How to Draw Cute Shisa from Chiikawa | Easy Step-by-Step Drawing Tutorial

Start your Shisa drawing with a large oval for the head.

Lightly sketch a vertical and horizontal guideline across the face. These will help you position the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth later.

Then add two small pointed ears at the top of the head.

Keep these first sketch lines light so they’ll be easy to erase when we clean up the drawing.

Next, sketch Shisa’s fluffy mane around both sides of the head.

Start with large curved shapes extending outward from the head. Think of the mane as a soft frame surrounding Shisa’s face.

Use a combination of gentle curves and rounded triangular shapes rather than sharp points. This will keep the character looking soft and cute.

Don’t worry about making the mane perfect yet—we’ll refine its individual sections later.

Now add a small rounded body underneath the head.

Keep the body much smaller than the head to match Shisa’s adorable Chiikawa-style proportions.

Draw two tiny arms sticking out slightly from each side of the body. Then add two very short, rounded legs at the bottom.

At this stage, focus on the overall proportions rather than small details.

Now it’s time to turn the rough sketch into Shisa’s recognizable shape.

Refine the two ears at the top of the head, then draw the mane as several separate fluffy sections around both sides.

Use rounded, leaf-like shapes with soft pointed ends to create the lion-inspired mane.

Continue downward and refine the small rounded body, short arms, and tiny feet.

Keep the shapes smooth and slightly rounded so Shisa stays cute and simple.

Now let’s give Shisa that adorable expression!

Using the face guidelines, draw two large sparkling eyes. Add several small highlights inside each eye to make them look bright and lively.

Above the eyes, draw Shisa’s thick curved eyebrows using soft leaf-like shapes.

In the center, add a tiny nose followed by the small “w”-shaped mouth underneath.

These simple facial features are what really bring your cute Shisa drawing to life.

Once you’re happy with all the details, trace over your drawing with clean, smooth lines.

Carefully outline the ears, head, mane, face, body, arms, and feet.

Then gently erase the rough sketches and facial guidelines underneath.

Check the mane one more time and make sure the shapes on both sides feel balanced.

Your clean Shisa line art is now ready for color!

Time for the finishing touch—color!

Fill Shisa’s face and body with a soft cream color. Use a warm orange tone for the fluffy mane and eyebrows, while keeping the eyes and outline dark.

Add soft pink blush to both cheeks, then include a few tiny blush marks for an extra cute expression.

Finally, keep the white highlights inside the eyes so they stay bright and sparkling.

And your cute Shisa from Chiikawa drawing is complete!