How to Draw a Monkey

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Reviewed by Jeanine Hattas Wilson

Last Updated: July 28, 2022

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So you want to draw a cute and easy monkey? Here are a few simple steps that will help you.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Cartoon Monkey

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2
Draw a circle.
- This will be your monkey’s head.
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3
Draw the body and the tail.
- For the body, draw a letter “U” under the circle. Try to make the letter U a bit smaller than the head.
- Add a long swirly tail.
4
Add legs.
- Draw 2 ‘arms’ on the upper body and 2 more legs on the lower body.
- The arms and legs don't have to be proportional to the body; making it a bit long is okay. It depends on the artist’s preference.
5
Add ears, muzzle, hands and feet.
- Draw 2 ovals at each side of the head to form ears. Add another oval at the bottom part of the head for the muzzle.
- For the hands, just draw small circles.
- For the feet, draw longer ovals.
6
Add eyes and nostrils.
- Draw a small heart-shaped in the upper part of the muzzle for the nostrils.
- draw two circles for the eyes, making it a bit exaggerated is okay. Again, it depends on the artist’s preference.
7
Draw the lineart over the pencil sketch with a pen.
- After drawing the lineart, always remember erase the pencil sketch to keep the drawing neat.
8
Erase the pencil lines and add details.
- Add lines for the ears and the belly.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Realistic Monkey Face

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2
Draw a big round oval.
- Make sure that you are using a pencil for the draft sketch so you can erase it afterwards to make it very neat.
3
Add guidelines for the face.
- Draw a vertical line in the middle of the head so you know where the center of the face is.
- Draw a horizontal line on the middle of the face. Afterwards, add another line a bit higher than the first horizontal line. They should be parallel and should form a figure that looks like a rectangle.
4
Add ears and muzzle.
- At the end of the ‘rectangle’, add two curved line facing each other. This would be the ears.
- Draw a big circle from the base of the face to the bottom side of the parallel lines.
5
Add two circles.
- Draw two tear-shaped circle overlapping the parallel lines. It should skew a bit to the center.
6
Draw the face details.
- Add a horizontal line 1/3 part from the bottom of the muzzle. This will be your guide for the mouth.
- Add two tear-shaped figures at the opposite side from the mouth. They should connect towards the lower-center. It should look like a stretched heart.
- For the eyes, draw an almond shaped figure in the middle of the parallel lines.
7
Using a pen, draw on top of your sketch.
- Put in mind the overlapping lines and parts that should be hidden.
- The lineart might not look perfect and crisp but it should look neat when the pencil is erased.
8
Erase the pencil sketch and add details.
- You can add details like the furs and the lines for the skin.
- Try to add more if needed. Don’t be afraid to add more lines than what is necessary. Monkey skin is really wrinkly and their fur tends to be really hairy and coarse.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

A Sketch Style Monkey

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Sketch in guidelines for the facial features.
Don't draw the mouth too close to the nose; you can make it big or small depending on your preference.
Detail it if you want, or just draw another curved line inside.
Give it a curve like the tail shown in the image, or curl it around a branch so it looks like your monkey is hanging from a tree.
Make them long, maybe as long as the body. You can also make it a little chubby to make it look cuter.
Monkeys don't need their legs nearly as much as their arms, since they spend their lives swinging around using their hands and tails, not their feet.
The difference is that the palms are a little longer if you want to make it a little realistic. If not, just draw a circle and ovals for the fingers.
If you want to add fur, you should do so at this point.
Add shading/shadowing if you want, mostly using whatever color you primarily used for the fur.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I draw monkey faces with hair?

Community Answer

Just add wavy lines coming out of the face.

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Question

How do I draw a monkey sitting on a tree?

Community Answer

Find a picture of a monkey sitting on a tree and copy it. You can also combine the tips in this article with the tips in this article about drawing a tree on wikiHow.

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Question

How do I draw a monkey sitting down on the ground?

Community Answer

You can draw #3 from the article, and draw a ground line. You could draw trees around the monkey and clouds in the sky to make it look more realistic, if you so choose.

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Tips

Draw lightly in pencil so that you can easily erase mistakes.

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Trace the monkey with black pencil or a sharpie marker.

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If you want to use markers or watercolors to color your drawing, use paper that is relatively thick and line over your pencil more darkly before doing so.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Carefully study images of real monkeys when drawing to accurately capture distinguishing features like the muzzle, ears, hands and tails. Try different angles as well. This will help make your monkey drawings more true to life.
Shading adds depth and realism. Use a blunt pencil, a tortillon or even your finger to lightly smudge and blend the shaded areas. Apply darker values near the edges and under the chin, with the center of the face left lighter.
For a simple approach, draw just the head and arms in a more cartoon style. Then add some quick curved lines to suggest the body shape rather than fully detailing it. This way you can complete your monkey sketch faster.
Drawing monkeys is fun because you can give them all types of expressions using the eyes, eyebrows and mouth. Convey different moods like happiness, anger or curiosity through subtle changes in these facial features.
Use light, sketchy lines at first to map out the basic head and body shapes. Don't press down hard or you won't be able to erase them later. Once you have the main forms roughed out, you can start refining.

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