How to draw an elf
Our little elf is simple to draw and easy to customise, and his cute smile and adorable outfit are bound to spread a bit of festive joy.
We've made our happy little elf out of relatively simple shapes, but if you think it looks a bit too complicated for your little kids, then we've got an extra treat for you below!
Merry making!
For more ways to keep kids busy over the festive season, check out our list of easy Christmas crafts for kids.
Free elf colouring page
If you have kids that are a little too young for this elf drawing tutorial, don't worry – we've made them a special elf colouring page so they can join in with the festive fun!
Simply download and print our free elf colouring page and give him a splash of colour with your favourite felt tips or crayons.
Elf drawing tutorial
Before starting we'll make some markers. These aren't essential, but will help when learning how to draw an elf for the first time.
Faintly draw a vertical line, and then break that line up into thirds – drawing some faint horizontal lines at these points will also help as we progress through the steps. In our example, we drew a vertical line of 9cm broken up into 3cm sections.
Step 1
First, we're going to draw a circle in the top third section.
Step 2
Now we're going to add a collar. Draw a parallel curve underneath your circle, so that the ends meet the horizontal line in line with the outer edges of the circle. Next draw in a diagonal line connecting the ends of your parallel curve to the circle. Now divide your collar into 4 segments.
Draw two vertical lines down from the point where your diagonal lines meet the circle right down to the bottom.
Step 3
In this step we're going to start with our elf's hat. Roughly a third down from the top line, take the side curve of your circle and extend it into a straight line, repeating on both sides so that they meet in the centre point (this doesn't need to be exact - you can choose to make the hat as tall or short as you like).
Now, draw a faint line on the collar parallel to the bottom curve of the circle, and draw a zigzag line connecting the points on the collar as shown. Try to give your zigzag slightly curved lines.
Finally, draw a horizontal line in line with the top of the bottom third marker to make the base of the elf's body. Below this, draw another vertical line a few millimetres in from the outer vertical lines on either side.
Step 4
We'll start this step by making the hat band. Draw a shallow curve connecting the two bottom starting points of your hat. From those points draw a slightly outwards diagonal line on each side, and then connect them with another line parallel to your shallow curve. Pop a circle on the top of the hat.
Halfway down the side of the main head circle, draw a pointed teardrop shape to make the elf's ears. You want the top tip of the ears to be a few millimetres out from the side lines of the hat band (roughly at the halfway point). Repeat on both sides.
Draw another set of two vertical lines on either side on the inside of the bottom third (the two inner lines on each side will become a leg).
Step 5
Curve in the top two edges of the hat band, draw in a teardrop shape inside each ear, and add a small horizontal mark where his nose will be (which is ever so slightly under the centre of the main head circle). You can also lightly draw the centre vertical line and three circular buttons on his body.
We're also now going to add our arms, which you want to be roughly the same thickness as the legs. You can get creative here, or if you're following exactly, have the arm on the left coming outwards slightly and the one on the right side curving up in a semi-circle.
I also find now is a good time to use an eraser to tidy up your drawing and remove some marks that are no longer necessary, such as the collar dividing lines and the outermost bottom vertical lines.
Step 6
Hands are often tricky to draw, but we have a quick trick – our elf is wearing mittens! To start these, simply draw a spatula shape (a slightly rounded rectangle) at the end of the arms.
Draw another horizontal line about 5mm below the bottom body line, and draw a zigzag in this section as shown.
We're now also going to start building up our face details. Add a bit more of a mark to the nose, giving it a slightly upwards curve. On either side of the nose, draw a vertical line for each eye, roughly 5mm in length.
Step 7
Now, draw an oval around your vertical eye line, and then another oval around that oval, as shown. Repeat for both eyes.
Draw a candy cane shape that passes through the hand shape on the left. Once you have drawn this, you can add in a line across the candy cane to become his thumb – you may want to experiment a bit with this to get it looking just right. Don't forget to add an outwards thumb on the other hand.
Also notice that we've added a diagonal line at the bottom of each leg, with a horizontal line roughly the same distance above that – this is the start of our elf's boots.
Step 8
We're nearly there! Draw a horizontal line just under half way on the right-hand side of the inner oval on each eye (this will look odd at the moment, but we'll be shading in all of it apart from that upper top right portion, which will give it that cute manga look).
Also add a slight curve overlapping the bottom outer edge of each of your eye ovals to give the impression of cheeks.
We're also going to add some simple cuffs to our elf's mittens by drawing a rounded rectangle below the hands. Do the same at the horizontal lines on the legs to make the boot cuffs.
And finally, draw a circle on the bottom line, so that the top of the circle is in line with the top of your boot cuff, and the side of the circle is in line with the outermost point of your diagonal line.
Step 9
Now for the final touches! Let's finish those boots first by going over the diagonal line and joining it into the bottom curve of the circle. Stop at the top of the circle, and go back drawing a curved line on the inside of the circle to connect back to the boot cuff. Add a little circle bell at the end of the point, and repeat for the other boot.
Let's finish the face too - colour in all of the inner eye oval except for the upper right section (it'll help if you shade around this negative space to make it appear like an oval inside the oval). We're also going to give him a hairline on both sides, as well as a big smile (I like to do my mouths like a sideways 'D' at a slightly jaunty angle, with a curved horizontal line inside to act as his tongue).
Finally, add some stripes to his stockings, candy cane and hat.
Step 10
If you like you can colour your elf in classic red, white and green shades. We also gave ours some rosy red cheeks, some dotted lines on the collar and cuffs to look like stitching, as well as a couple of subtle freckles on his cheeks – what a cutie!
Make your own elf
Use your sewing skills to make your own fabulous felt Christmas elf doll, perfect for Christmas cuddles!
Where will your elf drawing turn up?
Much like the elf on the shelf, our little helper can turn up all over the place come Christmas time. Add him onto handmade Christmas cards, or cut him out to use as a window decoration!
More Christmas creations
If you've enjoyed our elf drawing tutorial, why not keep those seasonal sketches going by drawing Santa, a snowman or even an epic reindeer – you'll find all these and more in our roundup of Christmas drawing ideas on Gathered.
