Animal Outlines

These animal outlines are such a fun and easy way to bring a whole zoo, farm, forest, ocean, or pet shop into your next craft session! With 30 printable animal outlines to choose from, kids can color, trace, cut, paint, and decorate all kinds of animal shapes, from cows and cats to dolphins, owls, lions, and more.

Use these animal templates for classroom activities, coloring pages, bulletin boards, cut-and-paste crafts, or simple art projects at home. Each printable animal outline has a bold, kid-friendly shape that’s easy to use, making them perfect for preschool, kindergarten, homeschool, or any animal-themed lesson or craft.

RELATED: Animal Coloring Pages

 

Instructions for how to use these animal templates:

1. Scroll down and find the page you want.
2. Click on any of the photos below, or on the text links below them. A printable PDF file will open in a new window. (NOTE: The images themselves are not printable quality.)
3. Print the PDF on 8.5 inch by 11 inch, letter sized paper.

Fun things to do with outlines of animals:

• Make animal coloring pages by printing the outlines on regular paper and letting kids add colors, patterns, faces, backgrounds, and fun details.
• Create cut-and-paste animal crafts by coloring the animal shapes, cutting them out, and gluing them onto construction paper, cardstock, or a larger habitat scene.
• Use them as animal templates for tracing onto colored paper, felt, craft foam, cardboard, or scrapbook paper.
• Decorate the animal outlines with craft supplies like cotton balls for sheep, tissue paper for fish scales, yarn for lion manes, feathers for birds, or paper scraps for any animal collage.
• Make classroom bulletin boards with farm animals, ocean animals, woodland animals, pets, or zoo animals as the main theme.
• Create animal habitat scenes by placing the printable animals in barns, forests, oceans, ponds, trees, grasslands, or pet homes.
• Use them for learning activities by matching each animal outline with its name, habitat, sound, baby animal name, or favorite food.
• Make a DIY animal book by giving each printable animal outline its own page and having kids write the animal’s name or a fun fact underneath.

Farm Animals

These farm animal outlines are perfect for barnyard crafts, classroom activities, coloring pages, and simple animal templates. Kids can use these printable animal shapes to make farm scenes, practice their tracing, create cut-and-paste crafts, or decorate each animal with crayons, markers, cotton balls, yarn, and more.

Animal Outline – Cow

This cow shape is simple for tracing practice and coloring, but still has plenty of room to add classic cow details. Color black spots or brown patches, add a bell, or even draw a background pasture scene with grass and a barn.

Cow Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outline – Pig

This pig shape has a rounded body, pointy ears, little legs, and a curly tail. Color the template pink, add a mud puddle backdrop, or glue on paper scraps for a playful mixed-media pig craft.

Pig Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Sheep

This sheep has a fluffy, cloud-like body that’s perfect for adding texture. Kids can color it in or glue cotton balls, white pom poms, yarn, or crumpled tissue paper over the body to make a soft woolly sheep. Check out our sheep puppet for a fun example!

Sheep Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Chicken

This chicken has a rounded body, tail feathers, comb, and beak, with lots of room to add fun feather details. Color it like a white hen, brown chicken, or a bright storybook bird, then draw a nest, eggs, or barnyard background.

Chicken Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Shapes – Goat

This goat has pointy horns, a little beard, and a playful farm animal shape. Kids can add fur texture, color it white, grey, brown, or tan, and draw a fence, hay, grass, or even a rocky hillside around it.

Goat Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Templates – Horse

This horse has a tall body, small ears, a long tail, and four legs. It’s the perfect animal outline for kids who love horses. Add a saddle, bridle, and horseshoes to the horse, or create a more detailed horse picture by drawing in a stable or grassy field.

Horse Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Woodland Animals

These woodland animal outlines are perfect for forest crafts, nature activities, fall projects, and printable animal templates for kids. Use these simple animal shapes for coloring pages, tracing practice, cut-and-paste crafts, bulletin boards, or classroom lessons about forest animals.

Animal Outline – Raccoon

This raccoon definitely has a mischievous aura! It has a hunched, sneaking shape, with cute little ears and a long tail. Add the striped details to the tail and draw the mask-like face markings for a cute raccoon coloring page. Would you place this raccoon in the forest with plants and nature, or make it a little trash panda in a nighttime city scene?

Raccoon Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outline – Owl

This perching owl has cute ear tufts, a rounded body, and long tail feathers. Kids can add big eyes, wings, and feather patterns to the owl. Then jazz up the background with a moon and stars, a branch for the owl to sit on, and a friendly forest backdrop.

Owl Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Bear

This walking bear shape has rounded ears, sturdy legs, and a simple outline that’s easy to trace and cut. Color it brown or black for a forest-themed craft, or turn it into a polar bear with an Arctic background of snow, mountains, and pine trees.

Bear Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Deer

This deer has long legs, tall ears, and a graceful standing pose. Kids can add spots to create a fawn craft, color it tan or brown, and draw grass, leaves, trees, or a quiet woodland scene around it.

Deer Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Shapes – Squirrel

This squirrel has a big curled tail, tiny paws, and a cute sitting shape. Kids can color it grey, brown, black, or red, and then add an acorn, leaves, tree branches, or a fall forest background.

Squirrel Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Templates – Fox

This fox has pointed ears, small paws, and a long bushy tail. Color it orange, red, grey, brown, or white, and then add a fluffy tail tip. What type of scene do you think this fox belongs in? You can draw it beneath tall trees, on fallen leaves, or even in its little den.

