All Activities
Draw A Sleeping Cartoon

Draw A Sleeping Cartoon
Green highlight

Draw a sleeping cartoon character using simple shapes, shading, and peaceful facial features. Practice sketching, proportion, and adding cozy details.

Orange shooting star
Start Drawing
Collect Badge
Background blob
Challenge Image
Table of contents

Step-by-step guide to draw a sleeping cartoon

What you need
Black pen or fine liner (optional), colouring materials (crayons markers colored pencils), eraser, paper, pencil, sharpener (optional)

Step 1

Gather your paper pencil eraser and colouring materials and set them on your workspace.

Step 2

Lightly sketch a large oval for the head a smaller oval for the body and a rounded rectangle for the pillow.

Step 3

Draw a faint vertical center line and a horizontal eye line inside the head to help place features.

Step 4

Sketch two curved lines for closed eyes a small curved smile and a tiny nose to make a peaceful face.

Step 5

Add soft eyebrows above the eyes to give a calm expression.

Step 6

Draw simple hair and a small ear to finish the head shape.

Step 7

Sketch the body pose with gentle curves showing the character curled or lying down.

Step 8

Draw the pillow behind the head with rounded corners and a few wrinkle lines.

Step 9

Draw the blanket over the body with wavy fold lines that follow the body curves.

Step 10

Add cozy extras like a nightcap little Zs above the head and a simple pattern on the blanket.

Step 11

Shade gently under the pillow along blanket folds with light pencil strokes to add depth.

Step 12

Erase stray construction lines and tidy any smudges to clean up the drawing.

Step 13

Trace the final outlines with a darker pencil or pen to make your lines bold.

Step 14

Colour your sleeping cartoon using your colouring materials and add small highlights if you like.

Step 15

Share your finished creation on DIY.org

Final steps

You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!

Complete & Share
Challenge badge placeholder
Challenge badge

Help!?

What can we use if we don't have the listed colouring materials or eraser?

Use sharpened pencils for colour and shading, a soft tissue or a rolled-up bread eraser as an eraser substitute, and a ballpoint pen or darker pencil to trace the final outlines.

My face features or blanket folds look wrong—what step should I redo or adjust?

Go back to the step where you lightly sketch a large oval and draw the faint vertical center line and horizontal eye line to realign the eyes and mouth, then practice the wavy blanket folds on scrap paper and darken strokes slowly.

How can I adapt this drawing for different ages?

For younger children simplify shapes to one big oval for the head and a single blanket curve and use chunky crayons, while older kids can add fine hair details, wrinkle lines, shading under the pillow, and pattern work on the blanket.

How can we extend or personalize the sleeping cartoon after finishing the basic drawing?

Add cozy extras like a patterned nightcap or initials on the blanket, create a dream-cloud scene above the little Zs, deepen the shading under the pillow for depth, and then colour and share your finished creation on DIY.org.

Watch videos on how to draw a sleeping cartoon

0:00/0:00

Here at SafeTube, we're on a mission to create a safer and more delightful internet. 😊

How to Draw Napping Pusheen | Sleeping Cat

4 Videos

Facts about cartoon drawing for kids

😴 A tiny smile and gently closed eyes (curved lines) often make a sleeping cartoon look peaceful and cozy.

🎨 Cartoonists build characters from simple shapes—circles, ovals, and rectangles—to help keep proportions consistent.

📐 Exaggerating head-to-body ratios (big heads, small bodies) — like 1:2 or 1:3 — makes characters look cuter and more expressive.

🖌️ Soft shading along the edges (light strokes or smudging) makes blankets and faces look warm without heavy detail.

💤 The 'Zzz' symbol for sleep became popular in comic strips in the early 1900s.

How do I draw a sleeping cartoon character step-by-step?

Start with a light pencil sketch of simple shapes: a circle for the head, an oval for the body, and small rounded shapes for hands and feet. Mark the centerline to place facial features, then draw closed eyes (curved lines), a small relaxed mouth, and a soft nose. Add cozy details like a pillow, blanket folds, and tufts of hair. Use light shading for shadows under the blanket and eyelids, then outline and color with gentle, muted tones.

What materials do I need to draw a sleeping cartoon?

You’ll need plain drawing paper, a set of pencils (HB and 2B), a soft eraser, and a pencil sharpener. Optional extras: colored pencils or markers for color, a blending stump or cotton bud for soft shading, a fine liner for outlining, and a reference photo of a sleeping pose. A comfortable workspace with good lighting helps children focus and see subtle shading.

What ages is drawing a sleeping cartoon suitable for?

This activity suits ages 4–12 with adjustments: ages 4–6 can trace or use large simple shapes with adult supervision; ages 7–9 can practice proportion, basic shading, and cozy details independently; ages 10–12 can refine expression, shading, and composition. Tailor complexity to the child’s fine motor skills and attention span, offering step-by-step guidance for younger kids.

What are the benefits of drawing sleeping cartoons for kids?

Drawing sleeping characters builds fine motor control, observation, and proportion skills while encouraging patience and calm focus. It supports emotional expression—children learn to convey mood through simple facial features—and boosts creativity with cozy props and backgrounds. Regular practice improves shading and sketching confidence and can be a relaxing, screen-free activity that fosters storytelling and imaginative play.
DIY Yeti Character
Join Frame
Flying Text Box

One subscription, many ways to play and learn.

Try for free

Only $6.99 after trial. No credit card required

To create a safe space for kid creators worldwide!

Discovery Tools

DIY Wiki

DIY TV

Creativity Tools

How to draw

Teacher Tools

SafeTube

DIY Blog

2025, URSOR LIMITED. All rights reserved. DIY is in no way affiliated with Minecraft™, Mojang, Microsoft, Roblox™ or YouTube. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO® Group which does not sponsor, endorse or authorize this website or event. Made with love in San Francisco.

Draw A Sleeping Cartoon. Activities for Kids.