This colorful drawing of a leprechaun and his lucky hat is made easy with simple supplies and a handy drawing guide.

Leprechuans are a type of fairy in Irish folklore and appear as little men with a red beard, a green coat and hat. They like to spend time alone, mending shoes and making mischief.  They have a hidden pot of gold at the end of rainbows.

This project requires about 50 minutes and is a great way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your students.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

 – 12” x 18” green sulphite drawing paper (I use Tru-Ray brand) for the leprechaun

 – 12” x 18” colored paper for background (optional)

 – Black oil pastel

 – Colored chalk pastels (also known as soft pastels)

 – Scissors and glue

 – 6” x 4” scraps of glitter paper, colored paper and/or painted paper.

Watch Patty’s Facebook Live tutorial, demonstrating how to teach this lesson to your classroom of students. This video has been edited from the original Facebook tutorial.

Drawing the Leprechaun:

DRAWING  GUIDE > Download the drawing guide (scroll down) for a step-by-step approach.

Fold the green sheet of paper in half. Open up to reveal a crease.

Below the crease line, draw a large “U” shape. This is the face. Add a beard along the contour line of the face. Make the edges of the beard bumpy.

Add two ears. The top of the ear can extend above the crease line of the paper.

Between the two ears, draw a wavy line for the bottom brim of the hat.

Place oil pastel below ears and draw a curved line up and around to the other side, creating the brim of the hat.

Add the top part of the hat with 3 lines.

Add two eyes, a small curved line for the nose and a wide mouth.

Add a buckle and strap for the hat.

Coloring the Leprechaun

Using colored chalk, select a skin tone color and color the face. Feel free to color over the nose and mouth. You can trace over the lines again with a black oil pastel.

Color the beard using orange and brown pastel. Blend with fingers.

Color the hat next. Children can decide what colors they would like to use. They can select a rainbow assortment or stick to like-colors. The options are endless and this is a fun way for every child to make their hats unique.

Color the strap and buckle.

Trace over all of the oil pastel lines again so the colors really pop.

Make a 4-Leaf Clover or a Shamrock:

Use glitter paper, painted paper, craft paper or regular colored paper to create shamrocks.

Fold the 6” x 4” paper scraps in half (not necessary to measure) , draw a heart shape. Cut out and repeat until you have 4 “hearts”.

Glue shamrock onto hat. Add a paper circle for the middle.

To finish the project, cut out leprechaun and glue to a colored paper. This step is optional as you can cut out leprechaun or leave on original paper.

Click the yellow button below to receive the free Leprechaun handout. Add your name and email and we’ll email it to you!