How to Draw Donkey Kong

Finished Donkey Kong drawing with massive arms, clenched fists, and a tie

In this tutorial, we will show you how to draw Donkey Kong – is a famous gorilla from one of the earliest video games. He first appeared as a video game character in 1981.

In that game, Donkey Kong looked like a few pixels, but here we will draw this character in his modern form.

How to draw Donkey Kong step by step

Step 1: Sketch Donkey Kong’s frame

First, sketch the gorilla using a few rounded shapes. The largest and longest shape represents the torso. Draw the vertical facial centerline.

Sketching Donkey Kong’s body with rounded shapes and a facial centerline

Step 2: Add eyebrows and eyes

This is a short stage, but even a small error can affect Donkey Kong’s appearance later. The cartoon gorilla’s face resembles an exaggerated human face. Draw the massive eyebrows forming an obtuse angle:

Adding Donkey Kong’s massive eyebrows at an obtuse angle

Then draw the cartoon eyes as a pair of small circles. Be sure to use the facial guidelines from the previous step. Also, outline the edge of the ear.

Drawing Donkey Kong’s small round eyes and outer ear contour

Step 3: Detail Donkey Kong’s face

Now that the silhouette is ready, draw the facial details:

A pair of nostrils shaped like commas;
The edge of the ear. The top of the auricle has a small fold;
The lips. Draw a pair of lines along the upper and lower parts of the mouth;
The teeth;
The pupils.

Detailing Donkey Kong’s nostrils, ear, lips, teeth, and pupils

Step 4: Draw the gorilla hands and chest

Draw Donkey Kong’s fingers, making them large and massive. Also, outline the pectoral muscles.

Drawing Donkey Kong’s large fingers and defined pectoral muscles

Step 5: Refine and detail the outlines

Now move to the final stage. If your drawing looks similar to the intended result, you can complete the final actions. If Donkey Kong’s figure has any distortions, return to the relevant stage and correct them.

When you are satisfied with the result, erase all unnecessary lines and darken the contours.

Completing Donkey Kong with clean contours and erased construction lines

If you’d like to continue drawing Nintendo characters, try drawing Mario, Donkey Kong’s very first opponent from the original arcade game. You can also sketch Yoshi, another famous character from Nintendo.

Donkey Kong is based on a gorilla, so you can also continue with illustrating King Kong, one of the most famous giant gorillas in popular culture.