Easy Toucan Drawing and Painting Tutorial

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Our easy toucan drawing and painting tutorial is perfect for kids and beginners of all ages. Using the flow drawing technique, we’ve broken down the steps into super simple lines and shapes, making the process of drawing and painting a toucan accessible for everyone!

Through playful application, children will learn how to use watercolor paints, experimenting with techniques like wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry to add vibrant colors and blends to their artwork.

Complete with a collection of step-by-step templates and coloring pages for children to trace or complete, this tutorial not only fosters creativity but is also a fun and educational way to learn about rainforest animals. It’s a perfect extension activity for school topics or at-home learning!

If you’re looking for more art and drawing ideas for the kids this summer, check out our tutorials on How to Draw a Sun, Sailboat Silhouette Painting, and How to Draw a Crab.

The Flow Drawing Technique: 

At Arty Crafty Kids, we love making art accessible and enjoyable for kids of all ages. Our flow drawing technique simplifies the process of drawing a toucan, turning it into a fun and creative experience.

By breaking down the toucan’s form into simple, flowing lines and shapes, we empower children to engage in their natural rhythms and easily visualize and recreate their unique toucan designs.

This approach encourages artistic expression, allowing each child to add their personal touch and style to their toucan drawing.

In short, it’s all about enjoying the process rather than focusing on the final product. Don’t be deterred by the pressure of perfectionism—embrace the squiggles and have fun!

How to Draw and Paint a Toucan

Step-by-Step Toucan Drawing and Painting Tutorial

For a detailed version of the tutorial, download the step-by-step drawing guide from the Arty Crafty Kids members area.

Before committing to drawing the toucan with a black crayon or oil pastel, Arty Crafty Kids may prefer to sketch their toucan in pencil first.

Step 1: Draw the toucan’s beak.

Our drawing tutorial begins with the toucan’s most prominent and recognizable feature – its beak!

Using a black crayon or oil pastel, draw the toucan’s beak. We’ve simplified the beak’s shape to make it easy to replicate. Arty Crafty Kids can customize the beak’s size and shape—whether large, small, curved, or pointed—to create a realistic-looking toucan rather than a cartoon version.

Step 2: Draw the Toucan’s face and throat area.

Draw a large, rounded shape that extends outward from the beak and curves down toward the bottom of the toucan’s throat.

Step 3: Draw the Toucan’s wing.

To the left of the toucan’s peak, draw a large wing.

Step 4: Draw the Toucan’s body.

Draw a curved line connecting the toucan’s throat to its wing, and another curved line from the top of the head to the top of the wing. These lines will bring the elements together to form the toucan’s body.

Next, draw a collection of small tail feathers.

Step 5: Draw the Toucan’s tail feathers.

Draw a set of three large feathers that curve away from the smaller feathers and the wing.

Step 6: Draw a simple eye and beak detailing.

You can draw a series of circles to create the pupil and eyeball or use an upside-down curved line for the eye. This adds a cute touch to your toucan drawing and emphasizes the cartoon style.

This step finishes the toucan drawing!

Step 7: Create a rainforest background.

Use a pencil to sketch a tree branch, some leaves, and perhaps a few flowers.

Next, trace over the lines with colored crayons or oil pastels.

Try using a variety of different color shades to complete the leaves and flowers. This will enhance the vibrancy of the painting when the watercolors are added.

The different shades also create a striking contrast against the black lines of the toucan, making it really stand out!

Step 8: Paint the Toucan with watercolor paint.

Dip a paintbrush into water and mix it with a bit of black paint. Apply the brush directly onto the toucan’s body and large tail feathers. Since the paper is dry, the watercolor will spread with the brush, creating bold, vibrant colors. Add more water and the paint spreads a little further, diluting the color.

A toucan’s beak is naturally very colorful, consisting of reds, yellows, and oranges, and with some species sporting shades of green, blue, and black within their beaks.

To capture this striking feature, start by dipping a clean paintbrush into water and applying it evenly across the beak. Next, add more water to the brush and dip it into your chosen color, spreading it over the wet surface. Introduce two or three additional colors, blending them into the wet areas.

This wet-on-wet watercolor technique will create a vibrant, seamless blend of colors, resembling the natural beauty of a real toucan’s beak!

Next, use both the wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques to paint the background.

The waxy lines will repel the watercolor paint, preserving them and adding a magical touch to the painting process. This allows multiple colors and shades to be applied to an area without bleeding into the surrounding spaces, creating fun effects with colors, shading, and blending.

Step 9: Add finer details to the Toucan and rainforest background.

Use a black marker or a white acrylic pen to add fine details to your toucan painting. You can draw dashed white lines on the toucan’s body to mimic feathers or add extra lines to enhance shapes and create light reflections on the flowers.

Arty Crafty Kids can personalize their paintings by adding doodle patterns, drawing little bugs on the leaves, or incorporating anything else that sparks their imagination.

The Toucan drawing and painting tutorial is complete!

By following these simple steps, Arty Crafty Kids will have created a vibrant and unique toucan painting; learning to use simple shapes to draw a toucan and using watercolor techniques to bring their character to life!

Download the Templates!