How do I start drawing cartoons?

Build every character from circles and rounded rectangles before adding any feature, and use a cross on the head to place the eyes. That cross is the single most useful cartooning habit — it keeps faces from drifting when the head turns.

What makes a cartoon look professional rather than amateur?

Consistent line weight and clean closed shapes. Thicken the outer silhouette, keep internal lines thin, and make sure every shape actually closes. Wobbly, uniform-weight lines are the main tell in amateur cartoons.

How do I draw cartoon expressions?

Change only the eyebrows and the mouth, and keep the eyes identical between expressions. Drawing the same face three times with three eyebrow angles is the fastest way to see how much of expression lives in one line.

Do I need to learn anatomy to draw cartoons?

Not to start, but eventually yes for anything in motion. Cartooning simplifies anatomy rather than replacing it — you can fake a standing character forever, but a running or reaching one needs the underlying structure to be believable.

What is the difference between cartoon and anime style?

Cartoon style exaggerates proportions freely and simplifies faces to a few marks. Anime keeps closer to realistic proportions with stylised eyes, hair drawn in clumps, and a much more consistent face structure. The anime collection covers that separately.

What pens are best for cartooning?

Two fineliners — around 0.3 for interior lines and 0.8 for the silhouette — or one brush pen if you are comfortable varying pressure. The weight contrast matters more than the brand.

Cartoon

48 Cartoon Drawing Ideas Built From Simple Shapes

Cartooning is exaggeration with rules. Pick the one feature that identifies the subject, make it too big, and simplify everything else out of the way. A cartoon cow is ears and a snout; a cartoon bicycle is two wheels and a suggestion.

Catalog status

48 ideas · 11 illustrated

Every idea below names what to exaggerate and what to throw away, which is the part that separates a cartoon from a badly proportioned realistic drawing.

Generate one instead Browse illustrated references

How to use this list

Exaggerate one thing
One feature too big, everything else simplified. Two exaggerations cancel each other out.
Keep outlines closed
Cartoons rely on clean closed shapes. Broken outlines read as sketch, not cartoon.
Expression lives in two lines
Eyebrow and mouth carry every emotion. Nothing else needs to move.

Cartoon ideas by subject

48 ideas, each with a starting point

Bold outlines, big shapes, and one exaggerated feature per drawing.

Animals

25 ideas

A corgi seen from directly behind
It is two circles and four short legs — resist adding detail.
10 minbeginner
A sleeping puppy in a too-big scarf
Let the scarf mass be bigger than the dog; that is the joke.
14 minbeginner
A goldfish in a round bowl seen through the glass
The glass distorts the tail — widen anything behind the bowl.
20 minintermediate
A whale with a tiny boat above it for scale
Draw the boat last and make it smaller than feels right.
16 minbeginner
A crab holding one claw up in warning
Body is a rounded rectangle; the raised claw is the focal point.
14 minbeginner
A frog mid-leap with legs fully extended
Back legs are two long Zs — extend them past comfort.
20 minintermediate
A squirrel holding an acorn in both paws
Tail is bigger than the body; draw it as one big comma.
14 minbeginner
A raccoon raiding a bin at night
Mask markings first — they carry the character.
22 minintermediate
A cow's face straight on, ears out sideways
The face is a rounded triangle pointing down.
14 minbeginner
A sheep with a wool outline made of loops
The whole silhouette is one bumpy loop; face is a dark oval.
10 minbeginner
A rooster mid-crow, neck extended
Comb, wattle, and tail are the three shapes people recognise.
20 minintermediate
A penguin sliding on its belly
Tilt the whole body 30 degrees; flippers go back, not down.
12 minbeginner
A sloth hanging from one branch, eyes half closed
Long arms make the shape; the body is a small hanging sack.
14 minbeginner
An elephant with a raised trunk
Trunk is a tapering tube; keep the taper even along its length.
20 minintermediate
A bat hanging upside down, wings wrapped closed
Wrapped wings read as a cloak — one shape, two thumb hooks.
14 minbeginner
A black cat arching its back with fur raised
Exaggerate the arch until it is almost a semicircle.
12 minbeginner
A kitten tangled in a ball of yarn
The yarn ball is one circle with three stray lines. Do not overdraw it.
12 minbeginner
A tiny bear holding a mug bigger than its head
Scale contrast is the whole gag; oversize the mug.
12 minbeginner
A pair of mice sharing one strawberry
Draw the strawberry first and fit both mice around it.
14 minbeginner
A cat peeking over the edge of a box
Only ears, eyes, and paws show. Everything else is the box.
12 minbeginner
A dog wearing oversized glasses
Glasses wider than the head; the joke is the fit.
12 minbeginner
A fox cub chasing its own tail
Body forms a near-circle; the tail closes the loop.
14 minbeginner
A cat sitting inside a teacup that is far too small
Squash the cat to fit; deformation is the point.
14 minbeginner
A frog holding a leaf as an umbrella
Leaf tilts to shed rain; angle it against the body.
14 minbeginner
A reindeer with antlers that branch three times
Each branch thins by half; never re-thicken.
22 minintermediate

