Nine alien drawing ideas for kids, from simple black-and-white characters to stranger monster shapes. There is no anatomy test here: the fun is deciding what looks *unusual on purpose*. Click or tap any image to open the full-size reference.
Jump to: easy aliens · cute variations · weirder characters · 10-minute practice
Easy alien starters — References 1–3
Pick one strong decision first: a huge head, one odd eye shape, very long arms, or a tiny body. If everything is unusual at once, the character can get harder to read.
A five-step way to invent an alien
- Choose the silhouette. Try a huge head with a tiny body, a tall bean shape, or a short round body.
- Pick one unusual feature. One eye, three eyes, antennae, extra-long arms or tiny feet is enough.
- Place the face lightly. A faint center line helps keep the eyes and mouth from drifting.
- Add limbs with simple strokes. Think sticks first, thickness second.
- Clean the drawing last. Darken the lines you want to keep only after the pose works.
Start with circles, ovals and lines rather than details. Before drawing fingers, clothes or texture, check whether the character is readable from across the page. If it is not, simplify the big shapes first.
Turn one alien into three
Redraw the same basic character three times. Keep the body shape, then change only the eyes, antennae or hands. That makes it easy to see which small choice changes the personality most.
Cute alien variations — References 4–6
Rounded shapes, wide-set eyes and shorter limbs usually make a character feel softer. You do not have to use all three. Try changing only one and see how much the character changes.
Quick proportion check
- If the alien feels too human, enlarge the head or shorten the torso.
- If it feels stiff, bend one arm or tilt the head slightly.
- If the face feels crowded, remove a feature instead of shrinking everything.
- If the design looks flat, overlap an arm across the body or place one foot slightly forward.
For a cuter face, pay attention to spacing rather than adding decorations. Wide-set eyes can feel softer or more curious, while close-set eyes often feel more intense. Leave enough empty space around the eyes so the face does not become one dark patch.
Cartoon and stranger aliens — References 7–9
A 10-minute alien drawing practice
Set a timer for two minutes and draw five tiny silhouettes using only circles, ovals, triangles and lines. Spend the next three minutes choosing one silhouette and adding a face. Use another three minutes to redraw it with one major change—different eyes, limbs or head shape. For the final two minutes, put the references away and draw the character once from memory.
The memory drawing is the useful part. It shows which shapes you actually understood and which details you were only copying. If the second version falls apart, simplify the character and repeat it rather than tracing the reference.
One rule for making the design yours
Do not copy every feature from one reference. Keep one thing you like—maybe the head shape—then invent the eyes and body from somewhere else. That is enough to stop the result from feeling like a traced character.
For more simple subjects, use Easy Things to Draw. For structured step-by-step practice, go to the beginner drawing tutorials.
Alien drawing questions
What is the easiest alien to draw?
A large oval head, two simple eyes, a small rounded body and line-based arms and legs is usually the easiest construction. Add antennae only after the main shapes look balanced.
How can a child draw an alien without copying?
Look at a reference for one feature, close it, and invent the remaining features from memory. Another useful exercise is to redraw the same body three times while changing only the eyes, antennae or limbs.
Should kids outline alien drawings in black?
Not necessarily. Pencil alone is fine for practice. If the drawing will be colored, a darker final outline can make the shapes easier to read, but construction lines should stay light until the proportions are settled.
