How to Draw a Cartoon Butterfly

This lesson on how to draw a cartoon butterfly will show you how to depict this beautiful insect in the simplest possible form.

A butterfly is already a fairly simple subject to draw, but it can be simplified even further. The cartoon style is often associated with slightly anthropomorphic creatures that have human-like facial features.

However, this is not the only way to draw cartoon characters. They can be depicted in many different ways, including forms that are much closer to a real insect.

In this lesson, we will show how to draw a cartoon butterfly with simplified features but without anthropomorphism.

In addition, butterflies are very diverse, and they differ most noticeably in the shape of their wings and the patterns on them.

By increasing or reducing the level of anthropomorphism, and by changing the wing shape and patterns, you can significantly alter and customize the look of your butterfly drawing.

How to draw a cartoon butterfly step by step

Step 1: Sketch the butterfly’s head and body

The main and most basic part of any butterfly drawing is its head and body – the central section. This is where you should start the entire process. First, sketch a rounded head. Then, slightly below it, draw the thorax as a slightly elongated oval. Directly beneath the thorax, draw the abdomen. All of these parts should be aligned symmetrically along a vertical axis.

Step 2: Draw the butterfly wing guidelines

Continue drawing the butterfly and start sketching the wings. At this step, draw three guideline lines for the wings. First, use long, curved lines to draw the upper edges of the wings. Then, use horizontal lines to draw the middle edges of the wings. Finally, use two short, curved lines to draw the lower edges of the wings.

Step 3: Complete the wing shapes

Now it’s time to close the wing shapes and give them a finished outline. Using smooth, symmetrical lines, first connect the top guidelines with the middle ones, then connect the middle lines with the lower ones. As a result, you should get two pairs of butterfly wings, with the upper wings slightly larger and the lower wings slightly smaller. You can vary the outlines, shapes, and curves of the wings as you like.

Step 4: Add patterns to the upper wings

As we mentioned earlier, butterfly wings can have very different shapes and textures. They can include many straight and curved lines, dots, ovals, and other organic elements. The main principle is to maintain symmetry on both sides. You can repeat the texture shown in our illustration or create your own design.

Step 5: Draw patterns on the lower butterfly wings

Now move on to the lower wings and add a texture similar to the one on the upper wings. Here as well, it’s very important to maintain symmetry so that the patterns on the left and right wings are mirror images of each other.

Step 6: Refine the wing textures and details

Add more texture to the wings to make the butterfly drawing more detailed and interesting. Here, just like in the previous steps, symmetry is very important. All patterns on the left side should be mirrored on the right. Fill in the remaining spaces and create an organic-looking pattern, while trying not to go into excessive detail.

In this lesson, we used a fairly realistic approach to show how to draw a cartoon butterfly. From here, you can make your drawing more anthropomorphic by adding, for example, human-like eyes.

For a more unique look, you can change the details and make the drawing simpler or more complex.

In addition, you can try creating a more complex and interesting composition by including multiple butterflies flying in different directions.

In general, having a basic ability to draw butterflies can be very useful when creating various complex and visually rich compositions.

If you want an even more detailed version of this insect, visit our main butterfly drawing lesson, where we show how to depict this beautiful creature in a slightly different way.

In that lesson, we increased the level of realism, made the drawing more detailed, and added more half-tones. For other insects, animals, and creatures, be sure to check out our Animals category.

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