How to Draw Sadness: Easy Step-by-Step Guide

Bring Sadness to life with this easy-to-follow drawing tutorial, perfect for young artists ages 6 and up. You will only need a pencil, an eraser, and your favorite blue markers or colored pencils. Follow these steps to master her expressive features and cozy sweater look while building your character-design confidence.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

A colorful, finished illustration of Sadness from Inside Out, ready for display.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sketching the Face Shape

Pencil sketch of a rounded face shape for Sadness, showing the initial guideline for the character's head.

Draw a soft, diagonal half-circle to outline the face. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil pressure light here so you can easily adjust the shape if it looks a bit too round or too flat.

Step 2: Adding the Hair

Drawing the hair outline for Sadness, featuring curved lines that frame the face.

Add long, curved lines starting from the top of the head to create her signature bob. Tip: Use short, jagged strokes where the hair meets the face to give it a natural, textured look.

Step 3: Drawing the Sweater Collar

Adding the collar of the sweater to the drawing, including texture lines for a knitted effect.

Draw a wide, curved line below the chin to form the collar. Tip: Add small, vertical wavy lines inside the collar to make it look like cozy, knitted fabric.

Step 4: Sketching the Arms and Cuffs

Drawing the arms and sweater cuffs for Sadness, showing the placement of the hands.

Extend curved lines from the collar to create the arms, ending in rounded rectangles for the cuffs. Tip: Keep the hands simple and rounded to match the character's soft, gentle personality.

Step 5: Defining the Sweater Body

Outlining the main body of the sweater with textured hem lines.

Draw two downward curves to connect the arms to the hem. Tip: Add short vertical lines at the bottom hem to mirror the texture you created on the collar.

Step 6: Outlining the Legs

Drawing the legs using a W-shaped line beneath the sweater.

Draw a 'W' shape beneath the sweater to form the legs. Tip: Don't worry if the lines aren't perfectly straight; Sadness's pose is meant to look relaxed and slightly slumped.

Step 7: Adding Shoes and Details

Adding shoes and fabric fold details to the legs of the character.

Add rounded shapes at the bottom of the legs for shoes. Tip: Add a few small, curved lines near the ankles to suggest folds in her pants.

Step 8: Drawing the Glasses

Sketching the large, round glasses on Sadness's face.

Draw two large circles across the face for the glasses. Tip: Draw the inner circles slightly smaller to represent the thickness of the frames.

Step 9: Adding Facial Expressions

Adding the final facial features, including eyes, eyebrows, and a sad mouth.

Draw the eyes, eyebrows, and a frowning mouth. Tip: To capture her sad expression, angle the eyebrows downward toward the center of her face.

Step 10: Bringing Sadness to Life with Color

The completed drawing of Sadness colored in shades of blue.

Use various shades of blue to color her hair, sweater, and skin. Tip: Use a darker blue for the shadows under her chin and hair to give the drawing more depth.