Tutorial: How to draw a cartoon dog

17 June

Learn how to draw a cartoon-style dog using a photo reference and basic shapes. First, watch the video to get an idea of how these doggy doodles come to life. Then we'll break the process down into 5 steps and practice using 3 dog breeds with different coat lengths. The doodles have all been drawn in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet, but can just as easily be done with a humble pen and paper.

How to draw dog cartoons using simple shapes and lines. Demo includes 3 types of dogs: smooth coated, partly fluffy and then a super fluff. These are drawn d...

There are endless ways of drawing the main features, for this style we're going with the double circled eyes and jelly bean nose. You can always add more details.

DOG #1: Smooth coated french bulldog

Pippa portrait.jpg — **STEP 1: Photo reference**

Find a reference image of a dog's face looking forward, and take note of the basic shapes that make up the face. Model number one (no surprises here…) is my frenchie, Pippa.
She has a smooth coat which can be easier to draw than super fluffy when starting out.

STEP 2: Head shape

Start with a circle that matches your dog's face structure. Pippa has a basic round circle face. Add diving lines that divide the face in half vertically, then horizontally through where the eyes roughly sit.