15 Easy Things to Draw, Step by Step (Cute & Simple Drawings)

An easy drawing is not a failed drawing or a child’s drawing: it is a well-built drawing. A cat is a circle sitting on an oval. A house is a square and a triangle. A flower is a circle and six petals. Once you see the simple shapes hiding behind every subject, anyone can draw, whether you are 6 or 60.

Here are 15 easy things to draw step by step, picked from the subjects people search for most: animals, flowers, a unicorn, a dragon and a house. Every drawing is built in 4 picture steps, with its level, its time and a coloring tip. All 15 are also available as a printable PDF, so you can draw away from the screen.

Before you start: supplies and the 4-step method

Supplies

No fancy art supplies needed. For every drawing in this article, you need:

• a pencil (HB) and an eraser, for the starting shapes;
• a fine black pen, to ink the outlines;
• colored pencils (or markers) for the color.

Any white paper works. Slightly thicker paper handles erasing and layered colors better.

The 4-step method

It is the safest way into easy drawings for beginners. Every drawing follows the same path, the one shown in the 4 panels of each picture:

1. The big shapes, in pencil, with very light lines: circles, ovals, triangles, squares.
2. The added shapes: ears, legs, wings, tail, stem.
3. The details: face, patterns, small decorations. Then ink the outline, let it dry for a few seconds and erase the pencil.
4. The color, starting with the lightest areas.

Easy animal drawings

Animals are the most searched easy drawings, and the cutest ones to get right. They all start with a circle or an oval.

How to draw an easy cat

The most searched easy drawing of all: a sitting cat is just a circle and an oval.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a circle for the head, sitting on a slightly wider oval for the body.
2. Add two triangle ears, two front paws and a tail curling up on one side.
3. Draw two dots for the eyes, a tiny nose, a little curly mouth, whiskers and a few stripes.
4. Color it orange, with pink inside the ears and on the cheeks.

Coloring tip: For the stripes, a darker orange is enough: a few short strokes on the head, back and tail.

How to draw an easy dog

A sitting puppy with big floppy ears and a patch over one eye: you cannot get it wrong.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a circle for the head, sitting on a rounded body that is a little narrower at the top.
2. Add two big floppy ears, the front legs, round back paws and a small wagging tail.
3. Draw the eyes, a round nose, a smile with a little tongue and a patch around one eye.
4. Color it beige with brown ears and patch, and add a red collar.

Coloring tip: Use the same brown for the ears and the patch: the puppy instantly looks more real.

How to draw an easy bunny

Two long ears and a pom-pom tail: the bunny is one of the easiest drawings to get right.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a round head sitting on a pear-shaped body.
2. Add two long upright ears, the front paws, two big round back feet and a fluffy cloud-shaped tail.
3. Draw the inner ears, two dots for the eyes, a tiny nose, the mouth and the whiskers.
4. Color it light gray, with pink inside the ears and on the cheeks.

Coloring tip: Leave the tail almost white: next to the gray, it looks extra soft.

How to draw an easy bird

A little bird perched on a branch, built from a circle and a teardrop.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a circle for the head, joined to a teardrop-shaped body.
2. Add one wing, a fan-shaped tail and a horizontal branch under the bird.
3. Draw a triangle beak, a dot for the eye, little feet gripping the branch and two leaves.
4. Color the bird blue with a yellow belly, an orange beak and a brown branch.

Coloring tip: A darker blue on the wing and tail is all it takes to give the bird some depth.

How to draw an easy fish

The quickest one on the list: an oval, a triangle, and the fish is already swimming.

Level: Very easy · Time: 5 minutes

1. Draw a horizontal oval for the body.
2. Add a triangle tail, a fin on the back and a small fin on the side.
3. Draw a big eye, a smiling mouth, a curved line for the head, small arc-shaped scales and three bubbles.
4. Color it orange, with yellow fins and light blue bubbles.

Coloring tip: For the scales, draw rows of small upside-down U shapes, shifting each row a little.

