How to Draw a Simple Cat

⏱️ 8 min 📊 Beginner 🖌️ Tool: Pen

Why this matters: Cats are one of the most popular subjects to draw – and they're surprisingly simple once you break them down into basic shapes. By learning to draw a cat, you're practicing how to combine circles, triangles, and curves into a recognizable animal. This skill translates directly to drawing dogs, foxes, and even cartoon characters!

🎯 A gentle reminder: Your first cat might look more like a potato with ears – and that's completely okay! What matters is understanding how basic shapes come together to form something recognizable. Every cat you draw will get cuter!

🖥️ For the full interactive experience, try this tutorial on your desktop.

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Challenge

1 Setup Your Canvas

Look to the right panel – that's your live drawing app. Make sure the Pen is selected. Set your brush size to 5 or 8 (click the gear icon on the right toolbar). Pick a dark color like #2D3436 or #1A1A1A.

Optional: Turn on the Grid (Settings → Show Grid) – it can help you keep things symmetrical!

💡 The app auto-saves every stroke. Don't worry if you refresh the page!

2 Draw the Head & Body

A simple cat is made from just a few basic shapes. Let's start with the head and body.

Draw a circle for the head (in the top half of the canvas).
Draw a larger circle or oval below it for the body.
The body should overlap the head slightly.
Pro tip: A round head = cute cat. A slightly flatter head = more realistic cat.

Cat basic shapes - head and body circles with ears

Step 2: Two circles – one for the head, one for the body – plus two triangles for ears

🐱 Pro Tip: Look at your own cat (or a picture of one). Notice how the head is roughly the size of a tennis ball, and the body is about twice that size. Keep that proportion in mind!

3 Add Ears, Eyes & Nose

Hit Clear on the right toolbar. Draw the head and body again, then add the face features.

Ears: Add two triangles on top of the head (pointy ears).
Eyes: Draw two small ovals in the center of the face.
Nose: Draw a small triangle between the eyes, pointing down.
Whiskers: Add 3-4 straight lines on each side of the face.

Try this: Make the eyes big and round for a cute look – or make them narrow slits for a sleepy cat!

👀 Pro Tip: The space between the eyes should be about one eye-width apart. This is the secret to making any face look proportional!

4 Add Tail, Legs & Details

Now let's finish your cat with the remaining details.

Tail: Draw a curved line coming from the back of the body – make it wavy or curled!
Legs: Add four short lines at the bottom of the body for legs.
Paws: Add small ovals at the ends of the legs.
Mouth: Draw a small curved line under the nose.

Try this: Make the tail curl up like a question mark – it adds so much personality!

🐾 Pro Tip: A cat's tail tells you how they're feeling. A straight-up tail = happy cat. A curled tail = curious cat. A puffy tail = scared cat! Think about what emotion you want your cat to express.

5 🏆 The Challenge

Click "Clear" on the right toolbar. Now set a timer for 5 minutes.

Your mission: Draw three different cats – each one with a different expression.

Cat 1: Happy cat (big eyes, big smile, tail up)
Cat 2: Sleepy cat (half-closed eyes, relaxed tail)
Cat 3: Angry cat (narrow eyes, puffy tail, sharp ears)
Bonus: Draw a cute cat with a heart on its chest!

When the timer is up, hit the Save button to download your cat collection!

✅ Remember: Every artist starts with wobbly cats. The more you draw, the cuter they get. Keep going – your perfect cat is just a few drawings away!

✨ What's next?

⬅️ Previous: How to Draw a Ball with Shading – master light and shadow.
➡️ Next: How to Draw a Simple Dog – learn to draw man's best friend!