Fox Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Ocean Animals

These ocean animal outlines are perfect for under-the-sea crafts, marine life lessons, coloring pages, and printable animal templates for kids. Use these simple sea animal shapes for classroom activities, ocean-themed bulletin boards, tracing practice, cut-and-paste projects, or creative summer crafts.

Animal Outline – Dolphin

This classic dolphin shape is shown leaping with a curved body, pointed nose, fins, and horizontal fluke tail. Add ocean waves, splashes, sunshine, or other sea animals to make it look like it’s jumping right out of the water.

Dolphin Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outline – Octopus

This octopus has a rounded head and eight long curling arms that are fun to color and decorate. Kids can add suction cups to the arms, create a cute cartoon face, or draw a fun background filled with bubbles, seaweed, and coral.

Octopus Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Fish

This fish has a simple body with fins and tail, and there’s lots of space for colorful details. Kids can draw scales, stripes, or spots, or add fun rainbow colors by gluing on tissue paper or creating a pattern in glitter.

Fish Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Shark

This shark has a long body, pointed nose, fins, and a classic shark tail. Color it grey or blue-grey, add gills and teeth, or make it a funny rainbow shark swimming through waves, surrounded by tiny fish.

Shark Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Shapes – Jellyfish

This jellyfish has a rounded top and long wavy tentacles. Color it pink, purple, blue, or rainbow. Then make this jellyfish outline look like it’s floating through the ocean by adding bubbles, glittery currents, and a blue watery background.

Jellyfish Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Templates – Whale

This whale has a long curved body, small fins, and a simple fluke tail shape. Kids can color the whale shape blue, grey, black, or patterned like an orca. Then add ocean details like a water spout, bubbles, waves, or little fish.

Whale Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Pets

These pet animal outlines are a fun way for kids to create crafts inspired by familiar animals they might see at home, in a classroom, or at a pet store. Use these printable animal templates for coloring pages, tracing practice, cut-and-paste projects, pet-themed lessons, or simple animal crafts.

Animal Outline – Cat

This sleek cat shape has pointy ears, curved legs, and a long tail that’s standing straight up. Kids can add whiskers, stripes, spots, or even a collar. Color it like your favorite book or movie cat, or draw in details to make it look like your own pet cat!

Cat Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outline – Rabbit

This rabbit has long ears, a rounded body, and a small fluffy tail. Have fun coloring it white, grey, brown, black, or spotted. Then place it in a cute scene with a carrot, flowers, grass, or a little hutch in the background.

Rabbit Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Dog

This tall dog has pointy ears, a long tail, and a simple standing pose that’s easy to trace and cut. Add spots, patches, fur details, and a collar. Then make a cute pet-themed picture by drawing in a doghouse, a bone, or a grassy yard.

Dog Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Bird

This side profile bird outline shows a cute beak, rounded chest, long tail, and a tiny foot. Color this bird shape like a pet canary, parakeet, or lovebird, or make a songbird scene with a robin, sparrow, or nuthatch. Kids can draw in feather details and place the bird on a perch or nest, with the appropriate room or sky background.

Bird Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Shapes – Lizard

This lizard has a long body, curly tail, and little feet with fun toes. Kids can add scales, spots, stripes, or bright rainbow colors to personalize the lizard shape. Then turn it into a whole nature scene with rocks, sand, or a terrarium background.

Lizard Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Templates – Turtle

This turtle has a smooth shell and short little legs, making it a great shape for adding patterns. Kids can decorate the shell with a realistic geometric pattern, or turn it into a fun fantasy creature with stripes or dots. You can even use pieces of construction paper or craft foam to make a mosaic shell with bright colors!

Turtle Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Zoo Animals

These zoo animal outlines are perfect for animal crafts, classroom activities, coloring pages, and printable templates for kids. This set includes some of the most popular zoo and safari-inspired animals, making it easy to create fun projects for preschool, kindergarten, homeschool, or any animal-themed unit.

Animal Outline – Monkey

This monkey has rounded ears, long limbs, and a curly tail. Color it brown, tan, or grey, then add vines, bananas, trees, or a rainforest background to make it look ready to swing away.

Monkey Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outline – Elephant

This elephant has a large body, sturdy legs, and a curved trunk. Kids can add big ears and skin texture to the elephant shape. Then turn the outline into a fun jungle scene with with tall trees, long grasses, and water.

Elephant Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Lion

This standing lion shape has strong legs, a long tail, and a fluffy mane. Kids can color this lion template golden yellow, brown, or orange. Then use crayons, markers, yarn, or paper strips to create a detailed mane!

Lion Outlines Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Outlines – Hippo

This hippopotamus has a chonky body, short legs, and a rounded head. Color the hippo grey, purple-grey, or brown, then add water, reeds, mud, or bubbles for a river scene background.

Hippo Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Shapes – Giraffe

This classic giraffe shape has a long neck, tall legs, little horns, and a long tail. Kids can add brown spots, color the body yellow or tan, and draw trees or leaves for the giraffe to snack on.

Giraffe Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Animal Templates – Rhino

This rhinoceros has a strong body, short legs, and a bold horn shape. Kids can color the rhino grey or brown, then add grass, mud, rocks, or a zoo background around it.

Rhino Outline Options:

Large (1 per page)

Medium (2 per page)

Small (6 per page)

Here’s even more animal outlines:

Cat Outline

Bear Outline

Dog Outline

Where to buy:

You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada