How to Draw a Snail (Easy Video Lesson for Kids)
Draw this snail in 6 easy steps with a pencil and eraser. It takes about 15 minutes and works for ages 5 and up. Print the free step-by-step page below, or draw along with the video. The page comes from Kevin Coulston’s book How to Draw: Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff.
- Step-by-step drawing
- Ages 5+
- Grades K–2
- Easy
- About 15 min with the video
You’ll need
- Pencil and eraser
- Paper, or the printed page
- Crayons, markers or colored pencils
You’ll practice
- Breaking a drawing into simple shapes
- Following steps in order
- Adding your own details
Free Step-By-Step Page: Learn How to Draw a Snail from How to Draw: Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff
If your young artist loves drawing cute characters, today’s freebie is a great way to get them excited about picking up a pencil. I’m sharing a free step-by-step activity page directly from my book How to Draw: Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff, and this page shows kids exactly How to Draw a Snail using my simple six-step method. The character is a cheerful little cartoon snail with a rounded shell, expressive eyes, and a friendly smile—perfect for beginners or kids who simply enjoy drawing cute creatures.
Before diving into the free page itself, let me introduce the book this little snail comes from and why it has become a favorite for so many families.
Watch it being drawn
Watch the pencil draw it one step at a time, then grab a pencil and try it yourself.
About the Book: How to Draw: Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff
This book is filled with 50 hand-drawn characters I created specifically for young artists. Every drawing in the book—just like every drawing across my entire Art Books for Kids series—is fully hand-drawn by me, and not created with AI or clipart. I keep the art approachable and full of personality so kids can feel excited about bringing each character to life.
Inside, kids will find a mix of magical and imaginative subjects: mermaids, unicorns, cute animals, fantasy creatures, food characters, and plenty of playful surprises. Each drawing is broken down into six clear steps, allowing children to build their artwork gradually and with confidence. The structure makes it easier for beginners to follow along and ensures that each completed drawing feels like an accomplishment they can be proud of. The book’s themes also encourage creativity and storytelling, since kids often start imagining fun backgrounds and personalities for the characters they draw.
And now, they get to sample one of those characters with today’s free page showing them How to Draw a Snail.
Learn to Draw 50 Cute Characters
Why Learning How to Draw a Snail Is Great for Beginners
There’s something especially approachable about learning How to Draw a Snail. The shapes are gentle and round, the character design is simple but expressive, and the steps are easy to follow. Snails allow kids to practice drawing curves, spirals, and basic shapes without feeling overwhelmed. A lot of young artists like seeing how such a simple subject can turn into an adorable character with personality.
Drawing a character like this snail also helps kids understand structure, proportion, and how small changes in facial features can completely shift a character’s personality. In many cases, kids end up drawing the snail multiple times—experimenting with color, accessories, or different shell patterns—and that repetition naturally strengthens their drawing skills.
Try the Book in Three Different Drawing Formats
Just like most themes in my series, Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff is available in three different formats, each designed for a different skill level or learning preference.
- How to Draw (Step-By-Step) – The format featured in today’s free page. Kids learn exactly How to Draw a Snail, and 49 other characters, using my six-step method.
- Trace Then Color – Ideal for younger children who feel more confident starting with tracing before drawing independently.
- Draw by Grid – A more structured approach where kids copy each drawing square-by-square. Great for improving focus, observation, and proportion.
All three versions use the same hand-drawn characters. Parents often tell me they start with Trace Then Color when their child is very young, move to the How to Draw format once their confidence grows, and then introduce Draw by Grid as a fun challenge.
Part of a Much Larger Hand-Drawn Art Book Series
This book is one of more than 80 drawing and activity books I’ve created for kids. Each one is fully hand-drawn by me and designed to be screen-free, creative fun. Themes across the series include cute cartoon animals, dinosaurs, aliens, robots, food monsters, Crusty Goobers, baby animals, and many more. One of my goals with every book is to create characters that feel memorable and fun to draw—characters kids want to return to again and again.
If your young artist enjoys this free page and learns How to Draw a Snail with confidence, there are dozens of other drawing adventures waiting for them in the full series.
About Today’s Free Page: How to Draw a Snail
The free page included in this post demonstrates the exact same six-step drawing method used throughout the book. It walks kids step-by-step through How to Draw a Snail, beginning with simple shapes and gradually forming a finished, expressive cartoon character. The snail on this page is friendly, goofy, and light-hearted—designed intentionally to make even hesitant young artists feel comfortable starting the drawing.
The snail begins with basic shapes that are easy for kids to draw: a soft curve for the body, a spiral for the shell, and rounded shapes for the eyes and mouth. As the steps progress, kids add details, refine the outlines, and by the final step they can see how simple shapes have transformed into a fully developed cartoon snail. Learning How to Draw a Snail in this structured way helps kids understand how drawings come together and builds the kind of confidence that makes them excited to try more characters afterward.
