A tiger doodle is the perfect excuse to draw something fierce and completely adorable at the same time, and a cub works much better for this than a full grown tiger ever could. Round ears, stubby paws and a tail with a mind of its own give you a face full of personality in under a minute, no fancy shading required.
Below you will find 31 small scenes, each one built from simple rounded shapes, a few confident stripes and a splash of tangerine orange or leaf green to finish it off. Grab your fineliner and work through them in order, from the easiest poses to the slightly trickier ones, and you will have a page full of grumpy, proud, sneezing little tigers by the end of today.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Start the page with a tiger cub chasing its own striped tail, because the circular pose is the easiest way to warm up your hand before anything trickier. Draw the body as a single curved banana shape, head at one end, back paws kicked up at the other, so the whole cub bends into a dizzy ring.
Add two round ears and a short snout first, then let the tail sweep round to almost touch the nose. Keep the stripes to five or six short curved lines along the back and tail rather than a full pattern, since too many marks will fight the circular shape.
If the circle looks lopsided, check that the head and the tail tip are roughly the same size before you ink over your pencil lines. This keeps the loop feeling balanced rather than top heavy.
Color just the tail tip with tangerine marker to pull the eye round the circle, and leave the rest of the cub as plain line work.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Once your hand is loose, try a tiger cub in striped pajamas yawning with one fang showing, a pose that leans entirely on a good wide open mouth. Sketch a round head and a soft oval body first, then draw the pajama top as a simple rounded shirt shape with a few stripe lines down the sleeve.
Draw the yawning mouth as a wide oval with one pointed fang poking down, and keep the eyes as two sleepy curved lines rather than full circles. This single detail sells the whole sleepy mood more than anything else on the page.
If the fang ends up too long it can look more scary than sleepy, so draw it short and round the tip slightly with your fineliner before moving on.
Color the pajama stripes in tangerine orange, alternating with the white of the paper, for a cosy bedtime feel.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Keep the silly mood going with a tiger cub hiding behind a tiny potted plant, clearly visible, which is really a lesson in drawing something that fails at hiding on purpose. Draw the pot as a small trapezoid shape first, then a few simple leaves poking up from it, leaving plenty of gaps.
Place the cub’s round head peeking out from one side of the pot and most of its body and tail sticking out the other, so the joke reads instantly. Draw the eyes wide and round to show the cub thinks it is doing a great job.
The easy mistake here is drawing the plant too large, which actually hides the cub and kills the joke. Keep the pot and leaves noticeably smaller than the cub’s head.
Give the leaves a leaf green marker fill and leave the cub as plain line work so it stands out clearly against the small plant.
Palette: Leaf Green,Black
If you enjoy small plant and animal pairings like this one, the ideas in this botanical sketchbook list work well as quick companion pages.
Give the tiger cub a tiny toothbrush and a pair of oversized fangs to brush, since the mismatch in scale is what makes this one funny. Draw the head large and round first, then open the mouth wide with two long curved fangs taking up most of the space inside it.
Add a small paw holding an even smaller toothbrush pressed against one fang, with a few short motion lines around the brush head to show it scrubbing. Keep the rest of the body simple and small so all the attention stays on the face.
This is a proportion idea: measure the fangs against the width of the open mouth before inking, so they read as comically large rather than just oddly placed. A fang drawn too thin will disappear instead of reading as a fang.
Add a touch of tangerine orange to the toothbrush handle to make it pop against the black and white face.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Move on to a tiger cub trying to roar but only managing a tiny squeak, a pose built entirely around body language rather than the mouth this time. Draw the cub standing on all four paws with its chest puffed out and head thrown back, as if gathering all its courage.
Think about where the light sits on this one: a single small sun symbol or a few short rays in one top corner keeps the pose feeling bright and silly rather than dramatic, and tells you where to leave the paper white on the cub’s back. Keep the mouth small and round, more squeak than roar, with one tiny musical note or wiggly line floating above it.
If the pose looks stiff, curve the spine slightly and lift the front paws just off the ground so it reads as a hopeful lunge rather than a stand.
Color the tiny squeak mark in tangerine so it catches the eye first, since it is the whole joke of the drawing.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
For a bit of motion, draw a tiger cub pouncing at a butterfly and missing completely, mid air with all four paws stretched out. Start with the body as a long stretched oval, front paws reaching forward and back paws trailing behind, so the whole pose leans into the jump.
Place the butterfly just out of reach, slightly above and to the side of the outstretched paws, with two simple rounded wings. Add a few short curved lines beneath the back paws to show it just left the ground.
One hands on trick helps the energy here: once the ink is dry, use a kneaded eraser on any pencil guidelines around the paws to keep the leap looking light rather than smudged. Loose, confident lines matter more than perfect anatomy in this pose.
Fill the butterfly wings with a little leaf green and tangerine so it stands out clearly as the thing being missed.
Palette: Leaf Green,Tangerine Orange,Black
Carry the pen and marker idea into the drawing itself with a tiger cub coloring in its own stripes using a fat marker nearly as big as its paw. Draw the cub sitting upright with one front paw raised, gripping a thick marker shape against its own side.
Leave two or three of the back stripes undrawn in plain pencil or very light lines, as if they are mid way through being colored in, with the rest of the body showing finished black ink stripes. This small contrast is the whole joke of the piece.
If it starts looking busy, simplify by keeping the unfinished stripes to one small patch rather than scattering gaps across the whole body.
Color the marker tip and the finished stripes in tangerine orange, leaving the unfinished patch blank so the story reads clearly.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Give the cub a win with a tiger cub proudly holding up a fish bigger than its own head, chest out and grinning. Draw the head and body small and compact, then draw the fish noticeably oversized in the front paws, curving slightly to show its weight.
