How to Draw Garfield

Garfield is perhaps the most famous feline in the world. Jim Davis' cartoon fat cat has been seen in thousands of newspapers and suction-cupped on car windows everywhere. For all his fame, Garfield is actually one of the simplest and easiest cartoon characters to draw. While some may create other ways to put the cat on paper, following Davis' own step-by-step process works best.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Draw the eyes first, starting with the closest (the one that will be a full circle). Add the eyeballs and draw the nose in the middle.

2. Add the mouth and jowls. Draw each mouth end from under the nose along the eyeballs. The jowls are small arcs above the mouth corners, starting from the edge of the eyes.

3. Draw the ears, two arches above the eyes with the edges drawn back down from the top. Draw the sides of the face down from the ears to complete the head. Add the shading on the ears, whiskers below them and the stripes on the head.

4. Draw the back starting from the back end of the head, in a round shape. Add the belly from the front of the head to complete the torso.

5. Add the arms and legs, depending on if you're drawing Garfield standing or sitting up. Draw the tail from the backside. Be aware of which parts of the body will be seen, and which will not, given the angle and the position that you've chosen for Garfield.

6. Add all the stripes along the back and tail to complete your Garfield drawing. Finish in crayon, colored pencil or ink for a dramatic look.

Tips & Warnings

• All Garfield characters--Jon, Odie, Nermal, Arlene--are drawn in this same style. Start with the eyes, add the rest of the face, complete the head from the top, and draw down to the rest of the body. Study the other characters and you should easily see which features go in which order.