Create a funny squirrel using simple elements and then learn how to create more versions of the same character using various color schemes. Squirrels are adorable animals to draw and look at. Mostly made from long curved lines, these little creatures are known for being quick, agile and somehow wise for such an animal of this size.
Before working on this character, it can be a good idea to take a few moments to see how this one is drawn. You can use the illustration above as a reference for this part of the tutorial.
Good work! Now that you are more familiar with this animal, let's proceed with the first part of this lesson: drawing the animal using basic shapes and simple curved lines! :)
You can start this lesson by adding several circular shapes to create the squirrel. First, the head is made from two medium circles. Then, you can draw small circles for the ears and larger ones for the cheeks.
The body is made from two additional circles while the back legs are illustrated with oval shapes. Complete this step by drawing (very) large circles to represent the tail of the cartoon squirrel.
Using mostly short and long curved lines, you can now draw this funny squirrel as shown in the image below. Notice how the cheeks are made from two different lines to create hair and how the tail is large and impressive. Once you are done, you can erase all orange shapes created earlier.
Inside the head, you can now sketch the eyes and the pupils using small circles. The nose is made from two lines that are placed in a triangular shape. The mouth is done using two lines and teeth are made from small rectangles.
On top of the head of this funny squirrel, sketch two curved lines made with pointed ends. Then, you can add more lines inside the hands and the feet of the character. These details are subtle, but essential to create a lovable and appealing animal.
A long curved line can be drawn inside the tail of the cartoon squirrel. You can also draw more lines inside the ears and around the mouth. One last patch is added on the chest of the animal. Good work! It's time to add some colors!
For this version of our funny squirrel, we can now add some brown colors all over the body. Make sure that the tail is darker, but patches found inside the ears, around the mouth, on the chest and on the tail must be brighter. The nose and the pupils can also be filled with a dark brown color.
Six steps are required to create our friendly squirrel. The most complex step (and the most crucial one) is the first one. Getting all proportions accurate can be difficult and placing these shapes correctly is a real challenge. Once this step is done correctly, drawing the animal should be easier.
Let's try a few alternatives using the same illustration, but filled with different colors. For this first attempt, the squirrel is filled with a brighter version of the original color. All parts of the animal like the tail, the body and the patches are lighter. It's an interesting approach, but the original version was prettier.
In this second scenario, the character is filled with a dark brown color on the entire body and tail. All patches are much brighter (in fact they are almost white) while the nose and the pupils are still dark. That's an interesting approach compared to the previous version.
In this final version, the character is now filled with a brown color that is also quite green. Patches are now virtually all white and the tail is darker compared to the body. This is an interesting illustration that is quite different from the others.
These are all four steps needed to draw our little squirrel. As you can see, possibilities are endless when applying colors inside a cartoon character. Don't hesitate to be creative using various color schemes, patterns and textures. We are working on cartoon animals, so anything is possible! :)
I hope you had fun working with this character. More adorable squirrels can be drawn below. Enjoy! :)
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