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Hobbies & crafts

How to draw a simple sitting cat with basic shapes

Use circles and triangles to block in a relaxed, sitting cat, then refine the face, ears, paws, and tail before adding fur texture and soft shading. Step illustrations show each shape build-up and the final clean outline.

12 clear steps·Illustrated guide
A friendly pencil sketch of a sitting cat, with faint construction circles and triangles visible behind a clean final outline.
  1. 01

    1) Lightly sketch the head circle

    Start with a small, light circle for the head near the upper middle of your page, leaving space below for the body and to one side for the tail. We’ll draw the cat sitting at a slight angle, facing left.

    A lightly drawn circle positioned slightly above center to represent the cat’s head.
  2. 02

    2) Add a larger body oval

    Below and slightly to the right of the head, sketch a taller, wider oval for the body so it overlaps the head circle a little. This suggests a relaxed, seated pose with the body behind the head.

    A larger oval overlaps the lower right of the head circle to form the cat’s body.
  3. 03

    3) Mark simple face guidelines

    Draw a very light vertical line and a very light horizontal line across the head circle to help place the features. Keep these lines faint—they’re just temporary guides.

    A head circle with faint vertical and horizontal guidelines over a larger body oval.
  4. 04

    4) Place the ears as triangles

    Add two soft triangles on top of the head circle for ears, slightly tilted outward. Let them overlap the circle so they sit naturally on the head.

    Two triangular ear shapes sit on top of the head circle above the body oval.
  5. 05

    5) Block in the face shapes

    On the horizontal guide, place a small triangle for the nose at the center. Add two almond-shaped ovals for eyes on either side. Sketch two small overlapping ovals below the nose for the cheeks.

    Triangle nose, almond eyes, and small cheek ovals placed inside the head circle.
  6. 06

    6) Suggest the front paws

    From the lower front of the body oval, draw two short rounded rectangles side by side to indicate the front legs. Add small flattened ovals at the bottom for the paws touching the ground.

    Two rounded rectangular front legs with small oval paws at the base of the body.
  7. 07

    7) Shape the back leg and haunch

    At the rear of the body oval, draw a large curved line to suggest the haunch, then place a small oval near the ground behind the front paws to mark the hind paw.

    A curved haunch line at the body’s back and a small oval indicating the hind paw.
  8. 08

    8) Add a simple, curving tail

    From the back of the body, draw a long, tapering curve for the tail that rests on the ground and gently curves toward the front paws. Keep it slightly thicker at the base and slimmer at the tip.

    A long curved tail extends from the back of the body and sweeps toward the paws.
  9. 09

    9) Connect shapes into a clean outline

    Using the shapes as a guide, draw a smooth outer contour for the cat: around the ears and head, along the neck and chest, down the front legs, over the haunch, and along the tail. Keep curves soft and natural.

    A single clean outline of the sitting cat drawn over the earlier basic shapes.
  10. 10

    10) Refine the face details

    Inside the outline, add pupils in the eyes, a short line down from the nose to a small mouth, inner ear triangles, and a few whisker dots on each cheek with whiskers sweeping outward.

    Face details added: pupils, mouth, inner ears, and whiskers on the outlined cat.
  11. 11

    11) Erase guides and tidy lines

    Gently erase the construction circle, oval, and guidelines, keeping your clean outline and features. Reinforce any faint parts of the final outline with a light, steady stroke.

    Clean cat outline remains after construction lines are erased.
  12. 12

    12) Add fur texture and soft shading

    With short, light strokes, suggest fur along the cheeks, chest, back, and tail. Add gentle shading on one side of the body, under the chin, between the front paws, and under the tail to show form. Keep it soft and build gradually.

    A finished sitting cat sketch showing light fur texture and soft shading.

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