In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Cow in 6 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Cow.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Cow - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Start with the head. It is a slightly crooked "U" shape. The top is wider than the bottom where the mouth is.
Step 2: At the very bottom of the "U" draw the small black nose. There is a small round eye just inside the right line of the snout. The ears are on the sides of the head and point out. Join them with a line that curves up in the middle.
Step 3: From the right side of the right ear draw the long, straight line back with a small curve at the rump.
Step 4: The neck line begins under the snout and curves down to the top of the front leg. Draw the line down to the black hoof and bring it back up into a rounded curve at the top.
Step 5: Continue the rump line down to make the hind leg. The hind leg is the same width at the bottom hoof as the front leg. The top of the hind leg is wider than the bottom. The lower body is a straight line between the two legs.
Step 6: Draw another front hoof in front of the first front hoof. Add another hind leg behind the first hind leg. Finally, add the long, thin tail from the rump.
Interesting Facts about Cows
The cow is part of the Bovinae family of animals, along with the African buffalo, yaks, bison, water buffalo and spiral-horned antelopes. And unlike any stories you may have heard, not one cow has ever jumped over the moon!
Cattle have played an important role in human history since the end of the Stone Age, about 10,000 years ago. Early farmers trained cattle to pull plows and wagons, to carry loads on their backs and to power machines, like irrigation pumps and grain grinding machines. These trained cattle are known as “oxen.”
Today, cattle are raised in farms in many parts of the world as dairy cows, which produce milk and other dairy products, and beef cattle, which provide us with red meat. Cow skin, or hide, is often used to make leather and cow manure is used to make fuel and fertilizer for plants.
Did you know?
- A female cow that has not had any babies is called a heifer. If she has had babies, she is called a cow.
- There are several names for a male cow that include “bull,” “steer” and “maverick.”
- When a cow eats, the food is softened in the stomach, into a mass called “cud,” which the cow regurgitates and chews again.
- Domestic cows, or cattle, out-number any other mammals, with an estimated 1.3 billion living across the world.
- Religions of the people of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt considered the cow as sacred. In India, injuring a cow is prohibited and its meat must not be eaten.
- Cattle are color-blind and cannot see red or green.
- The heaviest bull on record weighed 3,840 pounds; about the weight of a mid-sized car!
Cattle certainly are among the most common animals in the world. They have often been called the “Mothers of the World,” because of their milk production, which is an important source of nutrition for both children and adults, alike.
How to Draw A Cow – Quick Step-by-Step Tutorial