How to Draw Cartoon Ded Moroz

Now we’ll show you how to draw cartoon Ded Moroz – the East Slavic version of the Christmas gift-bringer and the main character of the New Year holiday.

Initially, in Slavic mythology, Ded Moroz was the personification of winter frosts. The final image of Ded Moroz was formed in the late ’30s of the 20th century.

Ded Moroz is depicted as an old man in a blue, red, or white coat, with a long white beard, a staff in his hand, and boots on his feet.

In many ways, this character is similar to the American and European Santa Claus, and this lesson can also be used to draw Santa, since the modern look of Father Frost is inspired by him.

How to draw cartoon Ded Moroz step by step

Step 1: Create the cartoon body framework

First, sketch out the figure. It will be very different from the usual human figure. This Ded Moroz is drawn in a cartoon style. The main differences are that cartoon characters have large, round heads, short height, and short legs. So, sketch the head using a circle. After that, sketch the arms, spine, and legs using simple lines.

Step 2: Draw the cartoon nose of Ded Moroz

Now begin adding the details, starting with the upper part of the winter character’s head. First, draw the cartoon nose of Ded Moroz in the shape of a large potato. You can depict this part of the face with one long line, starting at the bridge of the nose, then smoothly continuing the line to form the ridge and tip, and finishing it at the nostril.

Step 3: Sketch the Santa-style winter hat

Now move to the upper part of the head and outline the hat, which is very similar to Santa’s headwear. First, sketch the lower fur section in the form of a horizontal band. Then draw the upper part as a curved triangle. You can also add a round pom-pom at the tip of the hat.

Step 4: Draw the cartoon face of Ded Moroz

Starting from this step, be especially attentive, because it’s time to add the facial details, which should also be outlined from the top down. First, sketch the eyebrows, partially hidden under the hat. Next, draw the cartoon eyes beneath them. After that, outline a couple of wrinkles on each side of the eyes.

Step 5: Add the mustache, beard, and ears

Right under the nose, draw the mustache consisting of two triangular halves. Next, outline the beard as a long triangular shape, or give it a more rounded contour. After that, sketch the visible ear and add a small line inside to indicate its structure.

Step 6: Mark the collar and sleeve shapes

Now move on to the clothing and draw the large cartoon collar of Ded Moroz, which looks slightly more voluminous than Santa’s. Then outline the sleeves as two slightly curved rectangles or cylinders. At the ends of the sleeves, you can also add fur cuffs.

Step 7: Draw the cartoon mittens of Ded Moroz

Now outline the visible parts of the wrists using simple short lines. Next, sketch the mittens, which consist of two sections – one covering the thumb and one covering all the other fingers. In most versions, Ded Moroz wears mittens, but you can draw gloves instead if you prefer.

Step 8: Outline the coat bottom and boots

Now draw the lower part of the coat and sketch the boots of Ded Moroz. Remember that you need to check the proportions of the drawing from time to time. To do this, you can look at it in a mirror or move the drawing farther away from you.

Step 6: Erase guidelines and draw the gift bag

Erase the extra guidelines and draw the bag with gifts. Darken the lines of the drawing. In addition, you can add some interesting details to make your drawing of Ded Moroz more unique or unusual. You can also add shadows to give the sketch a more volumetric look.

Ded Moroz is perhaps one of the most popular characters in East Slavic tales and mythology. This character has many interpretations, and in most of them he is quite similar to Santa, though he also has differences – for example, the ability to freeze things.

We tried to depict this character in the simplest style in this lesson, but you can draw Ded Moroz in a more realistic and volumetric manner using our more advanced tutorial.

If you want to draw other Slavic fairy-tale characters, visit our lessons about how to draw Baba Yaga – the most popular witch from the Eastern European mythology, and how to draw Koschei the Deathless – the leach king from fairy tales.