How to Draw Cinderella

Start by gathering all the utensils you need: paper, pencil, and an eraser.

• Once you've completed the drawing a couple of times you could start using a pen or marker, but pencil is usually best for the first time around.

Draw an oval shape for the head, in the upper part of your paper. Remember that the rest of the body must also fit on the paper, and try to keep it in proportion. Sketch horizontal and vertical guidelines onto the face--they should meet in the middle, as seen here.

Outline the character's body position. Make another guideline from Cinderella's neck to the bottom of her dress, to suggest movement, and sketch the upper half of her body as shown. The skirt should be full and go about two-thirds of the way up her body. More features will be added as the drawing progresses, but at this point we just want the basics.

Begin detailing the shape of the body. Indent between her forehead and cheekbone to give her face more definition, and sharpen her chin. Make her neck sturdier, ensuring that the curve starting at the back of her head is smooth. Finish off with more carefully lined shoulders, which will give way to her upper arms.

Continue your detailing through her torso. Outline the chest carefully and make the waist very slender. The arms should also be streamlined, ending in discernible fingers. (If you can't get the fingers right on your own, look closely at the example image to the right and try to copy it exactly.) The key is to keep it simple; don't think too much about what you're doing or you'll get too concerned with little things, like fingers.

End with a more defined shape of the skirt and a few crinkles. Include the mushroom-shaped lines on either side so that later you can fill in Cinderella's lace petticoat. There should also be sections of her dress caught up in both her hands, so have lines to signify that.

Draw the head and face. The eyes should be located right above the horizontal line, with the left one slightly smaller because of the angle of the face. Cinderella's nose and eyebrows are delicate, so don't draw them too darkly, and her mouth is an open smile. Her hair is very full on her forehead and above her headband, but besides those bumps it's just another smooth line from the back of her head to the top of it. Her necklace shoulder be slightly thinner than her headband, and aligned to the curve of her neck.

Detail the rest of Cinderella's body. The puffed sleeves of her dress are perfect ovals. There should be more crinkles on the skirt as well, and this is where the lace underneath is filled in, layered so it looks as though she really is wearing a petticoat. Add long gloves just by drawing lines on her upper arms and at her elbows to look like creases. Her fingers don't need to change, but if you are so inclined you can outline them some more. Once you have completed all of these features, carefully erase the guidelines of the sketch.

Use black to outline the drawing, erase the pencil, and then color in, OR color in without the outline. You can color with highlights and shadows or with flat color, whichever you like. It is recommended that the colors themselves remain as seen in the image. (However, Cinderella will still be Cinderella, regardless of whether her dress is blue.)