How to draw an easy butterfly

The whole secret of a butterfly: wings that match on both sides.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a small circle for the head and a vertical oval for the body.
2. Add two large rounded wings at the top and two smaller ones at the bottom, nice and symmetrical.
3. Draw two curled antennae, a smiling face, then the same circles and dots on each wing.
4. Color the wings purple, pink and yellow, repeating the colors on both sides.

Coloring tip: Color one wing, then right away its twin with the same pencil: both sides stay identical.

How to draw an easy frog

A sitting frog with big eyes on top of its head and a wide smile.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a wide head with two bumps on top for the eyes, sitting on a round body.
2. Add the folded back legs on each side and the two front legs.
3. Draw the eyes inside the bumps, a big smile, a few round spots on the back and the toes.
4. Color it green, with a lighter belly, dark green spots and pink cheeks.

Coloring tip: Two greens are enough: a light one for the belly and a stronger one for the back and spots.

How to draw an easy turtle

A turtle seen from the side: a half circle for the shell, and the rest follows.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a half circle for the shell, with a flat band underneath.
2. Add a round head on one side, four short rounded legs and a pointy tail.
3. Draw hexagon patterns on the shell, an eye and a smile.
4. Color the shell brown and orange, and the head and legs green.

Coloring tip: Color the middle of each hexagon lighter than its edges: the shell looks rounder.

To study animals drawn in more detail, our animal coloring pages show how fur, feathers and scales can be drawn with lines.

Flower, rose, tree and mushroom: easy nature drawings

Nature gives you simple drawings that always look pretty. The flower and the mushroom take 5 minutes; the rose needs a little more care.

How to draw an easy flower

One circle and six round petals: the simplest flower to draw, and one of the most searched.

Level: Very easy · Time: 5 minutes

1. Draw a small circle for the center of the flower.
2. Draw six round petals all around it, all the same size.
3. Add a little face in the center, a curved stem and two leaves with a center vein.
4. Color the petals pink, the center yellow, and the stem and leaves green.

Coloring tip: For even petals, draw the top, bottom, left and right ones first, then fill in the gaps.

How to draw an easy rose

Roses have a reputation for being hard. Start with a spiral, and they are not anymore.

Level: Easy · Time: 15 minutes

1. Draw a small, tight spiral for the heart of the rose.
2. Wrap it with two or three U-shaped petals that form a cup.
3. Add the large outer petals, a long stem, two veined leaves and two thorns.
4. Color the rose red, darker inside the petals, and the stem and leaves green.

Coloring tip: Dark red in the hollows of the petals and a lighter red on their edges is enough to make the rose bloom.

How to draw an easy tree

A round apple tree: a trunk, a cloud of leaves and a few apples.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw two slightly curved lines for the trunk, spreading apart at the bottom.
2. Place a big cloud-shaped crown of leaves on top.
3. Add a few branches, bark lines, a small hole in the trunk, round apples and some grass at the base.
4. Color the leaves green, the trunk brown, the apples red and the grass green.

Coloring tip: Change the season with color: an orange and red crown, and your tree turns to fall.

How to draw an easy mushroom

The red mushroom with white dots, small, round and smiling: one of the best-loved cute drawings.

Level: Very easy · Time: 5 minutes

1. Draw a big dome for the cap, with a slightly rounded bottom edge.
2. Add a short, rounded stem underneath.
3. Draw round dots on the cap, two dots for the eyes, a smile and some grass at the base.
4. Color the cap red, leaving the dots white, the stem cream and the grass green.

Coloring tip: Do not color the dots: the white of the paper is brighter than any white pencil.

Want more detailed flowers to color instead of draw? Our flower coloring pages are free PDFs.

A cute unicorn and a baby dragon

Fantasy creatures look hard, but in a cute version they are built just like animals: a round head, a simple body, then whatever makes them magical (a horn, wings, spikes).

How to draw an easy unicorn

Just the unicorn’s head, in profile: much easier than the whole unicorn, and just as pretty.

