How to Draw a Cow

Trying to draw beautiful cow art? With these steps you can be drawing cows in no time! Read to find out some information.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

A Cartoon Cow

  1. Image titled Draw a Cow Step 1
    1
    Sketch an outline of the face and body. Use a square with curved edges as an outline of the face. Draw a crossed line at the center of your square. Draw an oblong for the outline of the body.
  2. 2
    Sketch the eyes, nose and ears.
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  3. 3
    Sketch circles for the base of the cow’s limbs.
  4. 4
    Sketch the tail, and add details to the limbs of the cow.
  5. 5
    Frame the face and add details like the mouth and nose.
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    6
    Darken the outline of the cow’s body and add the udders.
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    7
    Add details, like spots on the cow's body.
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    8
    Color the cow.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

A Realistic Cow

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    1
    Draw an outline of the body. Use a vertical rectangle with a crossed line at the center for the face. Draw two large oblongs and connect them with curved lines for the body.
  2. 2
    Add a small oblong for the base of the foreleg and a bigger oblong for the base of the hind leg.
  3. 3
    Add the limbs, taking note of the joints using small circles. Draw the tail on the back of the cow.
  4. 4
    Refine details of the face by adding the eyes, nose and mouth.
  5. 5
    Using your outline, darken desired lines to form the cow’s trunk. Add the udders.
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    6
    Refine the lines of the limbs and tail.
  7. 7
    Erase unnecessary lines and add random small strokes on the cow’s body.
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    8
    Color the cow.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

A Front-Facing Cow

  1. 1
    Draw small and big circles as guides for the head and the body. The smaller circle is for the head and bigger is for the body. It should be connected the head’s circle is inside the bigger circle.
  2. 2
    Then, sketch the nose and the mouth. The nose could be oblong or circle depending on your preference.
  3. 3
    Add the face, the nose, the ears, the small horns, the eyes and the mouth. You can also experiment on the expression. The ears should be droopy.
  4. 4
    Sketch the legs.
  5. 5
    Add more shape to the body of the cow.
  6. 6
    Draw the basic outlines of the cow.
  7. 7
    Add more details like grass, patches on the skin, etc.
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    8
    Color the cow.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

A Grazing Cow

  1. 1
    Sketch the main body of the cow as a big rectangle. Add a horizontal line at the middle stretching to both left and right sides.
  2. 2
    Sketch the legs by drawing 3 connect oblongs of decreasing size.
  3. 3
    Repeat the previous step for another set of legs.
  4. 4
    Sketch the guidelines for the front legs. Add circle near the edge farther from the body for the joints.
  5. 5
    Add more shape to the front legs.
  6. 6
    Sketch the guide for the head. It can be done first by drawing a diagonal line from the edge of the line in the middle of the body. Then, draw a circle for the head and a cup-like shape for the mouth area.
  7. 7
    Connect the head to the body.
  8. 8
    Sketch the ears and the face.
  9. 9
    Add more details like the tail and the udder.
  10. 10
    Draw the basic outline.
  11. 11
    Add more details like grass, patches, shadowing, etc.
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    12
    Color the cow as you like.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    Where can I find simple images of cow art?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Go to Google and search for "cow clip art." Then click "images" at the top and you will see lots of simple cow art.
  • Question
    How do I make the legs not so skinny?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    It is okay to have skinny legs, but if you prefer to avoid them, increase the angle of the upper leg and decrease the angle of the lower leg.
  • Question
    Why do all of these pictures look hard to draw?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Everything difficult takes time to master, the same goes with drawing. The more you practice, the better you'll become and the easier it will be.
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Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Pencil sharpener
  • Eraser
  • Colored pencils, crayons, markers, paint, or watercolors
  • Shaders (optional)

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About This Article

Tested by:
wikiHow Video Team
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 53 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 261,792 times.
8 votes - 75%
Co-authors: 53
Updated: December 22, 2021
Views: 261,792
Categories: Drawing Animals
Article SummaryX

To draw a cartoon cow, sketch a square with curved edges attached to a large, horizontal oval. Sketch the circular eyes, rounded rectangular snout, and curved ears on the square, and draw circles on each side of the body for the base of the cow’s limbs. Then, draw the tail and elongate the legs with hooves. Add details to the face, like a mouth and nose, and darken the outline of the cow. Add spots and color the cow to finish the drawing. For more tips, including how to draw a realistic cow, scroll down!

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