How to Draw a Clown: Easy Step-by-Step

Round red nose, rosy cheeks, a hat two sizes too small — today we’re drawing the friendliest performer under the big top. This guide shows you how to draw a clown the cheerful, storybook way: all soft circles and happy colors, the kind of circus pal who juggles, giggles, and hands out balloons. Zero spookiness allowed.

Clowns are secretly one of the best beginner subjects, because the whole design is built from circles — nose, cheeks, buttons, pom-poms — and circles are forgiving. If you enjoy characters that make people smile, our funny easy drawings collection is packed with more like this one.

What You’ll Need

• Paper
• A pencil
• An eraser
• Optional: your brightest, happiest colors

Step 1: Draw the Round, Happy Head

Begin with a big, friendly circle in the upper half of your page. Rounder equals jollier, so aim for a full moon rather than an egg. Sketch lightly — hair, hat, and collar will overlap this circle soon, and leave the bottom half of the page free for the suit and those famous shoes.

Step 2: Add the Famous Red Nose

Smack in the center of the face, draw a smaller circle — the world-famous clown nose. Make it big enough to be proud of, about the size of the eyes put together. Add a tiny shine circle in its upper corner so it looks polished and shiny as a cherry fresh off the stem.

Step 3: Give a Giant Grin and Kind Eyes

Under the nose, sweep a big banana-shaped smile — wide, open, and welcoming. Above the nose, place two oval eyes with tall, raised eyebrows, like the clown just spotted a friend in the audience. Kind eyes are the whole secret to a lovable clown, so keep them big and bright.

Step 4: Rosy Cheeks and Curly Hair

Stamp a rosy blush circle on each cheek, just outside the smile. Then give your clown the classic hairdo: fluffy cloud-shaped puffs on the left and right sides of the head, with the top left cheerfully bald. Scribbly loops work perfectly — messy is the style here, so the wilder your scribbles, the better the wig.

Step 5: Top It with a Tiny Hat

On top of the bald dome, perch a tiny cone-shaped hat — deliberately too small, that’s the joke. Tilt it a little for extra silliness and pop a fluffy pom-pom on the point. A flower sticking out of the hat brim is optional but strongly encouraged by this tutorial.

Step 6: Ruffle the Collar

Under the chin, draw a ring of big scallops all the way around the neck — like a flower made of fabric. This ruffled collar frames the face and hides the tricky neck-to-body connection completely. Two layers of scallops looks extra fancy, and nobody will ever know you skipped drawing a neck.

Step 7: Build the Baggy Suit

Below the collar, draw a soft, baggy jumpsuit — a plump rounded body with loose sleeves and pant legs, like pajamas inflated with giggles. March three pom-pom buttons down the front. Finish with mitten hands and the legendary oversized shoes: two long ovals, each nearly as big as the head. 🎈

Step 8: Color the Big-Top Way

Trace your final lines and erase the sketch. Go bold: cherry-red nose and shoes, orange or blue hair, and a suit in sunny yellow with red polka dots — or half one color, half another, harlequin style. Bright, warm colors keep everything squarely in “friendly” territory.

Tips to Make Your Clown Drawing Even Cuter

• Hand your clown a bunch of balloon strings or three juggling balls frozen mid-air.
• Keep the eyes large and round with white shine dots — that’s the friendliness dial, turned up.
• Add a happy little dog in a matching ruffle collar as a circus sidekick.
• Draw star and heart face paint on the cheeks instead of plain blush.
• Stick to warm, bright colors; friendly clowns never wear gloomy ones.

FAQ

How do you draw a clown that’s cute and not creepy?

Big round eyes with shine dots, a wide-open smile, soft round shapes everywhere, and bright warm colors. Avoid sharp angles, tiny pupils, and dark shadows — that’s it.

Is a clown easy to draw?

Yes! Almost every piece is a circle — head, nose, cheeks, buttons, pom-poms — which makes it one of the most forgiving characters a beginner can pick.

What colors should a clown be?

Primary colors are the circus classic: red nose and shoes, yellow or polka-dot suit, blue or orange hair. The brighter the palette, the friendlier the clown.

Ta-da! One giggling circus friend, ready to take a bow on your page. Keep the show going — we draw cheerful characters like this on our YouTube channel every week, step by step. If you loved this, our easy roller coaster drawing will build your clown the perfect fairground to play in.