Nature and plants

1 ideas

A row of mushrooms with different expressions
Same body, three faces. Change eyebrows only.
14 minbeginner

Food and drink

6 ideas

A stack of three pancakes with butter sliding off
Each pancake is a squashed ellipse; keep the stack slightly uneven.
14 minbeginner
A slice of layer cake seen from the side
Layers must stay parallel; the frosting between them varies.
18 minintermediate
A slice of pizza with the cheese pulling
Cheese strands hang in catenary curves, never straight lines.
18 minintermediate
A burger with clearly separated layers
Each layer gets a different edge quality: soft, crisp, flat.
20 minintermediate
A bowl of cereal with milk and floating pieces
Some pieces are half-sunk; cut them with the milk line.
20 minintermediate
A birthday cake with candles at different heights
Uneven candles look real; flames all lean the same way.
16 minbeginner

People and faces

6 ideas

A chibi character with a head as tall as the body
Two-head-tall proportion; tiny hands, no neck.
16 minbeginner
A cartoon face built from one circle and two lines
Cross lines place the eyes; everything follows from that.
10 minbeginner
The same face with three different emotions
Change eyebrows and mouth only. Nothing else moves.
24 minintermediate
A baby's face using very large eye spacing
Eyes low on the skull, huge forehead, tiny features.
22 minintermediate
An anime character shouting, mouth wide open
Mouth becomes a rounded trapezoid; eyes close to arcs.
24 minintermediate
A chibi version of a serious character
Two heads tall, no neck, features pushed into the lower third.
18 minbeginner

Fantasy and characters

8 ideas

A baby dragon that has not learned to fly
Oversized wings on a stubby body sells the joke.
18 minbeginner
A wizard hat with a bent tip and a wide brim
Brim ellipse first; the cone leans off that ellipse's centre.
14 minbeginner
A witch's cauldron with something climbing out
Rim ellipse, then let the escaping shape break that ellipse.
22 minintermediate
A robot with one clearly damaged arm
Damage sits on one part only; the rest stays clean for contrast.
26 minintermediate
A friendly robot built entirely from rounded shapes
No sharp corners anywhere — that is what makes it friendly.
16 minbeginner
A superhero cape caught in the wind
Cape flows opposite to the movement; anchor it at two points.
24 minintermediate
A dinosaur too small for its own roar
Wide-open mouth on a tiny body. Exaggerate the mouth.
14 minbeginner
A robot built from kitchen objects
Pick three real objects and keep their proportions exactly.
24 minintermediate

Everyday objects

1 ideas

A skateboard standing on its tail
The deck is a long rounded rectangle in perspective.
22 minintermediate

Places and scenes

1 ideas

A treehouse with a rope ladder
Ladder rungs stay horizontal even when the ropes twist.
26 minintermediate

With a picture

11 of these have an illustrated reference

Each reference page pairs one checked illustration with construction order, common mistakes, a self-check, and easier or harder variations of the same exercise.