{"title":"How to Draw a Butterfly (Easy Monarch Butterfly Drawing)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/drawing/how-to-draw-a-butterfly","category":{"slug":"drawing","name":"Drawing"},"creator":{"name":"Art for Kids Hub","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5XMF3Inoi8R9nSI8ChOsdQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLWNOafqfh0"},"tldr":"Draw a monarch butterfly step by step: body, wings, antennae, spots and color. An easy marker drawing for kids and beginners.","quickAnswer":"Draw a monarch butterfly step by step: body, wings, antennae, spots and color. An easy project: about 30 minutes. You need 4 things, including drawing or marker paper, black permanent marker and pencil and eraser. The 10 steps start with draw the Butterfly's Body: Thorax, Head and Abdomen, draw the Top Curves of the Butterfly's Forewings, close the Butterfly's Forewings With a Bumpy Edge, draw the Butterfly's Hind Wings and add the Butterfly's Antennae With Club Tips.","totalDurationSeconds":542,"videoDurationSeconds":542,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":30,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":30,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":"1 drawing"},"tools":["black permanent marker","pencil and eraser (optional)"],"materials":["drawing or marker paper","orange and yellow markers, crayons or colored pencils"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Draw the Butterfly's Body: Thorax, Head and Abdomen","text":"Start in the middle of your paper with a small oval. This is the thorax, the middle part of the body where the wings attach. On top of it, draw an upside down U for the head. Below the thorax, draw a longer U shape for the abdomen. Keep the whole body small and centered, because the wings will spread out a long way on both sides."},{"number":2,"title":"Draw the Top Curves of the Butterfly's Forewings","text":"From the top of the thorax, draw a big curve that sweeps up and out on the left, reaching close to the edge of the paper. Repeat it on the right so the two curves match. Then draw a straight line out sideways from the body on each side. Below that, draw a long diagonal line reaching down on both sides. These lines are the frame for all four wings."},{"number":3,"title":"Close the Butterfly's Forewings With a Bumpy Edge","text":"The top wings are the forewings. Start at the tip of the top curve and draw the outer edge down and around, adding a few small bumps as you go. Curve it back in to meet the straight side line. Repeat it on the other side. The bumps make the wing edge look natural instead of smooth like a balloon."},{"number":4,"title":"Draw the Butterfly's Hind Wings","text":"The lower wings are the hind wings. Start on the side line, a little closer to the body, and draw a big curve that swings out and down. Add a few bumps along the bottom edge, then curve back in to meet the diagonal line near the abdomen. Do the same on the other side. Now you have the full outline of a butterfly."},{"number":5,"title":"Add the Butterfly's Antennae With Club Tips","text":"From the top of the head, draw a thin curved line out to one side for an antenna. At the very end, make a small thick dot. Butterfly antennae end in little clubs like this. Repeat it on the other side and thicken both tips. Skip the legs. They are tucked underneath, and you are looking down on the top of the butterfly."},{"number":6,"title":"Draw the Long Cell Shapes in the Monarch's Forewings","text":"Monarchs have orange shapes between their black veins. In the forewing, start near the body and draw a long rounded shape that curves back to where it started. Add a small oval beside it, then a longer shape that reaches further out. Follow the edges of the shapes you already drew so a thin black gap stays between each one. Repeat everything on the other forewing."},{"number":7,"title":"Add Ovals to the Tips of the Monarch's Forewings","text":"Near the top corner of each forewing, draw two medium ovals, leave a small space, then add two smaller ones. Right at the tip, draw three long thin ovals side by side. These tip spots are what make it read as a monarch at a glance. Do the left wing first, then copy the same pattern on the right."},{"number":8,"title":"Draw the Raindrop and Cell Shapes in the Hind Wings","text":"Move down to the hind wings. In the middle of each one, draw a big raindrop shape. Below it, draw a long shape that follows the raindrop, swings out to the wing edge and follows the bottom curve back in. Then fit three or four short ovals in a row beside them, filling the space up to the forewing. Repeat on the other hind wing."},{"number":9,"title":"Add the Monarch Butterfly's White Edge Spots","text":"Around the outer edge of every wing, draw lots of tiny ovals and circles. These stay white when you color, so they pop against the black border. You do not have to match any exact number. Use your own pattern, bigger near the wing tips and smaller along the hind wings, and add them to both sides."},{"number":10,"title":"Color the Monarch Butterfly Black and Orange","text":"Fill everything outside your shapes with black: the body, the veins between the cells and the wide border around the wings. Leave the tiny edge spots white. Then color the cell shapes orange. For extra depth, add a little yellow at the tips or a darker orange near the body. Step back and you have a bright monarch butterfly."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-12T15:04:17.473Z","published":"2026-11-12T15:04:17.210Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}