The cat is the first animal almost every child tries to draw, and also the first one they give up on, because they start with the face and the drawing never comes together. Done in the right order, it looks good on the first try. It takes 7 steps and two shapes.
Step by step
- 1. The head: a circle, drawn with a light pencil. It doesn't need to be perfect, no cat is.
- 2. The body: an oval below, slightly bigger than the head, touching it. If the cat will be sitting, stand the oval more upright, like a pear.
- 3. The ears: two triangles on top of the head, set a little apart. Tip: a smaller triangle inside each one creates the inner-ear effect.
- 4. The paws: in front, two short rounded rectangles with three little dashes at the tip for toes. At the back, a sitting cat only shows one curve on each side.
- 5. The tail: one thick curved line coming off the body. Tail up means happy cat, which is true in real life too.
- 6. The face: two oval eyes with a black dot inside, an upside-down triangle nose and a mouth made of two small curves (the famous sideways «w»).
- 7. The details: three whiskers on each side, stripes on the back or tail, and a couple of dots on the cheeks. Now you can press harder and go over the outline.
Sleeping version (even easier)
For a sleeping cat, swap the body oval for a half-moon lying down and rest the head against one end, with the tail curling outside. The eyes become two closed curves and the mouth becomes a smile. A sleeping cat in three minutes.
Mistakes that get in the way (and the fix)
- Starting with the face: the face is step 6, not step 1. Starting there always breaks the proportions.
- Pressing hard from the start: the base shapes need to disappear later. A light pencil solves it.
- Ears too small: in cute drawings, big ears are the whole charm. When in doubt, go bigger.
- Small paper: a child's hand needs room. Full sheet, always.
What if your child wants a dog?
Same skeleton: circle and oval. The only changes are ears becoming two droplets falling beside the head, a snout oval added at the front and a shorter tail. Whoever learns the cat learns the dog the same day.
After drawing, coloring
A drawing is only truly finished when it gets color. You can paint online for free or grab ready-made big figures in the Dogavios coloring book, starring Pigúiça the husky with 50+ drawings and a blank back on every page. 🐱
