How to Draw a Sad Cat Step by Step (Easy Sad Face Lesson)

Once you know which few lines carry a feeling, you can make any character look blue. In this lesson you'll learn how to draw a sad cat step by step, a small kitten sitting in a puddle and hugging its knees while a rain cloud drips nearby. I picked a cat because its round head leaves plenty of room for the face, which is where sadness lives.

How to draw a sad cat step by step - finished colored sad drawing drawing — One gloomy kitty, one gray cloud and a few drops of rain, built from three light ovals in twelve small moves.

In every picture, whatever you add right now is bright blue and older lines are gray. The pale blue ovals are helpers you'll rub out later, so sketch those very softly.

Quick overview
⏱️ Time: about 30 minutes
🎯 Level: easy, fine for kids from about 6
✏️ Steps: 12
🐱 You'll draw: a sad kitten hugging its knees under a little rain cloud

Supplies for a Rainy Day Kitten

A regular pencil (HB is fine) for the light sketch
A soft eraser that won't smudge
A black marker or felt-tip pen for the final lines
Coloring pencils or markers in light purple, purple, pink, gray, dark gray, light blue, pale blue and black
A sheet of plain paper, held upright

No light purple? A soft gray or a pale blue kitten looks just as sad.

How to Draw a Sad Cat Step by Step

Step 1: Sketch three guide ovals

Start with a wide oval near the middle of the page for the head. Right under it, touching it, draw a second oval about the same size for the body. Put a long, flat oval high above for the rain cloud. Add a line down through the cat and one across the head; I use that cross to center the face.

💡 Tip: Press so lightly that you can barely see the lines; they're only scaffolding.

Step 2: Outline the head and add droopy ears

Trace over the head oval with a firm, smooth line. Now the ears: instead of pointing them straight up, tip them outward so they hang toward the sides. Each ear is a rounded triangle sitting on the top corner of the head. Add a smaller triangle inside each. Ears that sag sideways are a quiet clue that this kitty is having a hard day.

💡 Tip: Compare both ears before moving on; if one tilts more, the cat looks puzzled instead of sad.

Step 3: Wrap the arms around the knees

Below the head, draw two thick curved arms, like a pair of hooks. Each one starts at a shoulder on the side of the body oval, swings down, then curls in toward the middle. Where they meet, draw two round paws touching each other, with two tiny toe lines on each. I draw the arms first because they sit in front, so the knees can tuck in behind them.

💡 Tip: Keep both arms equally thick all the way around so they look soft.

Step 4: Tuck in the knees and feet

Draw two tall rounded shapes for the knees, rising from behind the arms up to just under the chin. They lean together in the middle, as if the kitten is squeezing them close. At the bottom, add two flat ovals for the feet, each with two short toe lines. Stop every line where it reaches the arms or feet.

💡 Tip: Let the tops of the knees touch the chin; a gap there makes the hug look loose.

Step 5: Draw the slumped back and tail

Follow the lower body oval around the outside of the arms and down to the ground on both sides. Only a thin curve shows, and those low shoulders are the slump. Then pull a thick tail out from behind the left foot, run it along the ground and let the tip curl up a little. A flat tail looks far gloomier than a raised one.

💡 Tip: Draw the tail as two parallel lines first, then round off the tip with one curve.

Step 6: Give it sad eyebrows and droopy eyes

This step does most of the work. Draw two short brows above the eyes, each slanting upward toward the middle of the face, so the inner ends are higher than the outer ends. Under them, draw two tall ovals with the top corner sliced off at an angle; the cut should be higher near the nose and lower at the outside. Add one big and one tiny circle inside each eye for shine.

💡 Tip: Put both eye shines on the same side, as if the light comes from one window.

Step 7: Add a nose, a wobbly frown and whiskers

Place a small rounded triangle for the nose between the eyes, just below the guide line. Drop a short line down from it, then draw the mouth as an upside-down U. I give it a slight wobble, because a shaky mouth looks like someone trying not to cry. Last, draw two whiskers on each cheek that bend downward at the ends.

