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This article was reviewed by Kelly Medford. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.
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This tutorial will show you six different and interesting ways to draw a cartoon dog. Let’s start!
Steps
Draw a big circle and two small overlapping circles at the bottom.
Draw two slightly curved and slanted lines that is slightly curved on the bottom attached to each small circle.Advertisement
Sketch a straight horizontal line at the bottom and draw two half circles in front and another two behind.
Add another curved line at the back on each side. At the right side you can add a perked up tail.
Sketch the face by tracing the shape of the three circles. Add the ears pointed down on each side.
Sketch the face using two small circles for the eyes and two small curved lines for the brows and an oblong for the nose.
Sketch the forelegs using two parallel lines and another two parallel lines inside the half circle for the paws. You can add a collar for design.
You can sketch the same small lines for the hind leg’s paws.
Erase unnecessary lines. Add some shading to the eyes and nose, leaving a small white circle in each of them.
Color the drawing.
Draw a circle. Add a two curved lines with a pointed angle at the beginning for the dog’s cheekbones. Add a curved line on the right side of the circle extending through the cheekbones.
Draw an oblong for the neck and an elongated shape for the body.
Add the forelegs using a straight line and another line with a pointed angle at the beginning. For the other leg you can just draw two straight lines.
Add the hind legs and the paws of the forelegs. The hind legs are not straight, instead it is drawn using curved lines to make the dog look like it is in a sitting position.
Add a curved shape for the tail.
Draw an oblong for the nose and triangles on each side of the head for the ears. Connect the triangles to the head using straight lines.
Add details to the nose to make it look protruding.
Draw the mouth and the tongue. In drawing the mouth, you can use a "U" like shape.
Draw an arched shape with a curved line as the base for the eyes. Draw three slanted lines for the lashes on each eye and a curved line for the brows.
Trace the shape of the head and ears from the outline.
Trace also the shape of the body and add the collar for design.
From the outline, trace all four limbs of the dog.
Add details to the paws, defining each "finger" using curved lines. Make sure each paw has four, except in one of the hind legs since in this drawing its other two "fingers" are covered.
Darken the pupils and erase unnecessary lines.
Color the drawing.
Draw a big circle for the head and slanted smaller oblong for the body.
Then, sketch the nose and the mouth.
Add the face, the nose, the ears, the small horns, the eyes and the mouth. You can also experiment on the expressions and emotions of the cartoon.
Sketch the legs and the tail.
Draw the basic features of the dog. You can make it look furry, or fluffy as you like.
Finish the drawing by adding details like shadows and fur lines.
Color the dog.
Draw a big circle for the head and smaller oblong for the body connected to each other.
Add the guidelines for the face and draw a vertical line near the edge of the oblong near the head.
Add the mouth area and the ears.
Sketch the guidelines for the position of the dog.
Add the face of the dog. This is an example of an experimented expression. Since it is a cartoon, it is not limited by principles of realistic drawings.
Draw the basic outline of the dog.
Add more details like shadows and furs.
Color the dog as you like.
Draw a circle for the outline of the head.
Add the outline sketch for the back of the dog.
Add another oval and a curved line for the outline sketch of the dog’s body.
Draw the outline sketch of the front legs and feet.
Add the hind legs and feet outline sketches.
Draw the outline sketch of the tail.
Draw the outline for the ears and snout.
Draw the actual lines for the head.
Add the actual lines of the neck.
Draw the actual lines for the body and the tail.
Add the front legs.
Continue drawing the actual lines for the hind legs.
Draw the front left feet.
Continue with the actual lines for the front right feet.
Finish drawing the actual lines for the feet and the collar.
Erase the unnecessary lines.
Fill in the basic colors.
Add the highlights and shadows.
Draw the outline sketch for the head and body of the sleeping cartoon dog. Try to draw a figure that almost looks like a two cherries. One upward curved line and two ovals.
Draw the actual line of the sleeping dog’s head.
Draw a tail and a line for the back.
Add the hind leg and the paw.
Draw the actual lines for the front right feet and leg.
Add the left paw and the left front foot.
Erase the unnecessary lines.
Fill in the basic color.
Add the shadows.
Finish the coloring by adding the cast shadows.
Community Q&A
- QuestionWhat could I use to color the sleeping dog like that?
Community AnswerYou can do several things: a mixture of oil pastel colors, some nice markers like Prisma color, or some colored pencils would do the job! You can also use art software. - QuestionWhy did my sleeping dog turn out looking like a rat?Community AnswerEverything comes with practice, so don't worry about it too much. You can only improve your drawing skills by drawing the dog over and over again until it looks better.
- QuestionHow big do the circles have to be?
Community AnswerIt depends on the size of the paper and the type of dog, but the head is usually smaller.
Tips
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Pencil
- Pencil sharpener
- Eraser gum
- Colored pencils, crayons, markers or watercolors
About This Article
If you want to draw a simple and cute cartoon dog, start by sketching a big circle in the center of the page and 2 smaller, overlapping circles at the bottom of the big circle. These circles are the foundation for the dog’s head and snout. Next, draw 2 slightly curved vertical lines extending from the smaller circles to create the outline of the dog’s body. Then, sketch 1 straight, horizontal line at the bottom along with 2 half circles in front of the line and another 2 half circles behind it to form the dog's bottom and feet. Add 2 curved lines in the back that meet at a point for the dog’s tail. Now that you have a basic outline in place, go back up to the head and trace around the 3 circles to create the outline of the dog’s face. Add a small, downward-pointing ear on each side of the dog’s head. Sketch 2 small circles inside the face for the eyes and add 2 short, curved lines for the brows and oblong nose. Sketch the forelegs using 2 parallel lines and add another 2 parallel lines inside the half circles to add detail to the dog’s paws. Feel free to add any other details you’d like, like a collar or shading around the dog's eyes and nose. Then, erase all the unnecessary lines and color the drawing with crayons or markers. To learn how to draw a cartoon dog facing the side or sitting down, keep reading!
Reader Success Stories
"I am a retired OAP with shaky hands. I have sent for a set of french curves, hopefully that is the solution. This is the first time I have attempted to draw, and find your step-by-step instructions invaluable."..." more
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