Sometimes, you just want to sit down, grab your sketchbook (or tablet, like me!), and draw something simple, familiar, and fun. And what’s more comforting than animals? Animals are the perfect go-to when you don’t know what to draw. They come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Some fluffy, some feathery, some downright goofy, and they’re surprisingly fun to bring to life on paper.
In this list, I’ve gathered some of the most common animals and sorted them from A to Z (you can check and search the one you’re interested in through the table of content!). For each animal, you can find one or a couple of drawing ideas. Sometimes, I also link you to my dedicated article on the animal. If you want to see more, you can click! I drew most of these, and some come from Canva! ♥
So grab your pencils, pens, or whatever you love to draw with, and let’s make your sketchbook a little wilder, one cozy creature at a time.
Bear
Let’s draw bears! Big, fuzzy, and surprisingly good at looking both cuddly and terrifying. I always imagine them holding a honey jar like in cartoons, even though real bears are much messier about it. The bears I like to draw are always on the cute side, though!
A cute bear sitting and waving
Another cute and easy bear to try doodling! If you want more bear drawing ideas, I have another article dedicated to them. ♥
Bird
Birds are a whole universe! You can draw tiny fluffy ones, tropical parrots, sassy crows, birds mid-flight, birds napping, or birds wearing little hats (yes, that’s allowed). There’s no end to bird drawing ideas. But here are a couples!
A very simple bird drawing idea: the silhouette of a bird flying away.
A cute doodle of a bird couple. Aren’t they cute? Don’t hesitate to check out my bird article for more like these!
Bunny
Bunnies are perfect for soft, gentle drawing sessions. You can draw them hopping, munching, cuddling, or curled up in a teacup. Try different styles too… realistic, cartoonish, chibi… so many ways to go!
Slightly realistic bird hopping around!
This one is more of a chibi version. I love drawing chibi versions of everything, as you might already know. Check out my full bunny drawings here. ♥
Butterfly
Butterflies = an ocean of patterns. Butterflies are the literal definition of aesthetic, aren’t they? Try sketching different wing shapes, magical fantasy butterflies, or a whole field full of them. You could fill a sketchbook page with just butterfly designs.
As always with sparkles around. I love them ♥
A simpler version ! If you want to draw more butterflies, you can check this article for simple butterflies, and this article for aesthetic butterflies.
Capybara
Ah, the chill king… capybara time! These guys are basically zen potatoes. Calm, round, and they seem to get along with literally every animal. Drawing one is pure joy.
A cute version ♥
And a more realistic one!
Cat
There are endless cat ideas—playful cats, loaf cats, stretching cats, sleeping-in-a-box cats, magical witch cats, even space cats. Seriously, cats might be the most re-drawable animal ever.
Cute chubby cat!
Animal crossing inspired cat
And just a cute cat doodle! Check all my cat drawings : this article or this article ♥
Cow
Moo time! Cows are surprisingly relaxing to draw. I love drawing them extra chubby in chibi versions. Big eyes, round noses, and spots you can freestyle.
A chibi ball with spots? A cow, of course!
This one is a bit more realistic (lol who am I kidding?). Well compared to the previous one of course. Check all my cows here ♥
Crocodile
Crocodiles can be sneaky, snappy, or surprisingly sweet-looking. They’ve got serious character potential. Do you know the different between aligator and crocodile? Their nose! Aligator = v; crocodile = c! That’s all for me. lol
Easy crocodile drawing idea for the first one
And a bit more realistic for this one!
This one is clearly living its best life, all happy. You probably will never see one like this in real life though.
Dog
Drawing dogs = instant serotonin. From floppy ears to happy tails, they’re joy on four legs. My first ever dog drawing looked like a loaf of bread, and honestly? Still proud of it.
A cute and easy one. Very small but cute doggy !
And this one’s a Dalmatian! I’ve drawn a couple more breeds of dogs in my dog article if you want to check them out.
Dinosaur
Let’s draw dinosaurs! These prehistoric pals are a playground for creativity. Sharp teeth? Check. Tiny arms? Double check. Big roars and tiny brains? Classic. I’m not knowledgeable about dinosaurs, so it’s quite easy to make mistakes while drawing them. If you want to draw realistic dinosaurs, it’s not here that you’ll find happiness, sorry!
A playful dinosaur! I don’t know if you see the picture I had in my head while drawing this, but it’s supposed to be playful like a dog who wants to play!
Some sort of T-rex ? I think, lol. I’m not sure if it looks like another dinosaur, but I meant to draw a T-rex. More dinosaurs here! ♥
Dragon
Fantasy time! Dragons can be fire-breathing and fierce, or sleepy and adorable. Try baby dragons, cloud dragons, forest guardians, tea-loving dragons… You’ll end up with a whole collection. Dragons are my favorite creature to draw, as some of you might have noticed with my dragon drawing collection. Please check it out if you like dragons and want to draw cool dragons step by step!
Duck
Draw ducks waddling, swimming, sleeping, yelling (yes, yelling), or in a little bread-chasing frenzy. Pinterest has been such a big inspiration for duck drawing ideas lol. You could even do a series of “daily duck moods.” Silly and sweet, ducks always bring fun.
Check out all my silly ducks on their dedicated article ♥
Elephant
Let’s draw some elephants now! Elephants are giant gentle creatures. They can be deadly, but can also be so gentle and kind. I’ve never seen an elephant in real life, but have seen so many videos of these giants. Sooo wonderful.
