How to Draw Princess Celestia

Finished Princess Celestia drawing with detailed mane, wings, crown, and tail

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to draw Princess Celestia, a character from the animated series “My Little Pony”. Celestia is one of the most beloved heroines of the series around the world.

She is a good and wise ruler, as well as a loyal friend and mentor to the pony Twilight Sparkle. Let’s begin this Princess Celestia drawing tutorial!

How to draw Princess Celestia step by step

Step 1: Sketch the basic shapes

Even the most intricate pencil drawing tutorials on our site begin with simple steps. This tutorial is no exception, so begin drawing Princess Celestia with two very simple shapes that will eventually become the head and torso.

The upper shape is rounded and slightly resembles an inverted drop, while the lower shape looks like a bean or a minion drawn from the cartoon “Despicable Me” in a horizontal position.

Sketching Princess Celestia’s head and torso with two simple rounded shapes

Step 2: Connect the body shapes

Connect the two shapes from the previous step with two almost parallel lines. The line closer to the tail is nearly straight, while the line closer to the face has a smooth curve.

Connecting Princess Celestia’s head and torso with curved neck lines

Step 3: Block in the pony’s legs

Draw Princess Celestia’s legs. They look like elongated, slightly curved cylinders. Each straight leg consists of one simple shape, while each bent leg consists of two simple shapes.

Adding Princess Celestia’s legs with elongated cylindrical construction shapes

Step 4: Mark the facial guides

Mark Princess Celestia’s face with three curved lines spaced evenly apart. These guidelines will help you place the facial features.

Marking Princess Celestia’s face with three curved construction guidelines

Step 5: Outline the cartoon eyes and muzzle

Using the guidelines from the previous step, draw the outlines of Princess Celestia’s eyes and protruding muzzle.

Outlining Princess Celestia’s eyes and protruding muzzle over facial guidelines

Step 6: Add the crown and hair

Draw the diadem and ear of the princess. Then outline Celestia’s hair. The lower section curls behind her ear near the nape, while the upper section rises around the diadem and horn. Also draw the eye and the pupil inside it.

Adding Princess Celestia’s diadem, ear, horn, hair, eye, and pupil

Step 7: Sketch the flowing mane

Outline the silhouette of the pony’s mane, which is almost larger than the rest of the body drawn so far. The mane should continue the hairline from the previous step as it curves around the diadem and horn.

Sketching Princess Celestia’s large flowing mane around the head and neck

Step 8: Refine Celestia’s facial details

Erase the extra guidelines from Princess Celestia’s face and refine the facial features, horn, and diadem. Outline the nose and mouth with just two short strokes.

Refining Princess Celestia’s face, horn, diadem, nose, and mouth

Step 9: Detail the long mane

Use long, curved lines to draw the details of the mane. Remember that Celestia’s mane, like any hairstyle, should be drawn from the roots toward the ends.

Adding long curved interior lines throughout Princess Celestia’s flowing mane

Step 10: Shape the chest and legs

Outline the smooth contours of Princess Celestia’s chest ornament. Refine the leg contours to make them more rounded. Also draw the outline of the mane behind the neck.

Refining Princess Celestia’s chest ornament, rounded legs, and rear mane

Step 11: Clean up the body

Erase the extra guidelines from the torso and legs, then refine the remaining contours.

Cleaning Princess Celestia’s torso and legs with smooth final contours

Step 12: Outline the curved wings

Outline the curved wings and the large feathers. Note that the feathers decrease in size as they approach the body. Draw the feather contours from the lower sections toward the upper tips, just as you drew the hair.

Outlining Princess Celestia’s curved wings with rows of large feathers

Step 13: Finish the wings and eyes

Refine the feather outlines to give Princess Celestia’s wings a finished appearance. Shade the pupils while leaving small highlights.

Finishing Princess Celestia’s feathered wings and shading the pupils with highlights

Step 14: Draw Celestia’s flowing tail

Use smooth, wavy lines to draw the silhouette of Princess Celestia’s magnificent tail.

Drawing Princess Celestia’s large flowing tail with smooth wavy contours

Step 15: Add decorative pony details

Draw patterns on the diadem and chest ornament, as well as on the lower parts of the legs and the thigh. Outline the interior lines of the tail, keeping them smooth and curved.

Adding Princess Celestia’s decorative symbols, leg ornaments, and flowing tail lines

Step 16: Detail the spiral horn

Draw horizontal curved lines across Princess Celestia’s horn. Note that the spacing between them becomes narrower toward the tip.

Finishing Princess Celestia’s horn with closely spaced curved segment lines

This was a drawing tutorial based on the cartoon My Little Pony, in which we showed you how to draw Princess Celestia. The tutorial was prepared by Drawingforall.net.

If you’d like to draw more My Little Pony characters, continue with drawing Twilight Sparkle to practice sketching another iconic pony. You can also try drawing Rarity or drawing Rainbow Dash, each with their own distinctive hairstyle and personality.