How to Draw a Dog
Draw a sitting dog step by step from a circle, two ovals, and a few curved lines, then turn the same shapes into a standing dog or a specific breed.
You will end up with a pencil sketch of a friendly sitting dog, built from a circle for the head, ovals for the snout and body, and a few curved lines for the legs, ears, and tail. Draw every shape lightly at first. They are guidelines, and in step 7 you darken the final outline and erase what is left of them.
Grab a pencil and some paper and follow along. Your first attempt will look a little rough. That is expected, because the shapes underneath get refined as you go. Once the sitting dog works, FAQ 4 below shows how to stand it up, and FAQ 2 how to turn it into a particular breed.
A pencil (regular No. 2 is fine). An eraser. A sheet of blank paper. That is it. Printer paper, sketch paper, or even notebook paper works. If you want to be fancy, a slightly softer pencil (2B or 4B) gives you smoother, darker lines. But a standard pencil from a desk drawer does the job.
Draw a circle for the head
Start near the top center of your paper. Draw a circle about the size of a quarter. It does not need to be perfect. A slightly lumpy circle is fine. This is the head. Leave plenty of room below it because the body and legs will extend downward. Draw the circle lightly so you can erase parts of it later.
Add the snout and jaw
From the lower half of the circle, draw a smaller oval or rounded rectangle that extends downward and slightly forward. This is the snout. It should be about half the width of the head circle and extend down about one-third of the head's height. Connect the snout to the head circle with smooth curved lines on each side. Add a small oval or rounded triangle at the bottom of the snout for the nose. Draw a short vertical line down from the nose and a gentle curved line on each side for the mouth. The mouth curves should look like a relaxed smile.
Draw the ears and eyes
Add two floppy ears by drawing curved teardrop or leaf shapes hanging from each side of the head circle. Start each ear where the circle begins to curve at the top and let it droop down past the bottom of the circle. For a different look, draw pointed triangles instead for erect ears. For the eyes, place two small ovals or circles just below the middle of the head circle, evenly spaced on either side of the center line, so there is plenty of forehead above them. Add a small filled-in circle inside each eye for the pupils. Leave a tiny white spot in each pupil for a highlight. This small detail makes the eyes look alive instead of flat.
Good to know: Eye placement sets the expression. In a 2009 experiment, photographs of human babies edited to have a rounder face and a higher forehead were rated cuter than the same babies edited to have a narrower face and a lower forehead. Borrow those features for your dog. For a friendly, puppy-like dog, leave plenty of skull above the eyes and keep the snout short. For an older, more serious dog, do the opposite, with the eyes higher on the head and more space below them.
Sketch the body
Below the head, draw a larger oval tilted slightly. This is the torso. For a sitting dog, the oval should be almost vertical, slightly wider at the top (chest) than the bottom. The top of the oval should sit just below the head circle, leaving a short gap. Connect the head to the body with a short curved line on each side for the neck. The neck should be narrower than both the head and body, creating a gentle taper.
Add the front legs and paws
Draw the two front legs going straight down from the chest area of the body oval, each as a pair of parallel lines. They should be roughly the same length as the body oval is tall. At the bottom of each leg, draw a small rounded rectangle or oval for the paw. The paws should be slightly wider than the legs. Add two or three short vertical lines on each paw to suggest toes. Front legs on a sitting dog are straight and parallel, so draw each line as a single steady downward stroke.
Draw the back legs and tail
For a sitting dog, the back legs are folded. Draw a curved line from the middle of the body oval going backward and then down, ending at a paw at the same level as the front paws. This creates the visible haunch. The back paw should be slightly larger and flatter than the front paws. On the opposite side, the other back leg is mostly hidden by the body. Just show the paw peeking out. For the tail, draw a curved line extending from the rear of the body oval, curving upward or to the side. Make it fluffy, thin, curled, or straight, whatever suits your dog.
Refine and add details
Go over your drawing and darken the final outline. Erase the guideline shapes (the original circles and ovals) that are still visible inside the body. Add small details to bring the dog to life: short curved lines inside the ears for the inner fold, a few lines on the chest for fur texture, two short curves above the eyes for eyebrows, and a small curved line above each paw for the wrist. You do not need many details. A few well-placed lines communicate texture and personality better than covering the drawing in marks.
Draw the same sitting dog three times in a row, erasing the guidelines each time. If a part keeps coming out wrong, go back to its step and check the proportion there: the snout about half the width of the head (step 2), the eyes just below the middle of the head circle (step 3), and the front legs about as long as the body oval is tall (step 5). Then change the proportions rather than the method. FAQ 2 below shows which proportions turn the same framework into a dachshund, a pug, or a greyhound, and FAQ 4 shows how to draw the dog standing. For another project from the same series, our guide on how to make a paper airplane needs only a sheet of paper.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Yes. Wobbly lines and imperfect circles are part of the charm of a hand-drawn sketch. The shapes are guidelines, not finished art. They get covered, erased, and refined as you go. A freehand circle will never look like one drawn with a compass, and it does not need to. Sketching rough and cleaning up afterward is the normal order of work, not a beginner's shortcut. Your lines do not need to be precise. They just need to be in approximately the right place.
Change the proportions. Short legs and a long body make a dachshund. A flat face and round head make a pug. Tall, thin legs and a narrow snout make a greyhound. Big floppy ears make a basset hound. Pointed ears and a thick body make a husky. Start with the basic shape framework from this guide and adjust the proportions to match the breed. Look at a reference photo and notice what makes that breed visually distinct.
Any regular pencil works for this guide. For sketching, start with a 2B. It is soft enough to create smooth, dark lines but firm enough for detail work. HB pencils (the standard No. 2) are slightly harder and lighter, good for guidelines. 4B and 6B pencils are very soft and dark, good for shading.
Use the same shapes but change the body position. Make the body oval horizontal instead of vertical. Extend all four legs down to the same length. Keep the front legs vertical and angle the back legs slightly so they look natural. A standing dog's body is longer relative to its height than a sitting dog's. The tail extends backward from the horizontal body rather than from the bottom of a vertical body.
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How to Draw a Dog
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