draw a Butterfly
Step 5
Let’s make our butterfly complete by adding the bottom wings. Draw oval shapes below each top wing on both sides of the body. These bottom wings should be smaller than the top wings. Don’t forget to add two curved antennae coming from the top of the head – these help butterflies sense the world around them!
How to Draw a Butterfly
Step 6
Finally, let’s add some beautiful wing patterns to make our butterfly sparkle! Draw oval and circular shapes inside each wing to represent the butterfly’s natural markings. You can space them out evenly or place them randomly – there’s no wrong way to decorate your butterfly! Add as many patterns as you like to make your butterfly look magical.
Fun Fact: Some butterflies, like the Monarch butterfly, can travel up to 3,000 miles during their migration from Canada to Mexico – that’s farther than many birds fly!
Fun Fact: Butterflies can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s why you often see them basking in the sun with their wings spread open to warm up!
You Drew a Butterfly!
Your simple and beautiful butterfly is finished! Now, you can practice drawing butterflies of all sizes, and you can color them in with bright, vibrant colors. You could even make a whole butterfly garden! For more drawing printables take a look at our Directed Drawing Bundle.
Try our How to Draw a Snowman tutorial next, and add some winter fun to your drawing. Download and print Preschool Butterfly Craft and find fun Butterfly Coloring Pages here.
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