Axel Scheffler: How to draw a Gruffalo

Follow Axel Scheffler’s process from pencil to paint, as he shows you how to draw your very own Gruffalo. We’ll give you a hint… start with the horns! You’ll be perfecting your own characters in no time.

Now invent your own talking animal

Does your creature live in a forest, in a jungle, on a moor or in a zoo? Perhaps it has a job. Does it work in a school, a supermarket, an old grey office or a library? Maybe it plays music in an orchestra or writes stories for children.

If your creature came to your house what would you do? Would you offer it something to eat? Would you play a game together, such as hide and seek or Monopoly? Would you read it a story or play some music? What would you and the creature talk about?

How does your creature make you feel? Is your creature terrifying, fascinating, revolting, boring or adorable? Perhaps it’s a mixture of all these things.

Does your creature have special powers? Can it see into the future or read people’s minds? Is it a book worm, an extraordinary poet or a brilliant chef?

The Gruffalo has purple prickles, a poisonous wart and knobbly knees. What kind of body does your creature have? How does its skin feel when you touch it? Does its physical characteristics reflect its personality?

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Read transcript of this video

Axel Scheffler

How to draw a Gruffalo. I would start at the top with the horns and then work my way down to the feet. There's a Gruffalo. And I'll start coloring in. So done with the outlines. Prickles. Now what I do, I take a very hard pencil and I do the fur structure. It shows a little bit when the drawing is finished. Use the pen again to do the outlines again. Okay, I think that's it. That's how you draw a Gruffalo.

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