How to Draw an Easy Monkey
Learning how to draw a monkey is easy and fun. We’ll show you how in this step by step art tutorial.
You’ll learn how to sketch, outline, and color your monkey drawings with markers. And things will be broken down into easy to follow steps.
Art and drawing are skills anyone can learn. They just take practice and repetition. Enjoy your creative time and be sure to relax.
Let’s grab some supplies and get ready to have some fun learning how to draw a monkey.
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Art Supplies
- Thin black marker
- Paper or cardstock
- Markers
- Pencil
- Click Eraser, Pink Pearl Eraser
- White Gelly Roll pen
Monkey Sketch Practice
Before starting on our monkey drawings let’s do a few minutes of quick sketching. This is a great warm up exercise to do prior to drawing anything.
It helps you get your drawing muscles warmed up. And, it helps you get familiar with whatever it is you’re going to be drawing.
To do a monkey sketch practice exercise you’ll need to do a few things. First, bring up some reference photos on your phone or computer.
Get yourself some paper and something to sketch with. And set a timer for three or five minutes.
Then just do as many monkey sketches as you can before the timer goes off. Keep your lines quick and loose. Don’t worry about getting too detailed. The goal is to get familiar with what a monkey looks like.
Another option is to sketch until your paper is filled with monkey sketches and you run out of room. Just be careful that you don’t spend too much time on this sketch exercise. It shouldn’t take longer than five or ten minutes to complete.
How to Draw a Monkey – Easy Step by Step
The easiest way to learn how to draw a monkey is by starting with some basic shapes. For our monkey face we need to draw a circle for the head. And then a sideways oval at the bottom for the area where the mouth will go.
Next, draw the nose at the top of the oval. I’ve always found it easiest to start with the nose since it’s the central point of most faces.
Now let’s draw the mouth beginning with the top line. Draw a long, curved line with two small lines at the corners of the mouth.
Then draw the bottom shape of the mouth.
Add a tongue inside the open area of your monkey’s mouth. It’s sort of an M shape with one side slightly higher.
Monkey Eyes
Next let’s draw the eyes. There are a million different ways to draw the eyes. Sketch them out lightly so you can make changes if needed.
Just changing the eyes can make your monkey drawing look completely different.
I started with two curved lines coming from each side of the nose. Then drew the arch to create the shape of the eyes.
To finish the eyes, add the iris and pupils.
Now draw a curved line for the chin. And both sides of the cheeks. Notice that the cheeks go from the chin to the bottom of the eyes.
Continue drawing the shape of the face by going around both eyes. Be sure to leave some distance between the eyes and the top of the face.
Now we can draw the top of the monkey’s head. I like adding some hair at the top, but this is optional.
Finish up your monkey’s face by drawing a couple of ears.
And then complete your monkey drawing by adding a body so you don’t have a floating head.
Monkey Outline
Making a monkey outline is really easy to do. Just trace over the pencil lines you want to keep using a black pen or marker. This is how I finish most of my drawings. But it’s also part of my artistic style.
You can make your outline thin, thick, or a variation of line weights.
If your style is different, you can make your monkey outline in whatever way you prefer. Or maybe you don’t want an outline at all.
If you’re not sure what your artistic style is, don’t worry. It will develop over time with practice. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.
Doing your drawings on artist trading cards is a great way to save time. Check out our Ultimate Guide to ATCs to learn more.
Use an eraser to clean up your drawing and remove any pencil lines.
How to Draw a Monkey with Markers
Learning how to draw a monkey with markers is easy. There’s really only a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, use alcohol markers if you want to blend your colors together. This will give you the ability to create smooth transitions of color.
Second, use two or three colors that are similar to each other. For example, you can use a light green, a medium green, and a darker green to create smooth colors.
You should avoid just filling your drawings in with one solid color. This will make your artwork look flat and boring.
By using several colors you can create depth in your drawings and make them look more interesting.
For my monkey drawing I used several different browns to create the color for the fur. And two different blues were used for the eyes.
A white Gelly Roll pen was used to add some white highlights.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Now that you know how to draw a monkey, what should you do next? The answer is to practice as often as possible.
Art and drawing are learned skills. The more you practice the better you will get. Even if it’s only for a few minutes each day you’ll improve your skills.
If you want to get really good at drawing a monkey, challenge yourself to a series of drawings and see what you come up with. Your creativity will improve as well.
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