How to Draw: Kawaii Animals

Kawaii is a Japanese word meaning ‘super-cute’, and it’s a trend that’s sweeping the globe. Anything can be drawn in the kawaii style, from animals, people, vegetables and flowers to food, vehicles and household items. Here, expert comic book and manga artist Yishan Li shows you how to draw amazingly adorable animals in just a few simple steps. Draw the cutest rabbit you’ve ever seen, a playful panda, koala, fox, sheep and more. There are 28 different drawings to choose from, all full of personality and bubbling over with charm. Each one is developed in 8 easy stages from a rough sketch of the basic shapes through to the finished, coloured drawing, making this book suitable for adults and children of all ages and abilities.

“Drawing instruction books, perennially popular in library collections, succeed when they enable the reader to experience some degree of instant gratification. This assortment of kawaii (cute) animals provides eight steps for each creature, with a color-coded progression that guides the reader in distinguishing each step from the next. These eight in-progress illustrations are the only instruction given, aside from a few sentences of basic information regarding sketching, inking, and coloring provided in the introduction. The drawings start with very basic shapes that form the rough outline of each of 28 animals, and then add from there. The sketch moves from a very basic outline in step six to a detailed outline in step seven to a fully colored finished product in step eight, so the fine details that really make a drawing come alive will be up to readers to copy or embellish. Comics and manga fans may recognize the author, and though these animals are much less detailed than her other work, there is much here to be learned from this expert. -- Anne Heidemann Booklist 2020”

A great book for beginners! It certainly is just that. I was impressed by the simplicity of the book but with excellent results. This book would make an ideal Birthday or Christmas gift for people of all ages, providing they like drawing or animals.

I am someone who really and honestly cannot draw! I mean everyone can draw in some capacity but I draw most things badly, so I jumped at the chance to use these simple steps to improve my drawing abilities.

The book is so easy to follow, with 8 simple steps to the general shape of the animals. And then you are free to add your own details. They give you inspiration with one coloured in and completely detailed animal per page, so you can attempt a similar end result.

The steps are easy, you need a pencil, and I would recommend a rubber, so that you can erase any lines that you don’t need when you complete the finer details. Some lines are there to build shape but not needed at the end.

There are all sorts of animals, fish and birds in this book, something for everyone’s tastes.

I have given this book a 5-star review. It has something for everyone, with a variety of animals, easy steps to follow and it also gives people the freedom to add their own details, as well as getting great results.

Great book, ideal for beginners!

This book is fantastic and easy to follow. The animals couldn’t be any cuter! I find drawing animals freehand very difficult, but this book gives easy step by step applications so that anyone can give it a go. As I’ve practised I’ve gotten better and better at them too. An ideal book for anyone looking to improve their animal drawing skills whilst making them very cute too.

Yishan Li is a professional Manga artist who lives in Shanghai. Yishan has been drawing Manga since 1998 when she was in high school and she has subsequently been published internationally including China, North America, France and the UK. Visit her website

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