how to draw a bat

Learn how to draw a bat filled with brown colors, great digital effects and a fun facial expression. This feared creature is certainly a fun one to illustrate. Filled with awkward body parts, long pointed teeth and scary wings, drawing a simple cartoon bat is always a pleasant experience.

This version is no different. Before adding a single line, let's take a moment to study this animal carefully so that you can draw this one accurately,

1. The top of both wings must be sharp and pointed. 
2. Ears a long, made from triangles and hairy.
3. More hair is needed on top of the head.
4. The nose is made from a triangle and both teeth are sharp.
5. A brighter patch is visible on the chest of the character.
6. Legs are drawn using several small triangles.
7. Wings are large and filled with simple digital effects.

Excellent! Now that we are more familiar with the character we are about to create, let's proceed with the step-by-step lesson. :)

step 1 - drawing circles, rectangles and triangles

You can start by sketching a simple bat using basic shapes to create accurate proportions and locate the character into your working space. The head and the body are made from circles while the ears and the wings are represented by large triangles. Both legs are done using rectangles.

step 2 - It's time to draw the character!

Now that we have a few basic shapes to help us create the bat, let's draw this one using mostly short and long curved lines. Notice how the ears are pointed, how wings are large and impressive and how the head is much larger than the body. When you are finished, you can erase all shapes created in the previous step.

step 3 - working on the facial expression

Learning how to draw a bat also means learning how to create a fun and interesting facial expression. In this case, the character is smiling, but also feels mad and a little bit angry. 

Notice the shape of the nose (triangular) as well as the addition of hair on top of the head, near the cheeks and above the legs.

step 4 - More details to create a more convincing bat

Inside the ears, add patches made from small curved lines. Longer lines can be drawn inside the wings as shown in the image below. Finally, a large circular patch is sketched on the chest of the animal. Now that the character is drawn, let's add some colors to the creature.

step 5 - Adding plain colors to get started

Now that you know how to draw a bat, it's time to add colors inside this one. The character is mostly filled with brown colors (the wings being darker while the body and patches are lighter). The nose is pink while the eyes and teeth are while. You can also modify the colors of all strokes by selecting a dark brown color instead of the black color used earlier.

step 6 - More depth and volume

Using the gradient fill tool (if you are using a vector application), you can add a second color on all shapes and make each body parts darker on the bottom and brighter on top. See how this simple technique is adding depth and volume to the character. :)

step 7 - Creating deep and beautiful shadows 

This lesson on how to draw a bat is not over yet! Indeed, we can make this one even more interesting by adding strong dark shadows in some areas to increase this sense of volume. In this case, shadows were added inside the wings and on the stomach of the bat (shown temporarily in green).

step 8 - Highlights for a visually more fun image

Inside the same body parts (body and wings), you can also draw highlights made from white shapes to increase this sense of depth and volume. These simple techniques can be used to create all sorts of digital effects (but let's stick to the basic ones for now).

How to draw a bat: the result!

Once all effects are added, the result should be a beautiful and appealing character like the one found below. This little creature is quite challenging to illustrate at first, but don't be discouraged if you are struggling to draw this one. Practicing is the key!

Had fun creating this cute cartoon bat?

I hope so! This tutorial showed you how to create basic effects like shadows and reflections to draw a wonderful cartoon bat. You also learned how to use basic shapes to draw the animal and why adding brown lines instead of black ones can help create something visually appealing.

Don't hesitate to draw more bats like this one to improve your drawing abilities. You can also create different versions to unleash your creativity. More animals from the same series can be found here! Have fun! :)

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