Level: Easy · Time: 15 minutes

1. Draw the head shape in profile, an oval for the muzzle and the line of the neck.
2. Add a cone-shaped horn with a spiral and one pointed ear.
3. Draw the mane in big curls, a closed eye with lashes, a nostril and a smile.
4. Color the mane in pastel pink, purple and blue, the horn gold and the cheeks pink.

Coloring tip: For the mane, switch colors with each curl: the pastel gradient happens on its own.

How to draw an easy dragon

A chubby baby dragon, more cute than scary, with little wings and spikes.

Level: Easy · Time: 15 minutes

1. Draw a round head sitting on a pear-shaped body.
2. Add two small bat-like wings, a curling tail, two little arms and two feet.
3. Draw spikes along the back and tail, stripes on the belly, the eyes, the smile and the nostrils.
4. Color the dragon green, the belly light yellow, and the wings and spikes purple.

Coloring tip: Two contrasting colors, green and purple, make the spikes and wings stand out.

An easy house in 10 minutes

It is often the very first thing we learn to draw, and it deserves to be done well: a few details are enough to make it charming.

How to draw an easy house

A square, a triangle, and the house is already there. The rest is just decoration.

Level: Very easy · Time: 10 minutes

1. Draw a square for the walls and put a triangle on top for the roof.
2. Double the edge of the roof, add a rounded door, two windows with crossbars and a chimney.
3. Draw the roof tiles as small scales, the door knob, the smoke, a bush, a path and a few flowers.
4. Color the walls cream, the roof red, the door blue and the garden green.

Coloring tip: Very light blue windows look like they reflect the sky: the house suddenly feels lived in.

Print all 15 easy drawings

To draw away from the screen, in class, with family or on a trip, the 15 drawings in this article come as a printable sheet: every drawing with its 4 steps, its level and its time.

Adding color

Color turns a simple drawing into a pretty one. Three rules are enough:

• A few colors that go together. Three or four shades per drawing. Our color shade charts list the neighboring shades of every color, with their names.
• Two tones per color: a light one everywhere, a darker one in the shadows (under the head, inside the petals, on one side of the trunk).
• The white of the paper for highlights, the mushroom’s dots or the bunny’s tail: it is brighter than any white pencil.

To blend smoothly from one shade to another, like the unicorn’s mane, our guide to color gradients explains how. And if you prefer coloring on screen, our online coloring pages are free.

5 tips for easy drawings that look great

1. Sketch lightly. Your first pencil line is a draft: it should be easy to erase.
2. Start with the big shapes. Details added too early on a crooked shape never save it.
3. Look at the model more than at your paper. You draw what you observe, not what you think you know.
4. Draw the same thing again. Your second cat always looks better than the first, and the fifth even better.
5. Keep your drawings. Flip back through them after a few weeks, and your progress will jump out at you.

Easy drawings for kids: which ones by age

These drawings work for every age. With a child, pick by patience more than by exact age:

• From age 4-5: the flower, the fish, the mushroom and the house, made of one or two shapes. An adult draws the first shape, the child adds the details and colors.
• Around 6-8: the cat, the bunny, the dog, the frog, the turtle and the bird.
• From 8-9 and up: the butterfly (for symmetry), the tree with all its details, then the rose, the unicorn and the dragon.

The printable PDF is perfect for a group activity: everyone picks a drawing and works through it panel by panel.

What next?

Once you have nailed these 15 easy things to draw, you have all the basics. To find out what to draw next, browse our 150 drawing ideas, with a generator that picks an idea for your mood and level. For the holidays, our easy Christmas drawings article has 15 seasonal designs.

And when you feel like coloring rather than drawing, our kawaii coloring pages share the same cute style, as free PDFs.

Key takeaways

Easy drawing comes down to three ideas:

1. See the simple shapes in every subject: circles, ovals, triangles, squares.
2. Sketch lightly in pencil, then ink only once you like the drawing.
3. Color with just a few colors, keeping the white of the paper for light.

Start with the flower or the fish, then move on to the cat and the bunny. More ideas and techniques are waiting in the Kolorii Journal.