Many animals look really cute and they are not as hard to draw as you might think. In this post, I have 26 easy animal drawing ideas for you that everyone can draw—even beginners. All animal pictures are made up of simple line art that requires just a few strokes with the pencil. If you like, you can also color the animal drawings—either on paper or in your digital editing program!
We all love animals—whether we are kids or adults. If you have an artistic vein, you probably want to draw some cute animal pictures yourself. ʕᴖᴥᴖʔ
The good news is that everyone can draw simple animal pictures—even beginners. It really doesn’t have to be complicated.
In this post, I have 26 easy animal drawing ideas for you that everyone can replicate. All you need is a pencil and some color (digital or physical) and you can get started!
I’ve included different types of animals to make sure there’s something for everyone. Many of them are cute baby animals that are easy to draw and absolutely adorable.
I’ve all drawn them for you, with my digital pen on my Wacom Intuos Pro drawing tablet and colored them in Photoshop. You can use any other drawing tablet and editing program or a real pen on real paper—just do as you like. Using your iPad with an Apple Pencil and Procreate also works!
In any case, these cute and easy animal drawing ideas are simple to replicate both on the digital canvas and in real life, without having to be an exceptionally gifted artist. Both adults and kids can do it.
I’ll explain to you how I went about drawing the animal pictures, step by step, and you’ll just need to redraw them and add some color, if you like.
So, if you are wondering what kind of animals to draw as a beginner, check out the following easy animal drawing ideas for both kids and adults that you can redraw with pencil or in color:
To make it even easier for you, you can download all the animal pictures from this post in my store for a couple of dollars. You can print out the transparent PNGs, or redraw and color them digitally, use them as stickers or make them a fun gift to your kids!
Cute Animal Drawings for coloring & stickers!
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26 Easy Animal Drawing Ideas For Beginners
What are some easy beginner animal drawings?
Good question! (>ᴗ<) I actually think that many animals are easy to draw, even for beginners. Everything depends on how you draw the animal.
In fact, you can draw many animals with just a couple of lines. You probably know that simple way of drawing as line art or clip art.
The following 26 easy animal drawing ideas for beginners are exactly that. Cute animals that you can draw with just a couple of strokes—easy to make for both adults and kids. If you feel like, you can color them just like I did below.
The following 26 easy animal drawing ideas for beginners are exactly that. Cute animals that you can draw with just a couple of lines with a pencil—as easy to make for adults as for kids. If you feel like, you can color them just like I did below.
Feel free to experiment with the lines. By changing just a few strokes or dots, you can change the entire expression of the animal. It’s really amazing!
Okay, with that being said, let’s get started:
1. Flamingo
What is the easiest animal to draw?
Well, if you ask me, I’d say that a bird is probably the easiest animal to draw. Here we have a flamingo that is made up of just a couple of lines.
Simply draw two long lines for the legs, a shape that resembles a “2” for the head and upper body, and something like an upside-down “2” for the lower body.
After that, you just need to add a beak and a little wing—and your cute and easy flamingo drawing is finished!
2. Llama
A llama is probably not the second thing that comes to mind when thinking of easy animal drawing ideas for beginners, but it’s really not hard to draw!
I suggest that you start with the fur. Draw some wobbly lines around the head, body, and the tail. The legs can be simple rectangular shapes, the ears are small triangles, and the face just requires one curved line. Lastly, add two dots for the eyes, a nose, and a smile. That’s it!
3. Frog
Let’s go on with another cute animal drawing picture: a frog. Here I started with two half-circles for the eyes, another one for the puffy cheek on the left, and a big one for the belly. After that, I did the legs.
Don’t worry too much about the feet; they don’t have to be perfect. Some prongs will do the job just fine… and doesn’t he look adorable, our little green friend? Especially when you give him a huge, wide grin. (ʘ‿ʘ)
Related: Why Art Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect & Artists Should Embrace Mistakes
4. Elephant
How to draw cute animals easy and beautiful?
Well, one secret recipe is to add a few little hearts. That makes almost every animal look super cute! In this easy drawing of an elephant, I’ve simply added two hearts that the little cutie supposedly blows out of his trunk.
With his big ears and head, plus some hairs, the little baby animal is not only easy to draw but also a cute idea for a birthday invitation or gift label for kids or a grown loved one!
5. Turtle
Turtles are cute and chilled animals—and not hard to draw. Start with a big round shape for the head and the shell. Then you can add the legs—or should I say fins? Because in the picture below, they really look more like fins than feet.
Lastly, you can draw the pattern on the shell and add the face. I suggest that you place the eyes and mouth in the lower third, because it will add to the impression that the turtle is crawling on the ground!
