Tips for Beginners

Cute Bear Drawing for Absolute Beginners and Beyond

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Elizas_art_tips

In this quick and easy tutorial you are going to learn how to draw cute animals through the example of this cuddly fluffy bear.

Hi!

I'm Eliza and I'm an illustrator and art teacher who taught more than 30 000 students all around the globe on how to paint and draw with ease.

So if they could draw this bear, then you can too!

Also, you don't have to be a Clip Studio Paint expert to be able to follow this tutorial. I've kept the "technical" side intentionally super-simple, so you will be able to understand it even if you've never opened Clip Studio Paint before.

This is an absolutely beginner-friendly tutorial, so there is really nothing to fear, I can guarantee if you follow my step-by-step instructions you will be able to draw a cute bear in no time!

General Advices

Befor we start drawing, let's discuss some general tips & trick that can make your characters even cuter than before.

Tip #1 BLUSH:

You won't believe me until you try it out, but this is my top "cute character drawing" secret.

Trust me, a little blush can make so much difference, it can turn your average character into the cuddliest little fluffball you've ever drawn.

So don't forget to add some blush to your character to make it look cuter. A blush can be anything like:

-little circles

-heart shapes

-or simply just some lines on the cheeks

Hint: I added the pinkish blush with a round watercolor wash under my line art to make this bear even more adorable:

TIP #2 LINE WEIGHT:

If you use the same sized pencil for your entire artwork, that could lead to a boring / average looking character. Vary the thickness of your contour lines to make your artwork more interesting visually - and to give some uniqueness to your character's personality.

I know there is a common misunderstanding and many artists are afraid of adding bold, thick lines to a character in fear of it will loose it's cuteness, but in my opinion bolder lines can add a little spunk to your cute character.

Compare these two bears below, while the left one has a more innocent-cute look, the right one with bolder, edgier outlines also has it's natural cuteness - he looks like a mischievous , but adorable little rascal.

TIP #3 ROUND SHAPES:

Try avoiding spiky / angular shapes and use rounder shapes instead.

Art psychologists long time know that each shape can influence our minds differently, so use round shapes to draw your characters, because they tend to be linked to pleasantness and happiness in your brain.

What it means in practice:

Draw chubby instead of skinny
Short legs and arms with an excess fat on it

To sum up: you are doing it wrong if your characters look like they have a high chance of winning Miss Bikini Word 2023, but you are on the right track if your characters' bodies look exactly like chubby little potatoes :)

And the last advice I would like to give you is:

TIP #4 LESS IS MORE:

When drawing cute animals refrain yourself from adding too much details.

These are not hyperrealistic drawings when you need to draw every single hair of the fur to make your bear look like a real one.

When drawing cute animals, it's more than enough to add details very sparingly, some fur lines here and there, some paws and cute little claws are o.k. , but don't go overboard with it.

Now, enough of the theoretical part an let's get really started!

Draw a Cute Waving Bear

Open a new document in Clip Studio Paint.

File --> New

In the pop-up window I choose:

1. Size: 3000px width x 2000 px height

(You can always change your canvas size later in Edit --> Change canvas size)

2. Resolution: 72 dpi

Since this drawing won't be printed out, it will just go for the web, 72 dpi is enough. (Although, if you want to print out your drawing, use 300dpi or higher)

My favorite go-to for line art is a simple brush pen ( Brush tool --> India ink --> brush pen)

Our first layer is a sketch layer. I love to draw my sketches in red color, but you can choose any other color you prefer.

For the bear's body draw an upside-down letter "U" shape:

Then draw a circle at the top of the "U" shape - this will be the bear's head.

Divide the head into 4 parts:

Draw the ears where the circle intersects with the body.

Not mandatory step: I like to flatten the top of the head between the two ears. You may skip this step if you want.

Draw the muzzle in the middle of the head.

You can draw it as an egg-shape / oval.

Add the nose and the mouth as well:

Draw two guidelines from the nose towards the bottom of the ears The eyes will "sit" on these guidelines around 1/3 length from the nose to 2/3 parts of the ears:

Draw a guideline for the shoulders - it's a horizontal line at the height of the head.

The arms will start from there.

Draw the wawing hand as a chubby banana shape, while you can think of the other hand as the shape of a loaf of french bread:

Draw the tummy and add the scarf.

Think of the scarf as a letter "C" shape curved around the neck, covering the bear's chin:

Draw the scarf floating in the air - you can draw it as swirling wavy lines.

You can even add frills on the scarf if you want.

And finally draw the paw on the upper hand ( as the bear's palm is facing towards us) and draw 2-3 tiny claws on both hands.

Now you finished the bear's sketch - turn down the opacity for this layer around 40% and create a new layer above this sketch layer.

Our drawing will be on this new layer.

I switch to a black color for the line drawing and my chosen brush is the same brush pen I used for the sketch ( Brush tool --> India ink --> Brush Pen)

Outline the entire bear.

Hint: Don't forget about line weight is your best friend at this stage. Outline your bear with thick, bold lines and then add the finer details of the face ( muzzle, nose, mouth) with a much thinner sized brush.

Add some fur texture on the forehead and on the tummy. Draw the fur as tiny quick paralell lines in rows:

Add some folds on the scarf.

Don't overdo it -remember: it's not a hyperrealistic drawing, so keep it simple with just some lines here and there.

And finally add two heart shaped blushes on the cheeks - look, I told you it will make your bear extra cute :)

Now you finished, switch off the sketch layer and here is your cute bear:

EXTRA TIP: Adding a background colors

EXTRA TIP: adding a background that makes your character pop out of the picture

Since Christmas is around the corner, I created a winter holiday themed colored version of this bear drawing.

Hereby, I listed out the colors I used:

I painted the bear white ( maybe it's a polar bear) , so I decided to add a black Christmas tree silhouette behind it -only because black and white can create a nice color contrast and it helps the bear "pop out" of the picture.

In my experience when drawing cute characters:

1. Color contrast is your best friend

2. Muted / pastel tones works very well with cute drawings

3. Use a limited color palette

I colored the picture with the Fill tool ( Paint Bucket ) to keep this tutorial super simple, but please feel free to discover the variety of super cool brushes Clip Studio Paint offers and you might try painting it with a more complex background.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Happy Drawing!

Eliza