This one is the silliest drawing you can possibly think of when you want to draw an elephant, I think. It looks so cute lol
Elk
Let’s sketch an elk! Like a deer but with serious antlers. I always get lost drawing those twisty horns… but hey, it’s like a natural crown. Majestic forest royalty.
Fish
So many shapes! Tiny round fish, long elegant ones, goldfish in bowls, koi in a pond, or deep sea weirdos. Draw whole schools, solo swimmers, or mix in fantasy fish. You’ll never run out.
Check out all my fish drawing ideas in this article!
Fox
Let’s doodle a fox! Sleek, clever, and a little mischievous. Every time I draw one, I imagine it dashing through snow with a smug little smirk.
Frog
Frogs are a vibe. You can draw them realistic, cartoonish, grumpy, dreamy, tiny, or giant. Frogs in raincoats? Frogs sipping tea? Frogs playing banjos? Yep. There’s no wrong way to frog.
Check all my frog drawing ideas here! 🙂
Giraffe
Tallest friend in the animal kingdom! Giraffes are such elegant creatures. Long necks, long legs, and those beautiful patchy patterns. Drawing one always feels like a graceful challenge.
Horse
Let’s tackle some horse drawing ideas now. When I was a child, I really wanted to ride horses but couldn’t. So I liked drawing them, even if it’s quite a hard animal to draw at first!
Koala
Koalas are sleepy tree-huggers. Try drawing them napping in weird positions, munching leaves, holding mugs, or as magical sleepy spirits. Their chunky faces are fun to stylize too.
Lion
Powerful and proud! You can draw lion kings, gentle lion cubs, or cartoonish ones that look like oversized cats. I think the easiest to draw are male lions, because they’re so recognizable with their fur!
Monkey
Monkeys = chaotic energy. Try sketching them swinging, eating bananas, making faces, or hanging upside-down. You can explore lots of gestures and silly expressions. Great for loosening up your drawing style!
Owl
Big eyes, round heads… They’re cute, but also dangerous. Did you know that owls are dangerous? To be honest, before researching about it, I didn’t even think about these being a danger. But I feel like there’s so much potential for great owl characters. Make them elegant forest guardians, grumpy librarians, tiny wizard familiars, or just sweet sleepy fluffs. Every owl has a different vibe.
Panda
Draw sleepy pandas, clumsy pandas, bamboo-chomping pandas, or a whole panda picnic party. They’re like soft beanbags of joy. Great for round shapes and expressive postures.
A somewhat realistic panda drawing idea
And a chibi version of a cute panda! I have so many more panda drawing ideas in my panda collection, feel free to check it out.
Penguin
Waddling charm alert! Penguins are adorable in every pose; sliding, hopping, hugging, even dancing. I’ve watched so many penguin documentaries, I can’t help but love them.
Pig
Draw round piglets, sleepy pigs in mud, balloon-shaped pigs, or even storybook pigs with boots. They’re full of charm and perfect for experimenting with round, simple shapes.
Seal
Seals are like water puppies. You can draw them waving, rolling, diving, or playing with a ball. It’s pretty easy to draw them because they’re made of relatively easy shapes in my opinion.
Sea Lion
Similar to seals, but with more drama. Sea lions are said to be the most dangerous type of seals. They’re beautiful, but deadly. I don’t want to come across one in real life!
Shark
Sharks can be cool, spooky, or straight-up silly. Try different angles, exaggerated teeth, sleepy sharks, or even shy ones. A “shark a day” challenge could easily fill your sketchbook.
The easiest way to draw a shark : drawing its fin!
My favorite type of shark, the whale shark ♥ They’re just too cute. And most importantly: harmless, lol.
Sheep
Fluffy and gentle (way more gentle than sharks, lol). Drawing sheep is like doodling clouds with little legs.
A fluffly ball of wool!
Check out my sheep collections here for more fluff!
Snake
Snakes are so good for line flow! Try twisting, coiled poses, snake jewelry designs, or fantasy elemental snakes. You’ll find it strangely soothing to draw all those curves and flicky tongues.
This snake would make a great tattoo idea, wouldn’t it?
Snail
Slow down, it’s snail time! There’s something super cozy about snails. They’re small, slow, and they carry their house on their back. It’s just too cute for words.
Squid
Let’s draw a squid! Tentacles, big eyes, and a body shaped like a drop of water. They look kinda spooky and kinda silly.
Swan
Swan sketching time! Elegant, graceful, and secretly very opinionated lol (if you know you know). Drawing the curve of the neck is super satisfying, like drawing a number 2 in cursive.
Turtle
Draw a turtle! I like to imagine them carrying tiny libraries on their backs. Knowledgeable little wanderers.
Whale
Let’s now draw some whales! These gentle giants of the ocean. They’re so majestic. If I wasn’t super scared of the ocean, I’d like to meet one. But I’m terrified ahah
The easiest way to draw a whale ? Draw the tip of its tail. For more whales, it’s here : whale drawing collection!
Wolf
Wolves are majestic, mysterious, and endlessly poseable. Howling at the moon or gazing into the distance, they bring big storytelling energy.
Wrap Up
Oh wow, that’s it for this collection of cute and easy animal drawing ideas! It’s a compilation between new drawings, and drawings that are already organized in other collections. I know that many of you would like to have somehow “random animal drawing ideas” at hand, and I was thinking compiling them could be a nice idea.
And some animals of this list can not really have their own article (yet) because I don’t have enough drawing ideas of them. So, that’s my solution for now!
I hope you found some drawing ideas that you wanted to try!