Beyond just completing the steps, this free page also encourages creativity. Kids often decide to color the snail in fun tones, add flowers or mushrooms around it, or even draw a little scenery. It becomes more than a simple drawing exercise—it becomes a moment of creative exploration.
Free Activity Page (save and print):
Draw This Snail and 49 Characters
Closing Thoughts
I hope your child has fun with today’s free step-by-step page. Learning How to Draw a Snail is a great creative warm-up, and it’s a perfect introduction to the drawing style and six-step process used throughout How to Draw: Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff. If they enjoy this page, they’ll have a great time exploring the rest of the book—and the wider series of drawing books designed to keep kids creating, imagining, and expressing themselves through art.
Draw it 3 ways
Every FirstArtBooks theme comes in three formats. Trace it, draw it step by step, or copy it square by square: the more ways kids draw a character, the better they know it.
- How to Draw
Draw it step by stepYou’re on this pageSee all How to Draw books - Trace Then Color
Coloring Page for Easter Featuring a Cute BunnySame theme · Ages 3+See all Trace Then Color books - Draw by Grid
How to Draw a SheepSame theme · Ages 7+See all Draw by Grid books
Fun facts about the real snail
- A snail carries its shell its whole life, and the shell grows with it.
- Snails make slime that helps them glide along.
- Land snails have their eyes on the tips of their long tentacles.
Draw your snail, then add one of these facts in a speech bubble or on the back of the page.
Finished? Draw the scene next
- Add a background: draw a picnic blanket with snacks.
- Write one line under your picture to finish this story:
It sniffed the basket and…
That’s a picture book page. Draw two more and you have a whole story.
Draw it, then write about it
Give your snail a name. Where does it live, and what does it love to do? Write two or three sentences.
Directed drawing and writing worksheets for this lesson: Snail Directed Drawing and Writing Worksheet, with a kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd–3rd grade writing page.
Print a draw-and-write sheet: a box for the drawing and lines for the story. Primary lines (K–2) · Regular lines (grades 2–5)
Want to make it a whole story? Try the comic story starter or fold a mini-book in Story Studio.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
- The head is too small for a cartoon look.
- Cartoon animals are cute because their heads are big. Make the head almost as big as the body.
- The eyes are too far apart.
- Keep the eyes close together near the middle of the face. Leave about one eye’s width between them.
- The legs don’t line up with the body.
- Draw the legs straight down from the bottom of the body, so the animal looks like it’s standing on the ground.
- Pressing hard from the very first step.
- Use light, sketchy lines first. You can erase them easily and go over the lines you keep at the end.
More in 10 common drawing mistakes kids make.
Talk about it
For the grown-up: ask one or two of these while your child draws. There are no wrong answers.
- Where does this animal live, and what does it eat?
- If this animal could talk, what would its voice sound like?
- What would you change if you drew it again tomorrow?
- Which part are you proudest of?
More ideas in 25 questions to ask kids about their art.
Questions about this drawing lesson
What age is this snail drawing lesson for?
Ages 5 and up (about grades K to 2). Younger kids can follow along with a grown-up, one step at a time.
How long does it take?
About 15 minutes, including time to pause the video. Kids who add their own details or a background often keep going longer.
What supplies do you need?
Pencil and eraser; paper, or the printed page; crayons, markers or colored pencils.
What size does it print?
US Letter (8.5 by 11 inches). Use Print this page or Download PDF above. On A4 paper, choose “Fit to page” in the print settings.
Can kids draw the snail without printing the page?
Yes. Draw on any paper and copy one step at a time from the screen, or pause the video after each step. Classroom mode shows one step at a time, full screen.
For teachers: grade, timing and standards
Grades K–2, about 15 minutes. Step-by-step drawing, easy level. The video does the teaching: press play and let students draw along.
National Core Arts Standards (visual arts)
- VA:Cr2 Organize and develop artistic ideas and work: students build drawing skills by following a sequence of steps.
- VA:Cr3 Refine and complete artistic work: students add their own details, expressions and color to finish the character.
See every lesson by standard, plus the math in grid drawing, on the arts standards map.
Copies: print as many as your class needs. Use classroom mode above to show one step at a time on your board. More in the teacher resources, the Animals hub and our no-prep sub plans.
Get the free Animal Drawing Pack
12 printable animal pages to draw, trace and color, sent with your welcome email. After that, Kevin’s newsletter brings new free pages and book news.
Take the idea into a book
Want more characters to draw, trace or color? Explore these related books and see which approach fits your next creative session.
More like this: all 55 free animal drawing lessons and pages →
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