How to Draw a Kitten Step by Step (Easy for Beginners)

A kitten is mostly head. That one fact makes it far easier to draw than a grown cat, because the big round face does most of the work and the body just sits quietly underneath. Below I'll walk you through how to draw a kitten step by step, from two light ovals to a finished ginger tabby with green eyes and a curly tail. You don't need any drawing experience, only a pencil and a little patience with the whiskers.

How to draw a kitten step by step - finished colored kitten drawing — One ginger kitten, sitting politely. You'll have your own in 11 steps.

In every picture, the lines you add in that step are blue. Lines from the steps before are gray, so it's easy to spot what changed. Copy only the blue part, check it against the picture, and then move on to the next one.

Quick overview
⏱️ Time: around 25 to 35 minutes
🎯 Level: easy, good for kids from about age 6
✏️ Steps: 11
🐱 You'll draw: a sitting ginger kitten facing you, tail curled up

Supplies on the Table Before You Start

A pencil (HB is fine, 2B feels softer for guides)
An eraser that lifts pencil cleanly
A black fineliner or felt-tip pen
Colored pencils or markers: orange, dark orange, cream, pink and green
A sheet of plain white paper

Turn the page sideways if you can, since the tail stretches out to the right and needs some room.

How to Draw a Kitten Step by Step

Step 1: Sketch a big head oval

Start with a light ground line near the bottom of the paper. Well above it, draw a wide oval for the head, a little wider than it is tall. Then split the oval with a vertical line down the middle and a gently curved line across, slightly above the center. Those two lines tell you where the eyes and nose go later.

💡 Tip: Hold the pencil farther back from the tip. You'll press lighter without trying.

Step 2: Add the body oval and a tail line

Under the head, draw a second oval for the body, about the same width as the head and resting on the ground line. It should tuck right up under the chin. Then add one curved line that runs along the ground to the right and sweeps upward at the end. That's where the tail will go.

💡 Tip: If the body oval comes out bigger than the head, shrink it. Kittens look younger with a large head.

Step 3: Outline the head and pointy ears

Trace firmly over the head oval. Now add two ears on the top corners, each one a tall triangle with slightly curved sides. I start every ear on the side of the head, go up to a point, and come back down onto the top of the head. The ears lean outward a little, which keeps the face friendly instead of alert.

💡 Tip: Make both ear tips sit at the same height. Uneven ears are the first thing people notice.

Step 4: Draw the sitting body

From just under the cheeks, curve a line out and down on each side, following the body oval, until it reaches the ground. Join the two sides with a flat line along the ground. The shape ends up like a soft pear. Notice that the body lines begin at the head, not at the top of the guide oval, because the chin hides that part.

💡 Tip: Let the sides bulge out near the bottom. A sitting kitten spreads a bit, like a bean bag.

Step 5: Add the front legs and round paws

Drop two long, narrow legs from under the chin straight down to the ground. Leave a gap between them about as wide as one leg. At the bottom, round each leg out into a small bean-shaped paw, then add two short toe lines on each paw. Between the legs, draw a U-shaped curve for a light chest patch.

💡 Tip: Keep the paws a little wider than the legs. Straight tubes all the way down look like table legs.

Step 6: Shape the curly tail

Begin the tail behind the body on the right, following your tail guide. Draw the bottom edge along the ground and the top edge just above it, then curve both lines upward together. Narrow them slightly as they climb and close the end with a round tip. Don't draw any part of the tail inside the body, since it sits behind.

💡 Tip: Draw the outer edge of the curve first. It's the long, easy line, and the inner edge simply follows it.

Step 7: Draw big eyes and the inner ears

Eyes make or break a kitten face. Place two tall ovals on the eye line, one on each side of the middle line, with roughly one eye width between them. Inside each, draw a tall oval pupil and two tiny circles for shine, one big and one small. Then add a smaller triangle inside each ear for the pink part.

💡 Tip: Put the shine circles in the same spot in both eyes, so the light seems to come from one side.

Step 8: Add the muzzle, nose and whiskers

Just below the eyes, on the middle line, draw two small overlapping circles. Together they make the puffy muzzle. Sit a little rounded triangle nose on top where the circles meet, then draw a short line down from it and two curves for the mouth. Finish with three long whiskers on each side, fanning out past the cheeks.

💡 Tip: Flick each whisker outward in one quick stroke. Slow whiskers wobble.

Step 9: Sketch the tabby stripes

Ginger kittens almost always have stripes, and a few go a long way. Draw three short, pointed marks on the forehead, the middle one a touch longer. Add three curved stripes on each side of the body, starting at the edge and stopping before the legs. Then put a few bands across the tail near the tip.

💡 Tip: Fewer stripes look neater than many. Stop at three per side.

