How to Draw a Cartoon Penguin

The steps in this simple tutorial will show you how to draw a cartoon penguin with its characteristic black-and-white coloring.

In one of our other, more detailed tutorials, we showed how to draw a penguin in a realistic, volumetric style.

In this guide, using the same animal as a contrasting example, we will show how the principles of cartoon character drawing work in practice.

Simplification, exaggeration, generalization, anthropomorphism, and other methods used to create expressive cartoon characters are clearly demonstrated here, so let’s begin.

How to draw a cartoon penguin step by step

Step 1: Sketch the penguin’s head and body

Start by sketching the penguin’s body using simple geometric shapes, similar to ovals or eggs. The smaller oval placed at the top represents the bird’s head, while the larger oval slightly below forms the torso. Using these basic shapes will help you place the details correctly later and create a cohesive drawing.

Step 2: Draw the beak of the cartoon penguin

Next, draw the cartoon beak of the penguin in the lower half of the head, consisting of an upper and a lower part. For a more cartoon-like effect, raise the corner of the beak slightly to create a smiling expression. This is an example of anthropomorphism, meaning giving the animal human-like, more relatable features.

Step 3: Outline the eyes of the cartoon bird

Directly above the beak, draw two vertically elongated ovals to indicate the penguin’s eyes. Inside them, add two smaller ovals or circles to represent the pupils. These large, expressive eyes are an example of exaggeration and simplification, which make a cartoon character more engaging and memorable.

Step 4: Draw the penguin’s face pattern

A penguin’s most noticeable feature is its black-and-white pattern. It can vary slightly between different penguins. Draw a line separating the black and white areas on the head, and at the same time indicate the cheeks and the brow ridges of the bird.

Step 5: Sketch the neck and wings

Connect the penguin’s head and torso with a pair of short, smooth lines to form the neck. Then, using a pair of long, slightly curved oval shapes, draw the cartoon wings of the penguin on the sides. Avoid overly complex forms and stick to the principles of simplification.

Step 6: Draw the feet of the cartoon penguin

Now, below the torso, draw the bird’s feet, angled slightly outward. Use smooth lines and try to keep both limbs the same in size and shape. These simple, rounded forms without extra details, such as claws or texture, are also part of the simplification used in creating cartoon characters.

Step 7: Polish the penguin drawing

Now carefully remove all the guide lines that were sketched in the first step but are no longer needed in the finished drawing. The right and left sides of the penguin should be symmetrical, so check that carefully. Even though the body parts are simple and cartoon-like, they should still not look visually incorrect or uneven.

Step 8: Outline the drawing and fill the black areas

Outline the penguin with dark, bold lines, varying the line weight along the curves to create a more lively effect. Fill in the black areas of the body as well as the pupils, leaving small white highlights inside them.

Cartoon penguin drawing principles

Drawing cartoon animals is a distinct field within character design. You have likely seen such characters in many animated series, games, and book illustrations.

The core principles are very similar across these examples, and we aimed to demonstrate them in this cartoon penguin drawing tutorial.

Readability of form is one of the most important principles in drawing cartoon animals – if you look at your penguin drawing even without any details, it is immediately clear what kind of animal it is.

Simplification was also practiced throughout the steps of this tutorial, keeping all the details recognizable while avoiding unnecessary complexity.

Exaggeration is shown through the large, expressive eyes and the rounded feet, while anthropomorphism is evident in the penguin’s human-like smile.

All of these principles can now be practiced further by drawing the cartoon penguin in different situations. Try drawing this animal not only on its own in various poses, but also placing it into simple scenes.

These same principles can also be applied when drawing other cartoon animals.

For example, you can draw a cartoon fish using one of our tutorials and see that these methods work even for very different shapes.

You can also choose to use only some of these techniques, as shown in our cartoon pig drawing tutorial, where anthropomorphism was largely not used.