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Learn to draw a bunny by building it from simple shapes in four practice boxes, then redraw the whole bunny in a blank box.
Directed drawing breaks a picture into a short sequence of shapes, so each step is small enough to check before adding the next. This lesson uses four practice boxes. In box one you draw the body oval; in box two you add the ear shapes; in box three you add the paw circles; in box four you add the face and finish. A fifth blank box is for redrawing the full bunny from memory. The convention for this lesson is simple: an oval is a closed curved shape taller than it is wide unless stated otherwise, and a circle is a closed curved shape with roughly equal width and height. Handwriting and art styles vary, so your bunny does not need to match one universal model. What matters is that each shape is placed in the correct order and that the final bunny can be checked against the sequence.
Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.
Draw five boxes of equal size on your paper, in a row or a grid. Label the first four 1 to 4 and label the fifth Blank. Keep a pencil and an eraser handy. The boxes are working spaces, not frames for a finished picture, so small differences in shape are expected.
Before drawing, decide a simple convention and write it at the top of the page: body oval is taller than wide; ears are long rounded shapes attached to the top of the body; paws are small circles placed near the bottom of the body. This convention keeps the steps checkable without forcing one single style.
Start with the largest shape because it anchors everything else. In box 1, draw one body oval in the middle of the box, leaving space above for ears and below for paws. The oval should be taller than wide under the convention above.
Check the oval before moving on: it should be closed, centered, and not touching the box edges. If it is too wide, erase and redraw a narrower oval. This single shape is the reference for the next three boxes.
In box 2, redraw the body oval first, then add two ear shapes on top. Each ear is a long rounded shape that starts at the top of the oval and points upward. The ears can be straight up, angled outward, or one of each; the small panel of ear-angle variants shows these as valid alternatives.
Attach each ear so it touches the top of the oval. Do not let the ears float above the body. Check that both ears are similar in length and that neither ear crosses the box edge.
In box 3, redraw the body oval and ears, then add two small paw circles near the bottom of the oval. The paws should touch or slightly overlap the lower part of the body. Keep the circles small so they read as paws rather than a second body.
In box 4, redraw the full sequence so far, then add the face: two small eye dots, a nose shape, and a short mouth line. Finish by checking the whole bunny against the sequence. In the blank box, redraw the full bunny without looking at boxes 1 to 4, then compare.
A student draws a body oval 4 cm tall and 3 cm wide in box 1, then adds two ears each 3 cm long and two paw circles each 1 cm across. Check the drawing against the convention.
The oval is taller than wide (4 cm by 3 cm), so it matches the convention. Each ear is 3 cm long and touches the top of the oval, so the ears are attached. Each paw is 1 cm across, which is smaller than the body width of 3 cm, so the paws read as paws. The drawing passes the convention check.
In box 1, draw a body oval 5 cm tall and 4 cm wide. State whether it matches the convention and why.
Yes, it matches because 5 cm is greater than 4 cm, so the oval is taller than wide.
Why: The convention requires a taller-than-wide oval. Comparing the two measurements directly shows the oval meets that rule.
Check: Measure the height and width with a ruler and confirm height is greater than width.
In box 2, draw a body oval and two ears. Ear A is 3 cm long and touches the oval. Ear B is 3 cm long but floats 1 cm above the oval. Which ear follows the convention?
Ear A follows the convention because it touches the top of the body oval. Ear B does not because it floats above the body.
Why: The convention requires each ear to attach to the top of the oval. Touching versus floating is a visible, checkable difference.
Check: Look at the base of each ear and confirm it meets the oval line without a gap.
In box 3, draw a body oval 6 cm wide and two paw circles each 2 cm across. Are the paws small enough under the convention?
Yes. Each paw is 2 cm across, which is smaller than the 6 cm body width, so the paws read as paws rather than a second body.
Why: The convention says paws are small circles near the bottom of the body. Comparing paw width to body width gives a simple check.
Check: Measure the paw width and the body width and confirm the paw is clearly smaller.
In the blank box, redraw the full bunny from memory. Then compare it to box 4 and list one shape to adjust next time.
A complete bunny with a body oval, two attached ears, two small paws, and face marks. The listed adjustment should name one specific shape, such as making the ears more even in length.
Why: The blank-box redraw tests whether the sequence is remembered. Comparing to box 4 gives a concrete, checkable adjustment.
Check: Check that all four shape groups are present and that the named adjustment refers to a visible difference between the two drawings.
No. Straight, angled outward, or mixed directions are all valid under the convention. Choose one and keep it consistent within a drawing.
Four sequenced boxes plus one blank box for the full redraw. You can reuse boxes by erasing, but separate boxes make the sequence easier to check.
The convention says taller than wide, so erase and redraw a narrower oval. If you prefer a wider body, write that convention at the top and apply it consistently.
This lesson focuses on sequenced shape steps only. Fur texture and scene composition are outside the boundary and are not required.