Step 10: Ink the lines and erase the guides

Go over every keeper line with your black pen: the whole outline plus every face detail. My habit is to ink the face first while my hand is fresh, then the outline. Skip the ovals, the cross lines and the tail guide. Let the ink dry fully before you erase the pencil.

💡 Tip: Turn the paper as you ink the round shapes, so your hand always pulls the pen toward you.

Step 11: Color your kitten

Use orange for all the fur, including the ears and tail, and dark orange for the forehead stripes. The muzzle and chest patch are cream. Color the inner ears and nose pink, the eyes green and the pupils black, leaving the shine circles white. A soft gray shadow along the ground finishes it.

💡 Tip: Color the fur in short strokes that follow the shape, and it starts to look soft.

Why a Kitten Can End Up Looking Like a Fox

Ears that are too tall. Long, thin ears turn the face into a fox or a bat. Keep them short and wide at the base.
Eyes too small or too far apart. Small eyes make the kitten look grown up. Draw them big and keep about one eye width between them.
A body larger than the head. That reads as an adult cat. Keep the head the biggest shape in the drawing.
Whiskers drawn inside the muzzle. Start them at the edge of the muzzle and let them reach past the face.
The tail running through the body. The tail sits behind, so stop its lines where they meet the body.

Giving Your Kitten Its Own Personality

Once this kitten feels easy, change one thing at a time. Swap the orange for gray stripes, make it black with yellow eyes, or leave it white with a pink nose and patches. Tilt one ear down for a sleepy look, or put a bow on the head. Younger kids can skip the stripes and the toe lines and still end up with a sweet drawing. When you want to keep practicing, print some cat coloring pages, or give your kitten a friend with the puppy drawing tutorial.

Kitten Coloring Page and Printable Step Sheets

For screen-free drawing time, print the free kitten coloring page. It shows a colored kitten at the top and a key with each color and the part it belongs to. The step-by-step PDF guide holds all 11 steps with their tips. Both fit regular Letter or A4 paper.

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Free PDF

Kitten Coloring Page

1 pageUS LetterColor key

Black outlines with a colored example and the color names at the top. Ready to print and color.

⬇️ Download Coloring Page

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Free PDF

Step-by-Step Kitten Drawing Guide

7 pagesA4All 11 steps

Every step picture with its instructions and tips, to keep beside your paper while you draw.

⬇️ Download Drawing Guide

📱 On a phone? Tap a download button, then open the file and choose Share → Save to Files or Print. On a computer, the PDF opens or saves straight to your Downloads folder.

A Tall Pin With Every Kitten Step

How to draw a kitten step by step - all 11 steps on one page (Pinterest) — All 11 kitten steps stacked on one image. Save it to Pinterest or print it for the fridge.

Every link below opens one step-by-step tutorial with its own pictures, so you can pick a new animal and start right away.

Sloth Drawing: Follow how to draw a sloth step by step to get a smiling sloth hanging from its branch in 11 short steps.
Arctic Fox Drawing: This arctic fox drawing tutorial builds a sitting fox with fluffy cheek tufts and a tail curled to one side.
Paw Print Drawing: Draw a dog print, a cat print and a small heart between them with the paw print drawing tutorial.
Whale Drawing: A happy blue whale with its spout takes ten steps in this easy whale drawing tutorial.
Realistic Drawing: For a change of pace, the realistic drawing step by step lesson shows how to shade a shiny apple under one lamp.
Miraculous Ladybug Drawing: Draw a chibi Ladybug with her mask on and yo-yo ready using this Miraculous Ladybug drawing tutorial.
Penguin Drawing: Learn how to draw a penguin with rosy cheeks, a tiny tuft and flippers held out for balance.
Rat Drawing: The rat drawing tutorial starts at the nose and ends with a curious gray rat and its curled tail.
Godzilla Drawing: Two ovals turn into a friendly kaiju in ten steps with the how to draw Godzilla guide.
Dragonfly Drawing: Spread the wings wide and give it big eyes in this dragonfly drawing step by step lesson.
Puppy Drawing: A puppy with its tongue out and a collar on is waiting in the easy puppy drawing tutorial, and it makes a good friend for your kitten.
Narwhal Drawing: Give a sea creature a long tusk with this narwhal drawing tutorial in 11 steps.
Ant Drawing: Three ovals become a red ant with six feet on the ground in the how to draw an ant lesson.
King Kong Drawing: Draw the giant gorilla with fists down and mouth open, ready to roar, in this King Kong drawing tutorial.

Kitten Drawing Questions I Hear Often

What is the easiest way to draw a kitten?

Start with a big oval for the head and a smaller one for the body, then add triangle ears, big eyes and a tail line. Building on simple shapes first stops the proportions from drifting, and the details sit much better on top.

How do you draw a cute kitten for kids?

Make the head large, the eyes big and round, and the body small. Kids can leave out the stripes and toe lines and use a thick marker for the outline, which is easier to color inside.