Let's be real for a second. Everyone thinks they can draw Pikachu. It’s basically the "Happy Birthday" of the art world—ubiquitous, seemingly simple, and yet, somehow, most people still manage to mess up the rhythm. You’ve seen those drawings. The ones where the ears look like floppy rabbit ears or the body looks less like a "mouse Pokémon" and more like a yellow potato that’s seen better days. It's frustrating. You want that iconic, Sugimori-style clean look, but your pencil keeps turning him into a weirdly muscular gremlin.
The truth is that Pikachu drawing step by step isn't just about following lines. It is about understanding the geometry of a design that was literally engineered to be the most marketable creature on the planet. Atsuko Nishida, the original designer, didn't just doodle a mouse; she based the initial design on a squirrel (hence the cheeks and the tail). If you approach the drawing with a "squirrel-logic" mindset rather than a "blob-logic" one, your art is going to look ten times better immediately.
Why Your Pikachu Looks Weird (and How to Fix It)
Most beginners start with the eyes. Big mistake. Huge. If you start with the eyes, you’ve already locked in your proportions before you know how much room you have for the rest of the face. Professional animators at OLM (the studio behind the Pokémon anime) usually start with the "bean."
Think of Pikachu’s body as two distinct circles that have melted into each other. The top circle is the head, and the bottom is the belly. In the modern "Sun and Moon" or "Journeys" era, Pikachu is much more fluid and rounded than the chunky, "Fat Pikachu" of the 1990s. If you’re going for that classic 1998 look, you want a wider base. If you want the modern look, think of a tall, upright egg.
The biggest hurdle? The ears. People always make them too thin. Pikachu’s ears are remarkably thick at the base. They shouldn’t look like they are sitting on the head; they should look like they are growing out of it. Look at the silhouette. If you black out your drawing and it doesn't look like the Pokémon logo, your ear placement is likely too high up on the skull.
The Foundation: Starting the Pikachu Drawing Step by Step
Grab a 2H pencil. Or a light blue colored pencil if you’re fancy. You want something that won’t leave a permanent scar on the paper when you inevitably have to erase.
First, draw a circle. Don't stress about it being perfect. Just a light, loose circle for the head. Directly underneath it, draw a slightly larger, wider oval for the body. It should look like a lopsided snowman. Now, here is the trick: draw a vertical "action line" that curves slightly through both shapes. This determines which way he’s facing. Since Pikachu is usually a bit bouncy, give that line a little bit of a C-curve.
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Nailing the Face
Now we handle the "plus sign" on the face. This is where most people get the "Pikachu drawing step by step" process wrong. The horizontal line for the eyes should be lower than you think. Pikachu has a massive forehead. It’s part of the kawaii aesthetic—mimicking the proportions of a human baby.
- The Eyes: Place two circles on that horizontal line. They should be far apart. If they're too close, he looks like he’s plotting something sinister. Leave a tiny white "glint" in the upper right of each pupil.
- The Cheeks: These aren't just circles; they're slightly squashed ovals that sit right on the edge of the face. They should slightly overlap the jawline.
- The Mouth: It’s a tiny "w" shape. Honestly, if you make it too big, he stops looking like Pikachu and starts looking like a Digimon. Keep it dainty.
The Ears and the "Squirrel" Tail
The ears are roughly the same length as the head itself. Draw two long, tapered shapes pointing outward. One should be slightly more angled than the other to give it some life. Don't forget the black tips! These aren't straight lines; they curve slightly downward toward the head.
Then there’s the tail. The lightning bolt.
It’s easy to get lost in the zig-zags. Start from the base (near the butt) with a small rectangular notch. Then, make a sharp 90-degree turn. Then another. The tail gets wider as it moves away from the body. The tip is a large, flat rectangle. If you’re drawing a female Pikachu, the tip of the tail will have a heart-shaped indentation. This was a gender dimorphism introduced in Gen IV (Diamond and Pearl), and it's a detail that separates the casual fans from the experts.
Coloring and Line Weight
If you’re using digital tools like Procreate or Photoshop, use a brush with a little bit of "taper" or pressure sensitivity. Pikachu's lines aren't uniform. They’re thicker at the joints and thinner on the curves of the cheeks.
For the color palette, don't just grab the brightest yellow in the box. A slightly warm, "canary" yellow works best. The cheeks are a classic "Signal Red." For the shading, avoid using black or grey. It makes the yellow look muddy and gross. Instead, use a light orange or a warm tan for the shadows. This keeps the drawing looking vibrant and "anime-accurate."
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- The Neck: Pikachu doesn't really have one. If you draw a distinct neck, you've created a yellow monster. The head should flow directly into the shoulders.
- The Feet: His feet are long and flat. They aren't paws; they're more like rabbit feet.
- The Back Stripes: He has two brown stripes on his back. Don't forget them if you're drawing him from a side profile!
Pro Tips for Action Poses
Once you've mastered the basic standing pose, try to tilt the "bean" shapes. If you tilt the head circle 45 degrees to the left but keep the body oval upright, he looks inquisitive. If you squash both ovals down, he looks like he’s about to use Quick Attack.
The arms are basically little stubby triangles. When he's "talking" or excited, his arms usually go up toward his cheeks. This is a classic pose from the 1990s base set TCG art by Mitsuhiro Arita. Speaking of Arita, if you really want to level up, look at his use of environmental lighting. Pikachu isn't just a flat yellow shape; he reflects the world around him. If he’s in a forest, the shadows on his belly should have a tiny hint of green.
Final Touches for a Professional Look
To make your Pikachu drawing step by step truly pop, use a white gel pen or a bright white digital brush to add one final highlight on the nose and the top of the ears. It gives the skin a slightly "vinyl" or "soft" texture that mimics the look of high-end Pokémon Center plushies.
Clean up your stray pencil marks. If you're inking, let the ink dry for at least five minutes before erasing your 2H guidelines. There is nothing worse than a perfect drawing ruined by a giant smudge because you were too impatient to let the fineliner set.
Your Actionable Path Forward
Don't just stop at one drawing. The way to actually get good is volume.
- Sketch 10 "Beans": Just the head and body circles in different angles. Don't even draw the face yet. Just get the weight right.
- Focus on the Tail: Fill a whole page with just the lightning bolt tail. It's the hardest part to get symmetrical.
- Reference the Source: Open up the Pokédex in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet or Pokémon GO and rotate the 3D model. Look at how the ears attach to the head from the back.
- Incorporate Backgrounds: Try drawing Pikachu in a specific environment, like sitting on a park bench or hiding in tall grass, to practice scale and perspective.
Art is a muscle. You aren't going to be Ken Sugimori overnight, but if you stop drawing him like a potato and start drawing him like a squirrel-egg hybrid, you’re already ahead of 90% of the people on the internet. Get your sketchbook out and start with that first light circle. You've got this.
Next Steps for Your Art Journey
Start by practicing the "silhouette test"—fill in your entire Pikachu drawing with a single dark color. If you can still tell exactly which Pokémon it is and what pose it's in just from the outline, your proportions are solid. Once you've nailed the silhouette, move on to practicing the "Electricity Spark" effects by using quick, jagged lines around the cheeks with a light blue or bright yellow highlighter to simulate a Thunderbolt attack. This adds movement and energy to an otherwise static character portrait.