Japanese kawaii culture is ranging from almost anything, for it being just a word that means 'cute' in English, to it being considered as a popular fashion statement. Aside from what was mentioned, there are many more categories where the word kawaii is heavily implied, like lifestyle, personal items (bags, bed, towels, makeup, etc.) and other merchandise.

Related: Kawaii cat product collection

For a lot of items like clothes, personal items, collectible items and all the others, the kawaii or cute images which are usually associated with them are popular 90s cartoon characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody, Keroppi, Strawberry Shortcake and Sailor Moon. Animals are also considered to be part of the kawaii culture, there are cute versions of many animals where they are drawn with a more larger head or sparkling anime style eyes, even the scary and wild ones can transform into something super kawaii. One of the most popular one of these animals are cats. These feline fur babies are very easily placed into this category because they are already cute as it is. Another reason is, since Japan is the sole origin of the kawaii culture, Japanese people are known to be very fond of cats due to their belief that cats naturally bring them good luck and fortune (Maneki-neko anyone? Those Japanese cat statues with one paw facing upwards like its beckoning you). 

Do you like the image of a kawaii cat and you want to try drawing one yourself? Don't hesitate just because you don't have any art background, we have a very easy tutorial that you can try to follow, so let's get down to business, shall we?

This drawing can be done by traditional freehand drawing using pen and paper or digitally by using any graphic software with stylus. You can try do it on your tablet or iPad using Procreate app or even your phone if you think you can do it, go ahead! Below is a step by step guide on how you can draw your own kawaii cat (this one's a white cat), and you'll see specially highlighted parts that you need to draw next so you won't be confused with the sequence. Let's start!

Related: 6 easy procreate kawaii drawings

Step 1

Draw two ovals shapes, the one on top should be horizontal and the one at the bottom should be vertical, try to erase any overlapping lines inside the head for a more cleaner result, these will serve as the kitty's head and body respectively. You can always do the head first and make it a little bit more larger than the body base line. Or if you want a fat cute cat, make the body a little bit wider, but you can experiment with those later on. 

Step 2

Draw a pair of cute kitty ears on top of the head, just follow the way I drew the cat's ears on the photo below. Add a little bit of detail by drawing smaller ones on the inside of the first and add some shades in it.

Step 3

Next, draw a pair of cute eyes. Kawaii cats usually have a pair of just plain black eyes with or without highlights, but we'll go with no highlights on this tutorial first, you can always add details later on. 

Step 4

Draw a tiny nose by adding a tiny oval shape in the middle of the face like the one in the photo below. Then add in two curved lines going upwards at the bottom of the nose, this is resembling the number 3 and this is the most common kind of mouth drawn for any kawaii character. Aside from that, that's what a real cat's mouth looks like anyway. Talk about cuteness for real.



Step 5

It's time to add in some kawaii cat feet. Draw two ovals at the bottom of the body, for both lower left and lower right and make it slightly slanting away from each other, this will serve as this cute kitty's hind legs (which are facing upward, the cat is laying on its back). Draw two narrow curves on top of the hind legs (see photo below) and this will serve as her front paws. 

Step 6

Add in a few tiny details like whiskers on its face (though some kawaii cat drawings don't really put in whiskers, but we're doing it anyway). Try to draw  those irresistible little paws on its hind legs (the ones in pink on the photo below) for a little bit more kawaii-ness, you can do this by drawing four tiny dots arranged around another small oval to imitate cute paw prints. Don't you just love how cute that looks? But we're not done yet.

Step 7 

Start drawing a fluffy tail, or even a slim tail if you want, it can be whichever of the two, but for this tutorial, we'll go with a thick, fluffy tail because, why not? Start from the right side of its body, draw some curves upwards then take a U-turn then go back to the starting point, make sure you follow the pattern you created so the tail would look neat.

Step 8

Your kawaii cat drawing is almost done, now you just have to add a few more finishing touches like some cute blush on its cheeks and a ball of yarn in between its front paws, since this kawaii cat drawing is laying on its back, it will make it look like she's happily playing. Every cat is crazy about yarn. But you can do any other cat toys or items, it's really up to you.

Ta-da!

Congratulations! You just created your first kawaii cat drawing, now that you have an idea on the basics, try to do a little more experimentation using your imagination, like different body types or positions, a little bit more perspective, if I may add, you can also do a different colored cat or with a different pattern. You can look for inspiration online on what kind of pattern do cats typically have and try to imitate them in your drawing. 

You can see on the finished product below that I added a few more details like some stripes on its head and body, as well as some black detail on its tail that you can also try to do.

Drawing kawaii cats is easy, and you can master creating them with a lot of options for colors, patterns, poses, etc. Don't we just love our kitties? As long as you know all of the elements which makes an ordinary cat a kawaii cat, then you're good to go. Use your imagination and fill your room with a lot of your kawaii cat drawings. 

And if you're in a good mood for some kawaii cat item shopping, why don't you go ahead and check Kawaii Vibe's kawaii cat collection for some super cute kitty products, from cute cat ear headphones (which are noise cancelling, by the way), adorably squishable cat lamps, super huggable kawaii cat plushies, and many more! Check out the entire collection by clicking here. You might even find some inspiration for your kawaii cat drawings as well.

Which kawaii drawing tutorial do you want us to do next? Why don't you tell us on the comments below. Happy drawing!