Step 1 - Draw the butterfly’s head thorax and abdomen. This trick will centre
the butterfly in the middle of your paper. The body is made of the head (a
circle), a middle thorax (oval), and abdomen (oblong oval), 2 eyes (semicircles on either side of the head) and 2 antennae.
Fun Fact: some butterflies antennae are straight and some are curved,
depending on the butterfly species.
Step 2 - Draw 2 curved lines from the top of part of body (on either side).
Try to make these lines equal in length and arch.
Step 3 - Draw 2 straight lines from the centre of the body (on either side).
Make the lines equal in length.
Step 4 - Draw 2 curved lines from the bottom part of the body (on either
side). Make lines both the same length and arch.
Step 5 - Draw a squiggly line to connect the top of the wing to the middle
(horizontal) line. Do this for both sides of the wing
Step 6 - Draw 2 diagonal lines from the end of the middle line. Make sure
they are the same length.
Step 7 - Draw 2 semi-circles connected to the diagonal lines from last step
and bottom arch lines. Your butterfly overall shape is now complete. Take a
step back and make sure both sides are looking roughly equal. Take this
chance to fix any areas that stick out.
TIP: It also helps to flip your picture upside down and take a look. Flipping
gives your eyes a fresh perspective and you can much easily see if your
butterfly is looking symmetrical.
Step 8 - Draw 4 tear drop shapes inside each wing.
Step 9 - Draw 7 straight lines in each wing quadrant (from the tear drop
shape to the outer edge).
Step 10 - Draw a bubble-like border around the outer edge of the wings.
Step 11 - Using your pencil fill in the bordered area between the bubble
border and outer wing.
Step 12 - Add some semi-circles and “D” shapes for the top 3 sections on
the top of the wings. We will fill in around them in the next step
Step 13 - Fill in around the patterns you drew in the previous step (using
pencil). Also draw small circles along the top edges of the wings.
Step 14 - Thicken all the lines between the sections on both wings.
Step 15 - Fill in the body, and you’re done!