Caroline
Cats have been beloved by humans as companions for many thousands of years.
They were highly revered in ancient Egypt and remain similarly revered today as the stars of countless Internet posts and memes.
If you’re one of the billions of cat lovers in the world, you may have wondered how you can learn to draw a cat at one point or another. It’s actually easier than you may think if you follow the steps!
To that end, we have created a fun and easy to use step-by-step guide on how to draw a cat in just 9 simple steps.
How to Draw a Cat – Let’s get Started!
Bonus: Make This Cat Drawing A Bit Easier With These Tips
As long as you follow the steps of this guide and follow the reference images we provided, you should find this drawing to be fun and easy to work on.
However, it is a rather detailed drawing even though it has a cartoony style to it. For that reason, there are a few things you can do to make it easier if you struggle at all.
One way to make it easier is to use a reference or two. If you have a real cat in your house, then that would be the perfect model for this drawing!
However, your cat may not want to pose, so you could either take a photo of the cat or look up some photos online. Cats frequently appear as cartoon characters, so you could look up some famous cartoon cats.
No matter what pictures you use for the drawing references, it will make it easier if they are posed similarly to the one in our guide. Used along with the steps in this guide, it can make creating this cat drawing easier.
Not only that, but using lots of references can also allow you to add your own details and pose ideas. This way, you can make your drawing even more unique.
It would also allow you to create entirely unique poses in this style. You can also prepare by doing a few practice sketches in pencil to prepare for the proper drawing.
These sketches could be of varying detail levels, and they can help to show you which parts will need the most work or give you the most issues.
Now you’re ready to get started, so let’s begin the first step and see how it’s done!
Step 1
For your first step in this guide on how to draw a cat, you’ll want to draw a circle in pencil. It can help to use a drawing compass to draw a perfect circle if you’re struggling to do one freehand.
This circle will serve as a guide for you as you start to draw in the outline of the head.
Once you have the circle, carefully draw in the lines that start to make up the head of your cat drawing, using the reference image as a guide.
If you’re having a hard time drawing in the outline, you could use a pencil to do this part as well and then use a pen to go over it when you’re happy.
Step 2 – Rub out the pencil circle
Now that you’ve drawn in the beginning of your cat drawing’s head, you can erase the pencil circle that you drew as a guide.
If you went over it in pen, make sure that the pen ink is dry before you erase the pencil!
Step 3 – Next, draw in the ears
We have the beginning of the head of your cat drawing done, so now we will add in the ears.
For the right side ear, draw in a slightly curved triangle without a bottom connecting at the space you left in the head outline. Draw in another triangle for the inner ear.
Next, draw in the curved ear shape for the left ear as it appears in the reference picture and then draw in the inner ear.
Step 4 – Now draw in the first leg
The head outline is now complete for your cat drawing, and next we will be drawing in the chest and first leg of the cat.
Carefully draw in a curved line as it appears in the reference image to form the chest. Draw in a straighter line for the leg and give it a curved line for the foot.
Lastly, you’ll need to draw another line coming up from the foot to form the other side of the leg. This part can be tricky so make sure to consult the reference picture closely!
Step 5 – Next you will be adding Another leg
For the next step in this guide on how to draw a cat, you will need to add a zigzag type line above the left leg that you’ve already drawn in.
You will then draw in the right leg, which will look almost identical to the left leg except for the fact that it extends higher on the right side.
Step 6 – Add in the back and two remaining legs
You’re very close to finishing your cat drawing now, so for this next step you should draw in a curved line down from the neck.
This is another step where you should closely follow the reference image as a guide.
Once you have the back drawn in, you can add in the two back feet as seen in the picture. Don’t forget to add the toe divides!
Step 7 – Now draw in the tail and final leg detail
For this next step, you can draw in the tail which will take on a curvy sausage shape.
Once you have the tail drawn in, the only thing remaining is to draw in a curved line from the back foot to make the cat’s leg. With this step, your cat drawing is almost done!
Step 8 – Add the face and final details
You’ve almost finished your journey of learning how to draw a cat, but your cat drawing needs a face!
You can start by drawing in a nose with a smiley cat mouth extending beneath it as you can see in the reference picture.
You can then draw in a jagged line above the nose to suggest a snout. Then, you can draw in six lines to form the cat’s whiskers.
Lastly, we’ll be adding in the eyes. The eyes in the reference picture are made up of a series of circles within one another with some eyelashes.
You can draw it in this style, or if it’s proving difficult you could use two circles with a dot in each for a simpler yet equally cute look!
Step 9 – Finish it off with some color
The last step is one of the most fun in the process of learning how to draw a cat, and that is to add in some color!
We show an example of one way you can color in the cat for our final reference image, but this is a step where you should let your creativity flow!
You could use any colors that you love to color in your cat drawing to really give it a personal touch.
Do this to take your cat drawing to the next level
See how you can make your cat drawing even better with these tips!
Any cat lover will tell you that there are many different breeds of cats. We showed you one type of cat in this guide, but you could also create a different one.
When you have the hang of this cat sketch, you could change a few details to make your chosen breed.
If you have a real cat in your home, then you could use it as a model to help you design this new cat.
If not, the internet is full of amazing cat pictures you could use as inspiration!
Drawing different cats is one idea, but you could also have this one with other animals. For example, it could be hanging out with a dog or something larger like a horse.
These are just a few examples, but there are so many different animals you could use for this cat drawing.
Once again, you could either use pets in your home or maybe get some pictures online to help you when adding these extra animals.
Cats can come in many different colors and fur patterns, and you could choose any of them for this drawing of a cat! These can range from orange to black, white and brown to name a few.
Cats can also have stripes, spots and other shapes on their fur, and their fur can be long, short or fluffy. You have so many options as you color in your feline masterpiece!
Finally, we think this cat sketch would be even better if you added a background setting for it. You could go for a simple house setting and show this cat enjoying a ray of sunshine for one idea.
Or, you could take things outside to show this cat sitting in a pretty garden! These are a few realistic settings you could go for, but there are many others you could do as well.
This cat could be sitting in a space rocket or on a submarine for a few crazier ideas!
Your Cat Drawing is Complete!
We hope that you had a lot of fun learning how to draw a cat with this step-by-step guide! It may have seemed difficult at first, but it’s made much easier when you have a guide to follow.
Now that you’ve learned how to draw a cat, you could make some variations by changing details such as the tail, ears and facial expressions of your cat.
We’re sure to see some cute and creative cat drawings once you’re done with them so once you’ve drawn and colored in your cats we hope that you’ll share your artwork to our Facebook and Pinterest pages for us to admire!
We will be uploading many more great drawing guides, so be sure to check in to our site frequently to never miss out!
We can’t wait to see your wonderful and creative cat drawings and to see how you’ve finished and colored them in.
Here Is A Cute Cat Drawing To Inspire You!
So many of us have special feline friends that accompany us through life, and this cute cat drawing for kids allows you to create the cat of your dreams!
Our artist Freddy drew this cute cat, and he has shown you one of the ways you can draw a cat of your own. He left the details simple enough that you can customize it in any way that you like.
If you have a real cat, then you could make this drawing look like this cat by adding some markings and colors. This could also be a great way for you to make a unique cat design.
By adding some extra details like cat toys and other similar objects, you could also add some life and uniqueness to the drawing. What else would you like to add to this cute cat sketch?