6. Giraffe
From the sea to the African savannah: let’s continue our selection of easy animal drawing ideas with a giraffe. I’m making it easy, even for beginners, because like all other animal drawings on the list, this cute giraffe requires just a few lines.
Start by drawing the head of the giraffe and then do the curved lines for the neck and body. Giraffes are actually the tallest living animals and have long legs. However, the short legs in the drawing here make this guy look especially cute.
7. Whale
…and back to the ocean! Fish are fun to watch and also fun to draw. Here I have a very big species for you: whales are easy animals to draw and you can actually make them look really adorable.
Draw two curved lines for the body, add the tail fin and lateral fin. Both can be very simplified—they don’t necessarily have to be realistic. Place the eye close to the lateral fin; that makes the little guy look extra cute.
Add some water splashes that come out of the blowhole on top of the whale’s head—or some hearts like we did with the elephant above!
8. Rabbit
A rabbit is another easy animal drawing idea for beginners. I recommend starting with the ears. You can experiment with the length and make them longer than in my drawing. It’s nice to have the inside of the ears that you can color pink. But you can also leave that out.
The head can just be a circle and you can make the forelegs and hind legs really simple. Don’t forget to add some whiskers and a little tail for some extra cuteness!
9. Seahorse
Here I have another cute and easy animal drawing for you that you might not have thought of: a seahorse. What’s typical of a seahorse is the curled tail and the snout, so we want to work that out in the drawing.
The head and eye can be much bigger than in reality, because this is what makes the little thing look adorable. You can draw the tail more curled than I did in the picture and add more or longer fins. Just try what you like best.
10. Mouse
One animal that mustn’t be missing among these easy animal drawing ideas is a mouse. Here’s a very simple and cute way to draw this little rodent: draw a more or less round shape for the body—very much like for a computer mouse. (>ᴗ<)
Then add two big ears, a long tail, and a friendly face with whiskers. Try moving the face as close to the corner as possible. This will make your mouse look like having a little snout.
11. Penguin
Cute baby animals are easy to draw for everyone. Here’s a little baby penguin that is easy to do even for a beginner. As you can see, the little Antarctica inhabitant simply consists of a couple of semi-circles, plus a little wing on each side.
As for the feet, it’s enough to draw the soles; it will make the little penguin baby look like sitting on the ground (which will make it look even cuter). Two big dots for the eyes, a square for the beak—and the cute baby animal is finished!
12. Cat
I already drew this cat for my 20 Easy Cat Drawing Ideas For Beginners. Only with pencil, at the time. For this post now, I colored the little guy, which I think makes the little kitty even look more adorable.
It’s easy to draw, like all animals on the list.
Start with a big circular shape for the head and two triangle shapes for the ears. Then draw the heart that will be between the front legs. From there, draw the legs and the body. Add a tail and hind paw. Two big dots for the eyes, a nose and some whiskers, and you’re done!
Feel like drawing more kitties? Check out my 20 Easy Digital Cat Drawing Ideas For Beginners.
13. Dog
If we draw a cat, we must also draw a dog. Here’s a cute drawing idea of a puppy that makes a great picture for a birthday card. It’s really quick and easy to draw and color.
We start again with two big semi-circles for the head. A bigger one for the top of the head and the ears, and a smaller one for the lower part. Then we go on with the body that requires just 5 lines and you’re basically done with the puppy.
All you need to do now is add a little tail, two huge dots for the eyes (plus two smaller white dots on top), a nose and the tongue. If you like, draw a little heart that symbolizes the dog tag—or more hearts around the puppy.
14. Hedgehog
Here’s a little prickly cutie that probably lives in your hedge. (ᴖᴥᴖ) To draw this hedgehog, we start with the spiny coat that requires you to simply draw a couple of prongs. After that, we draw the lines for above the eyes and around the body. Add some tiny ears and some huge black dots for the eyes.
The paws don’t have to look much different from the penguin’s feet we drew above. Simply drawing the foot soles will give the impression that the baby hedgehog is sitting on the ground, waiting for mommy hedgehog to come back with some food.
15. Duck
Who doesn’t love how ducks waddle around! Here’s a little duckling made up of easy line art. I started with the feathers on the head, and then I drew the curved lines outlining the head.
After that, you just need a big semi-circle for the lower body and a little tail. With that done, draw a little wing, the beak, and two waddle feet. That’s already it!
16. Dolphin
This is another candidate for cute and easy animal drawing ideas for beginners. Typical of dolphins are the fins and the snout, and the blowhole on top of the head, like whales have one, too.
For some extra cuteness, you can draw a few hearts that seemingly come out of the blowhole. If you want to color the dolphin, I suggest that you color the fins and the snout in a slightly lighter blue than the body. But that’s only my coloring idea, you can also switch it around!
