Rat Drawing: Easy Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Rats have a bit of a reputation problem, and frankly, it’s unfair. Real rats are clever, tidy, and — when drawn with round ears and big shiny eyes — completely charming. This guide will show you how to draw a rat so cute it might just fix that reputation single-pawedly. 🐾

Our rat is built from two overlapping shapes: an egg for the head and a bigger egg for the body. Add ears, whiskers, and that famous long tail, and you’re done. If little round rodents are your speed, our easy mouse drawing makes a sweet companion project — draw both and compare their ears.

What You’ll Need

• Paper
• A pencil
• An eraser
• Optional: gray or brown, plus pink for ears and tail

Step 1: Draw the Head

Draw an egg shape tilted so its narrow end points down and to the left — that pointy end will become the snout. Place it left of center on your page, leaving plenty of room behind it for the body and tail.

Step 2: Add the Body

Behind the head, draw a bigger, rounder egg lying on its side, overlapping the head a little. Rats are pear-shaped when they sit — narrow at the shoulders, plump at the back. Let the bottom of both shapes line up along the same imaginary ground.

Step 3: Give It Round Ears

On top of the head, draw two generous circles for ears — one in full view, one peeking from behind it. Inside the front ear, add a smaller curve for the inner ear. Set them high and slightly back on the head, not on the forehead. Big round ears are the single cutest feature a rat has, so be generous.

Step 4: Draw the Face

Near the middle of the head, draw one large circle eye with a big white shine dot (we’re viewing our rat from the side, so one eye is all we see). Cap the snout tip with a small rounded nose, and tuck a tiny smile curve just beneath it. The bigger the eye shine, the friendlier the face.

Step 5: Add the Paws

Under the chest, draw two small front paws like tiny mittens, close together. Below the round back end, add one bigger, longer back foot — rats have surprisingly large back feet, like they borrowed someone else’s slippers.

Step 6: Swoop the Tail

From the back of the body, sweep a long, curvy tail — draw it as two lines that start wide apart and slowly taper to a rounded point. Make it dramatically long, at least as long as the body, with a nice S-curve, and let the tip cross playfully over the ground line. A short tail turns your rat into a hamster.

Step 7: Whiskers and Clean-Up

Erase the overlapping construction lines, then add three long whiskers fanning out from each side of the snout. Flick a few short fur strokes on the chest and haunch. Add two little front teeth peeking under the smile if your rat is feeling toothy.

Step 8: Color Your Rat

Color the body soft gray or warm brown, leaving the belly and snout lighter. Make the inner ears, nose, paws, and tail pink — that pink-and-gray combo is what makes pet rats look so huggable. A little darker shading along the back finishes the job. 🎨

Tips to Make Your Rat Drawing Even Cuter

• Put a tiny wedge of cheese between the front paws, with two or three holes in it.
• Curl the tail into a heart shape at the end — subtle, but people notice.
• Draw a second rat sleeping curled into a gray cinnamon-roll swirl beside the first.
• Give it a scarf or a small acorn hat for seasonal charm.
• Round everything: rounder ears, rounder cheeks, rounder body all crank up the cute.

FAQ

Is a rat easy to draw?

Yes — two egg shapes handle almost the whole animal. The tail and whiskers are single flowing lines, so there’s very little that can go wrong.

How is drawing a rat different from drawing a mouse?

Rats get a longer snout, a longer and thicker tail, and a bigger body; mice stay tiny and button-nosed. Same building blocks, different proportions.

How long does a rat drawing take?

Around 10 to 15 minutes in pencil. With coloring, expect 20 — quick enough to draw a whole rat family in one sitting.

See? Told you rats were charming — you’ve got the proof right there on your page. Draw yours a friend, a snack, or a little cardboard castle, and the scene practically writes itself. There are plenty more small furry tutorials on our YouTube channel, Hobbies for Fun, whenever you’re ready. And if this whiskered cutie won you over, our hamster drawing guide is the fluffy sequel.