As I compiled my big list of easy, cute drawing ideas for all ages, it occurred to me that there was an entire sub-category forming: Cute animal drawings! If you’re looking for adorable cartoon animals to look at, or to learn how to make, you’ve come to the right place.
Who is the person writing this lesson? My name is Lillie, and I’m an artist and teacher who adores hand-illustrating such tutorials as “sea urchin drawing.” If you keep reading, you may even find a video of the real-life me doing the frog and octopus cartoons on a lightboard!
Have Confidence in Your Own Creativity
Now it’s time to dive into our list of easy animals to draw. But first, a reminder: No matter what drawing prompts someone gives you, please always honor your own mind and creativity, and feel free to make any changes to the instructions that you desire.
Want to make the legs longer or the body a totally different color (or colour, if you’re British)? Go for it! This is YOUR art time. Ready for the list? Let’s go!
Cute Animal Drawings: Easy!
Looking for cute animal drawings? Easy instructions here for some of the simplest but most adorable creatures out there, explained in lessons and time-lapse videos by an artist and teacher.
Cute Frog
The key to creating a cute frog drawing is in exaggerating those wide and bendy froggy legs. Adding a lily pad helps, too! Add eyes right on the top of the head and a wide smile, and you're set.
Friendly Bat
Real-life bats can be terrifying, with their giant, leathery wings -- but altering a few details with our artistic licensee can help transform this flrying creature into a fun one. Hint: Change the black color to dark purple...
Jolly Snail
Speaking of changing key details in an animal drawing to make it cuter... this article explains the embarrasing mistake I made in my snail drawing habits. Spoiler: That's not where the eyes go!
Easy Octopus
In creating this octopus drawing tutorial, I made another mix-up with biology that has to do with where the real-life mouth is on an octopus. The good news is that it is actually accurate that octopuses come in many colors. Rainbows though? I'm not sure about that one -- but they sure look nice here.
Sea Urchin
Spiky sweetness! Sea urchins are one of the easiest and most adorable animals to draw. This art tutorial explains three different methods in a range of difficulty.
Spider Drawing
In reality, spiders can be mighty creepy (though we appreciate that they eat bugs), but if we add in wide eyes and a smile, they aren't so scary. Here's an ultra-simple method of sketching arachnids.
Turkey Drawing
This is sort of a tutorial about how to draw a turkey -- but it's mostly a rant about why I think it's the most difficult animal of all to sketch! Do you agree?
Reindeer Drawing
Here on tips on how to draw a reindeer -- specifically, our red-nosed friend, Rudolph!
Animal Coloring Pages
Want free printables of the black and white line-art versions of these cartoons? Great news: Here are twelve animal coloring pages, spanning four sheets!
VIDEO: Cute Animal Drawings
What was your favorite animal from that list? Do you prefer the easy drawings like the sea urchin, or the more complex ones like the reindeer?
Now, below, you can see a video of me sketching the cute frog cartoon next to the easy octopus drawing on a light-board. Love this technology!
Cool, right? I’m just annoyed that I forgot to add the eyebrows for expressiveness. At least the red dress from my friend’s fashion company, Leota, looks nice on camera!
Are Cute Animal Drawings Easy Now?
I hope this lesson easy, cute animal drawings has been enjoyable and useful. My favorite may just be the snail drawing, though they all make me smile. I’m glad to have learned the word “kawaii” or “endearing” in Japanese while writing this article.
What delightfully cute drawings would you like me to illustrate next? Do share!
Want more? Check out my free printable animal coloring pages.
The author and artist, Lillie Marshall, is a National Board Certified Teacher of English who has been a public school educator since 2003, and an experienced Reiki practitioner since 2018. All art on this site is original and hand-drawn by Lillie. She launched DrawingsOf.com Educational Cartoons in 2020, building upon the success of her other sites, AroundTheWorldL.com (established 2009), TeachingTraveling.com (founded 2010), and ReikiColors.com. Subscribe to Lillie’s monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media to stay connected!
