How to Draw Maneki Neko from Anime

This anime drawing lesson will show you how to draw Maneki-neko, the lucky beckoning cat from the anime Natsume’s Book of Friends.

It should be noted that the image of Maneki-neko is very popular not only in its country of origin but also around the world.

You can see this character used in toys, logos, merchandise, and many other forms of visual design. This image has appeared in a large number of works of art, including the anime Natsume’s Book of Friends.

In this series, the character has a specific role and a recognizable appearance, which we will recreate in this drawing lesson.

At the same time, we will show you how to draw anime cats that have very distinctive and recognizable features.

How to draw Maneki-neko step by step

Step 1: Sketch the neko’s head and body

Start by sketching the rounded outlines of the head and torso. These two shapes should overlap slightly to create a natural base for the body. At this stage you can already decide on the pose and the general placement of the character on the page.

Step 2: Draw the anime cat’s ears, tail, and paws

On the head, draw the triangular ears on the sides using smooth lines, trying to keep them symmetrical. At the back of the torso sketch the tail, which has a distinctive rounded shape. Beneath the torso, add the small rounded paws of the cat.

Step 3: Draw the face of the Maneki neko

Now move to the face and draw the eyes as two geometric shapes resembling crescents, adding the pupils inside them. Between the eyes and slightly below, draw the nose as an upside-down triangle. From the lower point of this triangle, draw two curved lines to the sides to form the mouth.

Step 4: Draw the Maneki neko patterns and collar

The Maneki-neko from this anime has not only a characteristic facial expression but also a distinctive fur pattern. Between the ears on the head, sketch a pattern that resembles a hairstyle or cap. Then add the characteristic patch on the back. Draw the cat’s collar around the neck. After that, erase all construction lines and add the individual toes on the front paws.

Step 5: Ink the lines and add simple shading

To give your drawing a more anime or manga appearance and make it more expressive, outline it with clean, confident final lines. This can be done with a softer pencil, a liner, ink, or even a regular black pen. Adding a few simple anime-style shadows will make the drawing look more interesting and expressive.

Anime is a field of visual art where you can find a huge number of different cats. Each of them has distinctive traits and its own personality within the broader anime style.

For example, in our drawing tutorial on a kawaii cat we showed one possible variation of an anime-style feline. When drawing animals and characters in anime style, artists often use simplification and exaggeration, which makes the characters more recognizable and appealing.

A slightly different, yet still clearly recognizable anime style is shown in our chibi cat drawing tutorial. In that lesson, all the forms are simplified to the most minimal shapes, and the cat is designed to look as cute as possible.

The same principle clearly applies to Maneki-neko as well. Its appearance strongly reflects its personality, and you can experiment with different facial expressions to create your own variations of the character.

But this is not the only way to draw cat characters in the anime style. For example, you can also try drawing a neko girl, a type of character that often appears in anime artwork and illustrations.

It is important to develop your drawing skills without focusing only on Maneki-neko if your goal is to broaden your artistic abilities. Practice as often as possible and work on different types of characters and subjects.