Welcome to our ten-step tutorial for how to draw a cow! Cows are large and loveable and easily identifiable by their spots.
Chances are you’ve seen a cow—they live throughout the world and are quite common to see, as they are a very popular animal for domestication. Male cows are called bulls, and the female cow is just called a cow. Did you know the average cow weighs 1200 pounds? Cows are also very social animals, and often hang out together in a herd.
With all that said, let’s start drawing a cow! Gather some art supplies and keep reading below to get started!
How to Draw a cow — Let’s get started!
Materials:
- a piece of paper
- a pencil for the guiding lines and sketching
- an eraser
- a black sharpie or a pen for the outlines
- markers or colored pencils for coloring
- our printable drawing guide (Join my Email List below to get this Tutorial)
Get the FREE Printable Drawing Guide
Here are my RECOMMENDED Art Supplies!
- Crayola Coloring Set (140 Pieces – Mega Value!)
- 24 Colored Crayon Set
- A4 Printer Paper
- Crayola Coloring Pencils
- HP Home Printer with Instant Ink!
Time needed:
15 minutes.
Step 1 – Begin drawing the cow’s head.
Let’s start by drawing the top of the cow’s head. About three-quarters of the way up the page, draw a wide upside-down U-shape.
Keep reading to finish drawing the head.
Step 2 – Add more to the cow’s head.
Below the curve you just drew, draw a very wide oval. It should extend a bit wider than the first curve, and extend about halfway down the page. The mouth and nose are going to go in this oval.
Good job!
Step 3 – Add the cow’s horns and ears.
Let’s add more detail to the head. On either side, draw a semicircle coming out from the head. These are the ears.
Many cows and bulls have horns, so let’s add them now. Horns are used to provide defense from predators in the wild. Right above both of the ears, draw a triangle. Add some detail by drawing a few stripes inside the triangle.
Step 4 – Draw the cow’s face.
Of course our cow has to have a face! For the eyes, draw two dots a few inches apart from each other. Then, in the lower oval, draw a closed semi-circle for the nose. Draw a small curve inside it.
Lastly, draw two small ovals underneath the eyes. Refer to the photo to see what we mean!
Step 5 – Add the cow’s bell.
Oftentimes, cows wear bells so herders can keep track of them. Let’s add a bell to our cow now.
Underneath the oval from Step 2, draw a circle. Add a line in the middle. Connect the circle to the head with curved lines on the outside of it. It should kind of look like a necklace. Good job!
Step 6 – Add arms to the cow.
Let’s add the cow’s arms. Start with the right one. Draw a line extending down and out from the head. Then, draw a zig-zag line. Fill in the end of the line with triangles. Look at the photo to see what we mean.
Then, do the same exact thing on the left side, too!
Step 7 – Add the body of the cow.
Let’s add the rest of the body’s shape now. Draw a line extending down from the arm on both sides.
Then, make the same zig-zag shape at the bottom of the line and fill them in with triangles. Connect them with a slightly curved horizontal line. Definitely look at the photo for these shapes!
Step 8 – Add detail to the cow’s body.
Let’s draw the cow’s body. Draw a large oval inside the body. Now, let’s draw a tail! On the right side, draw two lines very close together. Add a leaf shape at the end to show the tuft of the tail.
Step 9 – Add spots!
This is the last step for drawing the cow itself, and here you will be adding one of their most unique features: spots!
We don’t know exactly why some cows have spots, but it’s one of their most distinctive traits. They probably have something to do with protection from predators and even bugs.
So, throughout the whole body, draw a bunch of squiggly lines to form spots on the cow!
Check out the photo for inspiration—however, the spots don’t have to be exactly the same, just have fun with it!
Step 10 – Color in your cow!
Last but not least, we’ve got to color in our creation!
Experiment with different colors and fill in the cow. Draw the spots a different color than the rest of the body. Good job!
Pin it now, Draw later!
Voila! Now you’ve created a cow! We hope you’ve learned some facts about cows, discovered some new drawing techniques, and had some fun in the process!
Hang up your masterpiece on the wall! If you want your cow to have barnyard friends, check out some of the other animal-themed tutorials. We’ve got lots!
Thanks for following along with our drawing tutorial!
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