How To Draw A Hippo

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Hello, and welcome to another tutorial by Emily Drawing! Today’s tutorial is all about drawing the hippo! We’ll go through nine easy steps to draw this large animal.

Baby hippos are known as calves. They measure a little over 4 feet long and weigh about 50 to 110 pounds. They’re considered adults around 5 to 7 years old.

On average, an adult measures 10.8 and 16.5 feet long and 5.2 feet tall at the shoulder. Male hippos weigh around 3,500 to 9,920 pounds, and female hippos weigh about 3,000 pounds. Overall, the hippo is one of the largest mammals on the planet.

Here is a fun fact: The largest hippo on record was a male in Kenya in 1912. This hippo measured 13.8 feet long and weighed 9,920 pounds.

It’s time to get started on the tutorial for drawing a hippo. Grab your colored pencils or markers, and learn how to draw the third largest land mammal.

Preview of Hippo drawing

Materials:

  • a piece of paper
  • a pencil for the guiding lines and sketching
  • an eraser
  • a black Sharpie or a pen for the outlines
  • markers or colored pencils for coloring
  • our printable drawing guide (Join my Email List below to get this Tutorial)

Here are my RECOMMENDED Art Supplies!

  • Crayola Coloring Set (140 Pieces – Mega Value!)
  • 24 Colored Crayon Set
  • A4 Printer Paper
  • Crayola Coloring Pencils
  • HP Home Printer with Instant Ink!

Time needed:

15 minutes.

How to Draw a Hippo — Let’s get started!

Step 1 – Draw The Hippo’s Gape

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 1 – Draw The Hippo’s Gape

Start by drawing the hippo’s gape, which is a horizontal oval. Did you know hippos can open their mouths up to 150 degrees? This is not only wider than a human’s jaw, but it also delivers a stronger bite than polar bears and lions.

Step 2 – Draw The Hippo’s Head

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 2 – Draw The Hippo’s Head

The next step is to draw the hippo’s head. It looks like half a circle because it’s behind the hippo’s gape. Once you’re finished with this step, the picture should look like an oval overlapping a circle.

Step 3 – Draw The Hippo’s Backside

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 3 – Draw The Hippo’s Backside

Now, you’ll draw the hippo’s backside. Starting at the head, you’ll draw the back and curve down to the back leg. You’re going to draw the back leg as well. When drawing the leg, the line for the front of the leg should stop halfway up the body.

Step 4 – Draw The Hippo’s Front Side

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 4 – Draw The Hippo’s Front Side

Drawing the belly is easy because it’s just a line that slightly curves outward. Then, add the first front leg and finish with the hippo’s chest. Fun fact: Hippos have short legs, webbed feet, and hooves. Their feet include four webbed toes, and the hooves are more like fingernails.

Step 5 – Draw The Hippo’s Other Legs

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 5 – Draw The Hippo’s Other Legs

For the next step, you’ll draw the hippo’s other legs. This is a side view of the hippo, so the other two legs are hidden behind the rest of the body. Therefore, you won’t draw the full legs or feet.

Step 6 – Draw The Hippo’s Tail

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 6 – Draw The Hippo’s Tail

The next step is to draw the hippo’s tail. When drawing, it almost looks like you’re drawing a curved paintbrush. Hippos can move their tails back and forth quickly, as well as use them to mark their territories.

Step 7 – Draw The Hippo’s Ears

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 7 – Draw The Hippo’s Ears

It’s easy to draw the ears because they’re small, rounded squares on each side of the hippo’s head. Did you know that hippos can close their ears and nostrils to keep water out when submerged? Once they’re out of the water, they can wiggle their ears to remove any excess water.

Step 8 – Draw The Hippo’s Face

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 8 – Draw The Hippo’s Face

Now, you’ll draw the hippo’s face and other details. This includes spot dots for the eyes, two small ovals for the nostrils, and a simple smile. You’re also going to add a small rounded square inside each ear, as this shows the inner and outer ears.

Step 9 – Color In Your Drawing!

How to Draw a Hippo - Step 9 – Color In Your Drawing!

Here comes the best part of all: coloring in your drawing! If you want to follow our tutorial, we colored our hippo gray. The gape, inner ears, and end of the tail are dark gray, and the nostrils are an even darker shade of gray. You also want to color in the background to create the hippo’s environment, which could be a local zoo or even South Africa! You can also come up with your own color scheme for the hippo and background to showcase your creativity.

Pin it now, Draw later!

FREE download the Printable drawing guide and coloring page for Hippo

Interesting Facts About The Hippo

Hippos live in the grasslands and savannas of West, Central, East, and South Africa. In captivity, such as in zoos, their natural habitat is mimicked as closely as possible.

They love to walk or run underwater, and they can hold their breath for an average of five minutes. In fact, “River Horse” is their nickname! While hippos cannot swim, they can move along the riverbed or lakebed at a speed of 5 miles per hour.

Did You Know?

  • There are two species of hippos, which are the common hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) and the pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis).
  • The gestation period of a hippo is 243 days or eight months, which is almost as long as a human’s gestation period.
  • Hippos are mostly herbivores that occasionally eat meat. Their diet mainly includes grass, fruit, and aquatic plants, with the occasional meat including zebras and wildebeests.”
  • The average lifespan of a hippo is 40 to 50 years. The oldest hippo on record was named Bertha, who was located at the Manila Zoo in the Philippines. She passed away in 2017 at 65 years old.
  • The IUCN Red List has classified hippos as “threatened.” This is because of human activity, such as hunting and habitat loss, affecting their environment.

We hope you had fun with our “How To Draw A Hippo” tutorial. Feel free to share your drawing with us by posting on social media with the hashtag #EmilyDrawing! If you’re interested in drawing other animals, browse the tutorials on our site. We offer many simple drawing tutorials.

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