17. Cow
Now, isn’t this an adorable animal drawing? I really love this little cute cow that’s sitting on the meadow and eating some blades of grass! For this drawing, I recommend starting with the snout, which I colored pink in the picture below.
After that, draw the top of the head, along with the ears and the horns. Then comes the lower body. The hoofs can simply be some black ovals—it makes the little grazer look cuter than when keeping it realistic. At the end, add a tail and the spots typical of a cow’s skin.
18. Fish
What’s still missing on our list of easy animal drawing ideas for beginners? Yes, Nemo! Besides a whale and a dolphin, we cannot conclude this selection of simple animal drawings without a ‘regular’ fish.
The protagonist of ‘Finding Nemo’ is a so-called clownfish that I tried to imitate with this little white and orange striped guy below. You can make it any other fish by just coloring it differently!
Feel free to add some water bubbles or some hearts—just as you like.
19. Bee
Bees can sting and nobody likes that. However, who could not like the little honey maker in the picture below? What makes it especially cute is the eyes, right?
The good news is that the eyes are super-easy to make. You just need a brush in four different sizes (if you are working digitally). Start with two huge black dots, two slightly smaller white dots at top, and then two more black dots and white dots.
You don’t even need much drawing skills to make this cute animal picture!
20. Sheep
Do you still remember the llama we’ve drawn above? Drawing a cute little sheep works pretty much the same way. Start with the fluffy fur on top of the head. Then add a circle below for the face.
Some more wobbly fur for the body, ears and legs—and the easy drawing of a sheep is already finished!
21. Kangaroo
Hello, little Australian jumper! A kangaroo is also a cute animal drawing idea, don’t you think so? Draw the ears bigger or smaller—I drew some pretty big ones, but you can also make them smaller, if you like that better.
The head is quite simple and the body requires only a few lines, too. Make sure to draw a big enough curve for the hindleg because kangaroos have really strong hindlimbs that allow them to leap. A long tail and a rather short foreleg is all you need to make the picture complete!
22. Fox
This little fox is not only sweet but also easy to draw. For this animal picture, I recommend starting with the brows above the eyes—at least, this is what I did. I continued drawing the muzzle, and only after that I drew the head and the ears.
The body is really easy: you’ll just need to draw a straight line for the left side and a kind of S shape for the right side that goes over into the tail. Some prongs are enough to imply the bushy tail and ears.
23. Hamster
Here we have another little rodent: isn’t this hamster a real cutie? It’s not hard to draw. I suggest that you start with the ears and then outline the head. Don’t forget to draw some funny bushes of hair and some large, puffy cheeks that allow him to store his food.
Two long lines to outline the body are enough. All you need to do now is draw the paws and add two slightly curved lines for the belly—and that’s it!
My little hamster looks a bit confused because of how I drew the eyebrows. But that also gives him a cute look, in my opinion. By using a different shape for the eyebrows, you can change the expression completely!
24. Swan
This elegant swimmer mustn’t be missing among our selection of easy animal drawing ideas. As you can see in the picture below, I’ve tried to find a way of drawing a swan that is simple enough for a beginner to redraw… and I think I’ve found it!
Basically, you can draw everything with two lines. Two lines for the head, two lines for the neck, for the wing, the tail and the body. After that, you just need to add a beak and the typical swan eye that you can also create with two simple lines!
25. Caterpillar
Now, this caterpillar includes a lot of elements, but it’s still an easy drawing idea that everyone can replicate. The easiest way to draw this crawler that will turn a butterfly soon is by using the Ellipse tool of your digital art software.
Create one big circle for the head and five smaller ones for the body. By holding down the Shift key while dragging the Ellipse tool over the canvas, you’ll get a perfectly round circle. Use the eraser to remove any overlapping lines.
For the eyes, you might want to create two oval shapes. Simply don’t press the Shift key when using the Ellipse tool and you’ll get an oval shape. For the dots on the body, you don’t necessarily need the Ellipse tool; you can as well use a hard brush!
26. Squirrel
Let’s conclude our list of easy animal drawing ideas for beginners with this little nut eater. This squirrel requires a couple of more strokes, but it’s still not hard to make. Start with the ears, then outline the head (including the little bushes of hair).
After that, do the body: arms, hind legs, and the bushy tail. Don’t forget to add some curved lines for the chubby chin, cheeks, and belly—after all, this little guy loves to eat!
Cute Animal Drawings for coloring & stickers!
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I don’t know about you but I definitely had fun with these easy animal drawing ideas for beginners! Which one is your favorite? Did you draw your animal pictures with pencil or in color? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new drawing ideas and other cool stuff. ♥
