how to draw a cartoon fly that looks adorable

Learning to draw a cartoon fly can easily be done using long curved lines, basic circular shapes and gradients. In this lesson, you will have the opportunity to do just that in eight easy steps. I will show you how to create this amazing characters using detailed instructions and simple tips.

Mosquitoes come in a wide variety of species (more than 3,500 to be exact). These annoying little creatures are mostly known for biting people in search for blood. It's not the bite itself that can cause pain, but the saliva transferred to the injury.

Let's see how we can create an adorable version of this creature below.

building a template using basic shapes

First, let's sketch a few basic shapes to create a basic template that will be used to polish the proportions and the posture of the subject. You can start by adding two large oval shapes to represent the body and the head.

Both wings are made from long oval shapes. The proboscis is made from a long rectangle and a small oval shape. Thin lines are used to illustrate the legs.

sketching the silhouette of the cartoon fly

Now that we have a few basic shapes to work with, let's sketch the silhouette of the subject using long curved lines. You can start by adding the head and the eyes. The proboscis is made from straight lines and an oval shape. Continue working on the character by adding the wings and the body.

adding a few legs using more straight and curved lines

On the bottom of the character, you can draw the legs using straight and curved lines. Five legs are visible in this angle. The sixth one is hidden behind the character. Now that the silhouette of the fly is completed, you can erase all basic shapes created in the first step.

working on the head and inside the eyes

Flies have unique eyes. A pattern made from several curved lines can be seen inside both of these. On top of the head, you can also draw two short antennas using more subtle curved lines. A small oval shape is added inside the proboscis.

it's time to add some colors!

Let's add a little bit of joy inside this creature using fun colors. To make this illustration visually more exciting, we can also use gradient fills. This simple technique can help create more depth and volume in just a few seconds (if you are using a vector application, of course).

For this character, you can use a light gray color for the head, the legs and the body. Inside the wings, a light blue color can be used. You can also use a little bit of transparency for this part of the body. Finally, the eyes can be filled with a bright red color.

creating subtle shadows in strategic areas

Another thing we can do to create more depth inside the cartoon fly is to add a few basic shadows. Simply sketch a darker area below both eyes and near the junction of the head and body. These three new shapes must be slightly darker than the body. You can also use transparency to end up with a more realistic effect.

adding brighter shapes to form reflections

Dark shapes are great, but adding more contrast using brighter elements is also a good idea. In this step, all you need to do is sketch white shapes on the wings, inside the eyes, on the forehead and on the back of the insect. Once again, you can use transparency to create a more interesting result.

nice work! This Lesson is now completed!

Now that all steps are completed, you can see the final result below. Don't hesitate to create more appealing versions using different colors, textures, postures and shapes. Like I said earlier, more than 3,500 species are available around the world. The choice is all yours! ;)

If you need more assistance to illustrate this cartoon insect properly, then you can use the image found below. This one is featuring all eight steps required to draw this fun cartoon mosquito.

I hope you had fun drawing this amazing animal. If you want to try different insects from this site, then you can try some of the additional examples below. Don't forget to practice on a daily basis. It's the most relevant tip to help you become better at drawing. Enjoy! :)