How to Draw a Cartoon Frog

By following the steps in this easy tutorial, you’ll learn how to draw a cartoon frog with big eyes and a wide smile.

On our website, we most often show how to draw realistic animals, but the cartoon style is not foreign to us either.

In our Cartoons category, we demonstrate how to draw people, animals, and characters in a cartoon style. We show how to keep realistic and natural details recognizable while simplifying them and giving them a familiar cartoon look.

Continuing this approach, in this lesson we’ll show you how to draw a cartoon frog in a very simple way, while still making it recognizable.

How to draw a cartoon frog step by step

Step 1: Mark the cartoon head as a circle

Cartoons use a very simplified style based on basic shapes. We’ll begin this cartoon frog drawing lesson with those shapes by sketching the head as a circle. Place this shape in the upper part of the page. The width and height of this circle will determine the proportions of the frog’s head.

Step 2: Draw the torso of the cartoon frog

The two most central parts of an animal’s figure are the head and the torso. You sketched the head in the previous step; now draw the torso of the cartoon frog directly below that shape. A frog’s head is fairly large in real life, so in a cartoon version it should be proportionally larger, or roughly the same size as the torso.

Step 3: Mark the eyes, cheeks, and smile

Cartoon animals usually have anthropomorphic faces with minimalistic features. Keep this in mind and sketch the shapes of the large eyes, the brow ridges above them, and the smile. On the sides of the face, indicate the outlines of the cheeks extending beyond the head shape from the first step.

Step 4: Draw the arms of the cartoon frog

The body details of cartoon characters and animals are also typically anthropomorphic. Therefore, sketch the arms with long, human-like fingers. Unlike human fingers, however, their tips should be more massive than their bases.

Step 5: Sketch the knees and the feet

Now, behind the arms and torso, lightly sketch the protruding knees. Below the hands, indicate the elongated feet. A frog’s feet should be noticeably longer than its arms. This will help convey the characteristic pose of a sitting frog.

Step 6: Trace the cartoon eyes and brows

In the previous steps, you sketched the basic outline of the cartoon frog. These were only preparatory stages before adding the final features. Starting from this step, use darker, cleaner pencil lines or a liner. Begin at the top of the head and carefully draw the cartoon eyes and the brow ridges above them in detail. Add the pupils and a few folds around the eyes.

Step 7: Draw the lower face of the cartoon frog

Continue the lines from the previous step by outlining the shape of the head and cheeks, giving them a smooth, bold appearance. Then, using the construction lines from earlier stages, draw a wide smile of the cartoon frog stretching from one side of the head to the other. Inside the mouth, you can indicate the tongue with a small curved line.

Step 8: Refine the frog’s arms and hands

The frog’s arms and legs should look as if the animal never skips gym workouts. Amphibians generally have fairly pronounced musculature, so this should also be reflected in the drawing. Using smooth lines, clearly outline the defined shoulders, upper arms, and forearms. Then outline the hands and erase all remaining construction lines.

Step 9: Trace the hind legs and feet

Now do roughly the same with the hind legs. Make the previously sketched knees darker and more defined. Outline the feet and the long toes, giving them a finished look. Finally, check the proportions and overall accuracy of your drawing, identify any inaccuracies or mistakes from earlier steps, and correct them if needed.

The cartoon style has several distinctive features that can be applied to your drawing. For example, regardless of the specific cartoon or character, the lines are usually very bold and clearly defined.

Anthropomorphism, as mentioned at the very beginning, is another noticeable trait of cartoon characters and is often used by artists in their work.

However, it’s important to note that not all cartoon characters are necessarily anthropomorphic. In our lesson on how to draw a cartoon butterfly, we showed that it’s possible to draw a cartoon animal without giving it human traits.

Another characteristic of the cartoon style is the use of bright colors. The style of our website is based on classic pencil drawing, which is why we didn’t add color and left that part up to you.

You can color your cartoon frog drawing using characteristic green and yellow tones. Alternatively, you can take a different approach and add more academic, volumetric shading to this sketch, creating an unusual combination of cartoon features and realistic light and shadow.