How to Draw A Cartoon Owl with large eyes

In this lesson, you can learn to draw a cartoon owl using a simple step-by-step process. This tutorial is available using a video or a written version. You will also have the opportunity to study the animal using a real photography. I will also show you how to decompose the character into shapes to understand how this one was built.

Owls are fun animals to illustrate because you can easily identify the most important features of this subject. Indeed, they have large eyes, a short pointed beak and long feathers on both sides of the head. Around 125 different species of owls have been observed. It's not just their great night vision that gives owls the possibility to hunt at night. It's also their great hearing capabilities that help them a lot! Their eyes are fixed in their sockets making it difficult for them to see around without turning their head.

You can start this lesson by taking a look at the video below. More tips and techniques can be fun below the video.

Studying a cool picture to learn more about this bird

Let's start this written tutorial by studying a simple picture featuring a nice owl filled with great colors and patterns. First, you can see that some feathers are visible on both sides of the head (1). Eyes are large and filled with a bright orange color (2). Pupils are also impressive, but these are colored in black.

The beak is short, pointed and dark (3). The wings of the owl are strong and powerful (4). The tail is also impressive once the bird is flying in the air (5). The feet and toes are large, sharp and perfect to catch prays (6). This character is filled with various colors including orange, brown and beige.

Decomposing the picture into simple shapes

If the last version was slightly terrifying, then this cartoon owl should be more appealing. You can see using basic shapes that the head of the animal is round and flat near the bottom. Eyes are represented by small, but perfect circles. The beak consists of a thin oval shape located slightly more on the right.

The body is illustrated with a mix of straight and curved lines. Both wings are also made from long lines. Legs and feet are built using short rectangles. Don't forget the tail also made from an irregular rectangle.

drawing a cartoon owl in six easy steps

Excellent! Now that we have studied this character carefully, it's time to draw a nice cartoon owl using a few basic shapes. First, you can sketch a rectangle to form the body. This one must be narrower near the top. This shape should be short and thick.

Next, you can polish this shape to create a more appealing silhouette. The top of the head must be round and the bottom of the body can be slightly flat. Two large oval shapes are required to create the eyes of the owl.

Inside the eyes, sketch two dark circles to form the pupils. Make sure these new elements are located in the middle of both eyes. Then, you can add the beak using a thin oval shape. This one must be round on top but pointed near the bottom.

The feathers can be drawn on top of the head using short curved lines. Both additions are slightly facing the top of the image. You can work on the feet using long toes also made from oval shapes.

Using long curved lines, you can draw short wings on both sides of the character. Notice how the top is thin, but the bottom of the wings is larger. A nice patch is created on the chest of the cartoon bird.

It's time to add colors! This character is mostly filled with brown and yellow colors. Subtle shadows can be seen on the toes, the beak and the body. The patch is brighter and both wings can be darker.

more cool cartoon birds for you to draw!

The character available in this page was only a sample of what can be done when illustrating cool cartoon owls. You can get creative and try more techniques, shapes and colors. In the image below, the first character is mostly made from curved lines.

The second one is depicted using a distorted perspective. Eyes are smaller and the beak seems longer. The third character is done using a large square. Patches are also added around the eyes. The last sketch is featuring the animal we have drawn earlier.

I hope you had fun learning how to draw owls using a basic character as an example. If you want to draw more cool owls, then feel free to try more characters from this site below. Don't forget to practice on a daily basis and make sure to draw your own versions using all the tips you have learned so far.