Funny Cartoon Animal Drawing: Exaggeration and Expression Swaps

Object Drawing Lessons

This lesson teaches a repeatable method for drawing a funny cartoon animal. You will exaggerate one or two features, swap the expression to change the joke, and keep the body simple. The convention is that x-height runs from the baseline to the midline of lowercase letters; letter styles vary, so use any clear handwriting. All measurements are in centimeters, and any numbers given are hypothetical examples to be checked against your own paper and tools.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Set the convention and measure your space

Before drawing, define your drawing box. On a sheet of paper, mark a rectangle 12 cm wide and 9 cm tall. This is a hypothetical example; measure your actual paper and adjust. The baseline is the bottom edge of the box, and the midline is 4 cm above it. X-height is baseline to midline. Use this to place the animal's body and head consistently.

Choose a simple animal shape: a rounded body, a head circle, and four legs. Keep the body no taller than the x-height so the head can be exaggerated above the midline. This makes the funny feature stand out.

1. Draw a 12 cm by 9 cm box and mark the midline at 4 cm above the baseline.
2. Sketch a body oval 6 cm wide and 4 cm tall sitting on the baseline.
3. Add a head circle 5 cm wide, centered above the body and crossing the midline.
4. Draw four simple legs as short lines from the body to the baseline.

Exaggerate one feature

Pick one feature to exaggerate: ears, eyes, nose, or tail. For a funny cartoon animal, make it at least twice the normal size. For example, draw ears 6 cm tall instead of 3 cm. Keep other features small so the exaggeration reads clearly.

Use simple shapes: circles, ovals, and triangles. Avoid realistic anatomy. The goal is a clear visual joke, not a scientific drawing.

1. Choose ears, eyes, nose, or tail to exaggerate.
2. Draw the chosen feature at double the size you first planned.
3. Keep the remaining features at half the exaggerated size.
4. Check that the exaggerated feature is the first thing you notice.

Swap the expression

Expression swaps change the mood without changing the body. Draw three expression variants on the same head: happy, surprised, and grumpy. Use eyebrows, mouth shape, and eye direction. For happy, curve the mouth up and relax eyebrows. For surprised, make eyes wide circles and mouth a small o. For grumpy, slant eyebrows down and mouth a flat line.

Place the expression inside the head circle. Keep the exaggerated feature unchanged so the joke stays readable.

1. Draw the same head three times in a row.
2. Add happy eyebrows and an upward mouth curve to the first.
3. Add wide eyes and a small o mouth to the second.
4. Add downward slanted eyebrows and a flat mouth to the third.

Assemble and check

Combine the body, exaggerated feature, and one expression. Use the blank practice box to draw your own cartoon animal. Check that the body sits on the baseline, the head crosses the midline, and the exaggerated feature is at least twice the size of the others.

Measure with a ruler: the exaggerated ear should be about 6 cm tall if the normal ear is 3 cm. These are hypothetical values; measure your actual drawing and confirm the ratio is at least 2:1.

1. Draw the body oval on the baseline.
2. Add the head circle crossing the midline.
3. Attach the exaggerated feature at double size.
4. Add one expression variant and check the 2:1 ratio with a ruler.

Worked example

Draw a funny cartoon cat with exaggerated ears and a surprised expression in a 12 cm by 9 cm box with midline at 4 cm.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Exaggerating every feature at once. Choose one feature to double and keep the rest small so the joke is clear.
• Ignoring the baseline and midline. Mark the baseline and midline first, then place the body and head relative to them.
• Changing the body when swapping expressions. Keep the body and exaggerated feature identical; change only eyebrows, eyes, and mouth.
• Using realistic anatomy instead of simple shapes. Use circles, ovals, and triangles; the goal is a funny cartoon, not a realistic animal.

Self-check rubric

• Body sits on the baseline and head crosses the midline.
• One feature is exaggerated to at least twice its normal size.
• Expression swap changes only eyebrows, eyes, and mouth.
• Simple shapes are used instead of realistic anatomy.
• Measurements are checked with a ruler and units are consistent in centimeters.

Questions and answers