💡 Tip: Keep the frown narrow, about the width of the nose plus a little on each side.

Step 8: Let one big tear roll down

Under the eye on the left, draw a single teardrop: a round bottom with a point at the top, sitting on the cheek. Add a tiny curved line inside it for a glint. One large tear keeps the picture gentle instead of heartbreaking.

💡 Tip: Slightly fatter at the bottom than you think looks right; tears feel heavy.

Step 9: Shape a little rain cloud

Over the flat guide oval, draw a row of bumps for the top of the cloud, biggest in the middle and smaller toward the ends. Give it a flat bottom with rounded corners. Then draw a gentle wavy line across the lower part of the cloud; the strip under it will be colored darker later.

💡 Tip: Draw the bumps as separate arcs and join them; one long scribble rarely stays even.

Step 10: Drop in raindrops and a puddle

Scatter seven small teardrops down both sides of the cat, staggered so they don't line up in neat rows. Under the cat, draw a wide, flat oval puddle that reaches past the tail. Inside its right half, add one small ring where a raindrop has just landed.

💡 Tip: Vary the height of the drops on each side so the rain looks like it's moving.

Step 11: Ink the lines and erase the guides

Go over every keeper line with your black marker: every outline on the kitten, the cloud and each drop. Give the ink a minute to dry, because a wet line smears under the eraser. Then rub out the guide ovals and the cross on the face.

💡 Tip: Ink the big outlines first and the tiny toe lines last, when your hand is steady.

Step 12: Color it in cool, soft tones

Color the kitten light purple, and use a slightly darker purple for the bit of back that peeks out. The ears and nose go pink, the eyes black with the shines left white. Make the cloud gray with a dark gray bottom strip, the tear and raindrops light blue, and the puddle pale blue. Cool colors like these keep the mood quiet.

💡 Tip: Color around the white eye shines first, then fill the rest of the eye.

Why a Sad Face Can Look Angry or Sleepy

Slanting the brows the wrong way. Brows that dip toward the nose make an angry face. For sadness, the inner ends always go up.
Drawing round, wide-open eyes. They look surprised, not sad. Slice the top of each eye at an angle so the lids seem heavy.
Making the frown too big. A huge upside-down U turns the cat grumpy. A small, slightly wobbly mouth reads as sad.
Standing the cat up straight. A tall, upright pose fights the face. Pull the knees up, let the shoulders sink and lay the tail flat.
Adding too many tears. Rivers of tears look dramatic and can upset small kids. One big tear is enough.

Turning the Rain Into Sunshine and Other Ideas

My favorite variation is the hopeful one: draw half a sun peeking out from behind the cloud, with a few short rays, and the same sad kitten suddenly looks like things are about to get better. Or swap the cat for a puppy or a bunny; the sad brows and frown work on any face. If you'd like extra practice with whiskers and ears, try the cat face drawing tutorial, and for fluffier skies, borrow shapes from the cloud drawing tutorial.

Sad Kitten Coloring Page and PDF Step Guide

Want to color this one on a rainy afternoon? The sad cat coloring page has a small colored example and a color key at the top, so kids can match the light purple fur, the gray cloud and the blue raindrops, with a large outline underneath. The step-by-step guide PDF holds all 12 steps with their tips. Both print on Letter or A4 paper.

🎨

Free PDF

Sad Drawing 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

✏️

Free PDF

Step-by-Step Sad Drawing Guide

7 pagesA4All 12 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.

Keep the Rainy Kitten Lesson on Pinterest

How to draw a sad cat step by step - all 12 steps on one page (Pinterest) — Every step of the sad kitten on one tall image, from the first ovals to the colored rain cloud.

Sad Face Drawing Questions From Kids

How do you make a cartoon face look sad?

Tilt the eyebrows up toward the middle, cut the top of the eyes at a slant so they droop, and turn the mouth into a small upside-down curve. Those three changes work on almost any character.