How to Draw a Cow (Easy Step by Step)
This round, smiling cow is a great first farm animal to draw. It is built from a few simple shapes: an oval for the head, a bowl shape for the body, little squares for the legs, leaf shapes for the ears and horns, and ovals for the snout and spots. Once you can draw those, you can draw this cow.
- Easy
- 12 minutes
- 10 steps
You need: paper, a pencil, an eraser, and crayons or markers for coloring.
Start drawingIn this article (7 sections)
How to draw a cow step by step
How to Draw a Cow · tinyhandscreate.com
Step 1: Guide shapes
Lightly sketch these 2 ovals. They only show where the big parts go, so press softly. You will erase them at the end.
Step 2: The head
Draw a big, wide oval near the top of your page for the cow's head. Close the oval all the way around.
Step 3: The round body
Under the head, draw a big rounded shape like an upside-down bowl. Start at the sides of the chin, curve out and down, and finish with a flat bottom.
Step 4: Two little legs
Along the flat bottom of the body, draw two small squares with rounded corners, side by side. Leave a gap in the middle between them.
Step 5: Floppy ears
On each side of the head, draw a pointy leaf shape, like a lemon cut in half. Make them stick out sideways, with the wide end touching the head.
Step 6: Two small horns
On top of the head, draw two little leaf shapes that lean outward, one on each side. Keep them smaller than the ears.
Step 7: The snout
Near the bottom of the face, draw a wide oval for the cow's nose. Make it fairly big, because cows have chunky noses.
Step 8: Eyes, nose and smile
Add two dots for eyes above the snout. Inside the snout, draw two small dots for nostrils and a little curved smile underneath them.
Step 9: Collar and bell
Draw a curved line across the top of the body just under the head, like a necklace. Hang a small bell from the middle, shaped like a tiny upside-down bucket.
Step 10: Cow spots
Finish with wobbly oval spots: one on top of the head and two on the body. Make each one a different size so your cow looks real.
All done!
Erase the guide shapes, go over your lines, then color it in.
Finished your cow? Keep the pencils out and learn how to draw a horse or how to draw a sheep next.
Tips for drawing a cow
- Start with the head, then add the body right under it. If the head is a little crooked, the cow just looks friendlier.
- The snout is the trickiest part. Keep it wide and low on the face, and put the nostril dots and smile inside it so they do not float away.
- Draw the spots last and make them wobbly, not perfect. Different sizes and slightly squashed shapes look more like real cow spots.
Free cow coloring page
Want to go straight to coloring? Open this cow coloring page at full size and print it. It is the same drawing you just learned, with clean lines ready for crayons or markers.
How to color your cow drawing
Try black or brown spots on a white cow, a pink snout and a yellow bell. For a creative twist, give your cow rainbow spots or draw a green field with flowers around its feet.
Cow fun fact for kids
A cow's stomach has four compartments, which helps it digest grass. Cows chew cud, which is food they bring back up to chew a second time.
Questions about drawing a cow
What shapes do I need to draw a cow?
You need a big oval for the head, a rounded bowl shape for the body, a smaller oval for the snout, leaf shapes for the ears and horns, and two small squares for the legs. The spots are just wobbly ovals.
How do I make my cow look cuter?
Keep the eyes small and wide apart and add a little curved smile. A small bell on a collar and round spots also make the cow look sweet and friendly.
How do I draw a cow's spots so they look natural?
Make each spot a different size and a slightly uneven oval. Put them in different places, like one on the head and two on the body, so they do not look like a pattern.
