How to Draw Quokka — Free Practice Sheets

A quokka drawing is easy to recognise when you get a few shapes right: a rounded head, two soft ears, a compact body, tucked front paws, and a short thick tail. This page explains how to practise those features using tracing, grid copying, and partial-outline completion. Each method trains a different skill, and each drawing can be checked against a separate full reference sheet rather than judged as an exact match.

Start with the quokka's key shapes

Before you trace or copy anything, look at the reference and name the parts that make the animal a quokka. The head is a rounded circle, not a pointed wedge. The ears are small and rounded on top. The body is a large rounded oval, low and stocky. The front limbs are short and held close to the chest, and the tail is short and thick rather than long and thin.

These features matter more than any single line. A drawing with a long tail or tall, pointed ears will stop reading as a quokka even if the outline is neat. Keep the proportions simple: the head is smaller than the body, and the body sits close to the ground.

1. Draw a large rounded oval for the body and a smaller circle for the head, overlapping at the neck.
2. Add two rounded ear shapes on top of the head and a small snout with nose and eye.
3. Sketch the short forelimbs tucked against the chest and the hind legs under the body.
4. Attach a short, thick tail extending to the right and outline the body with fur texture.

Trace, then draw without the outline

Tracing is a warm-up, not the final goal. Place your paper over the reference outline and follow the contour slowly, noticing where the head meets the body and how the ears sit on top. Say the shape names quietly as you trace so your hand connects to the structure.

Then move to a blank sheet and draw the same contour from memory. Compare your independent drawing with the separate full reference sheet. Differences are useful information: if your tail came out too long, redraw it shorter; if the ears look pointed, round them. The aim is to preserve the visible features and proportions, not to match every pixel.

1. Trace the reference outline once, keeping your pencil light.
2. Set the tracing aside and redraw the contour on blank paper.
3. Compare both drawings with the full reference sheet.
4. Redraw only the part that drifted, such as the tail or ears.

Use a grid to place the silhouette

A grid helps you judge position and size. Copy the reference onto the blank grid by matching grid intersections: if the top of the head sits two squares from the top edge in the reference, place it two squares down on your blank grid. Work square by square rather than drawing the whole outline at once.

Use the grid for placement, then remove it mentally. The finished drawing should still have the rounded ears, stocky body, and short tail. A grid copy that is perfectly aligned but has a long tail is not a better quokka drawing.

1. Find a clear landmark, such as the nose or the top of an ear, and note its grid position.
2. Copy that landmark to the matching intersection on the blank grid.
3. Repeat for the body edges, paws, and tail tip.
4. Join the landmarks into a smooth outline and check the features.

Complete a partial drawing and check your work

When only part of the reference is shown, use the visible side to infer the missing side. The bounding frame and center guide help you keep the silhouette balanced. Place the body first, then the head, then the ears and tail. Add the eye, nose, and paw lines last so they sit correctly on the body.

Because art has multiple valid outcomes, judge your drawing with a rubric instead of hunting for one exact answer. Ask whether the ears are rounded, the body is stocky, the front limbs are tucked, and the tail is short and thick. If two of those fail, redraw those parts before adding fur texture.

1. Place the body oval inside the bounding frame.
2. Add the head circle so it overlaps the body at the neck.
3. Draw the rounded ears, short tail, and tucked forelimbs.
4. Check each feature against the rubric, then add light fur texture.

Check your work

• Ears are small and rounded, sitting on top of the head.
• Body is a large rounded oval, stocky and low.
• Head is smaller than the body and overlaps at the neck.
• Forelimbs are short and tucked against the chest.
• Tail is short and thick, not long or thin.
• Eye, nose, and snout are placed on the head, not floating.
• Fur texture follows the outline without hiding the key shapes.

Worked example

quokka: Trace the reference outline, then practise the contour independently. Compare with the separate full reference sheet.

Common mistakes

• Drawing a long, thin tail because it feels like a typical animal tail. Shorten the tail and make it thicker, ending close to the body.
• Making the ears tall and pointed. Redraw each ear as a small rounded shape sitting on top of the head.
• Copying grid squares without checking the overall silhouette. Step back and compare the head-to-body ratio and the tail length with the full reference.

Questions and answers