Compare the two sizes before inking: the fish should look at least twice the width of the cub’s head so the joke of the catch reads instantly. A fish drawn too small just looks like dinner, not a trophy.
Add a few simple scale lines and one round eye to the fish rather than full detail, and keep the cub’s stance wide and proud with the tail flicked up behind it.
Color the fish body in leaf green with a tangerine orange belly stripe for a cheerful contrast against the cub.
Palette: Leaf Green,Tangerine Orange,Black
Switch moods with a tiger cub fresh from a bath, fur puffed out and clearly unhappy about it. Draw the head and body as rounder, fluffier shapes than usual, with short spiky lines radiating out from the edges to show damp fur sticking up everywhere.
Keep the face doing the real work: narrow eyes, a flat downturned mouth and ears pinned slightly back give you instant grump without needing extra detail elsewhere. Draw the stripes a little wavy rather than straight to match the puffed up fur.
If the fur spikes start looking like a hedgehog instead of a wet cat, shorten them and space them further apart around the outline only, not across the whole body.
Leave this one mostly black and white, with just a small tangerine puddle beneath the paws to show where the bath water is dripping.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Settle things down with a tiger cub kneading a soft pillow with its big paws, a cosy pose built on repeated small marks. Draw the pillow first as a simple rounded rectangle with a few soft dents along the top edge, then place the cub crouched on top with both front paws pressed into the fabric.
Add two or three short curved lines beneath each paw to show the pillow dipping under the pressure, which is the detail that sells the kneading motion. Keep the cub’s eyes half closed to match the drowsy, contented mood.
The easiest way to vary this next time is to swap the plain pillow for a striped one, or change the cub’s pose to lying down mid knead rather than sitting up.
Color the pillow in a soft tangerine fill and leave the cub as line work so the two shapes stay easy to tell apart.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Add a little tension with a tiger cub crossing a log with wobbly legs and wide eyes, balanced carefully across a narrow surface. Draw the log as a simple horizontal cylinder with a few short lines for bark texture, then place the cub standing across it with legs bent at slightly different angles to show the wobble.
Draw the eyes extra round and the tail curved out to one side for balance, since a straight tail makes the pose look calm rather than nervous. Keep the paws gripping the log’s edge rather than flat on top of it.
If the cub looks like it is simply standing on flat ground, lower the log’s near edge slightly and tilt the body a touch off center to sell the balancing act.
Color just the log in a warm tangerine brown tone and keep the cub in plain black line work for contrast.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
For something quieter, draw a tiger cub licking its paw and looking very pleased with itself about it. Sketch the cub sitting upright with one front paw raised close to its mouth, tongue just touching the paw pad.
Keep the eyes half closed and slightly smug, with the chin tilted up a touch, since this small tilt is what turns an ordinary grooming pose into a fancy, self satisfied one. Draw the raised paw a little larger than the resting one to bring it forward in the pose.
If this is your first time drawing a raised paw like this, sketch it as a simple mitten shape first and add the toe lines last, once the angle looks right against the body.
Add a small tangerine tongue tip for a bit of color against the mostly black and white face.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Give your hand a rest with a tiger cub asleep belly up, all four paws in the air, one of the easiest poses on this whole list. Draw a wide rounded oval for the belly first, then four short stubby legs pointing straight up from it, paws slightly curled.
Place the head tilted to one side with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, and keep the tail flopped out flat beside the body rather than curled, since a relaxed straight tail reads as deeper sleep. Stripes here can run across the belly in short curved lines rather than the usual vertical pattern.
This is a quick ten minute sketch as it stands, but giving it forty minutes lets you add a simple blanket corner tucked under one paw for extra cosiness.
Leave the whole cub in plain black ink, with maybe one tangerine paw pad peeking out for a small spot of color.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Pick the energy back up with a tiger cub crouched low, stalking a red ball with its bottom wiggling in the air, a pose full of coiled tension. Draw the body low and flat, front legs tucked, back legs bent high with the tail flicking out behind for motion.
Place the ball a short distance ahead of the cub’s nose, small and round, and tilt the head slightly down to lock the eyes onto it. Keep the back half of the body drawn a touch higher than the front to show the classic pre pounce crouch.
If the crouch looks flat rather than coiled, bend the back legs more sharply and angle the tail upward rather than trailing straight back.
Color the ball bright tangerine orange so it reads instantly as the target of all that focus.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Add a bit of slapstick with a tiger cub sniffing a flower and sneezing so hard it falls right over. Draw the cub leaning forward toward a simple flower shape, nose pressed close to the petals, then draw the same cub again just behind it, now tipped onto its back with legs in the air and a tiny sneeze cloud above its nose.
Two small lines radiating from the cub’s face work well as the sneeze mark, kept short so it reads as a sudden burst rather than a drawn out sound effect.
Keep the flower petals simple and rounded, just five or six shapes around a center dot, since a fussy flower will pull focus away from the funny fall.
Color the flower in leaf green stem and leaves with a tangerine center for a cheerful little accent.
Palette: Leaf Green,Tangerine Orange,Black
Give the cub a regal moment with a tiger cub sitting on a rock like a tiny king, chin up and tail curled neatly around its paws. Draw a simple rounded rock shape first, flat enough on top to seat the cub comfortably, then place the cub sitting upright with its chest out and head held high.
Think about eye level here: drawing the rock slightly below the reader’s eye line and the cub’s chin tilted up makes the pose read as proud and commanding rather than just sitting. Keep the tail wrapped neatly around the front paws rather than loose behind.
If the pose feels ordinary, raise the chin a touch further and narrow the eyes slightly for a more knowing, superior expression.
Color the rock in a muted tangerine tone to separate it clearly from the black and white cub on top.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Lighten the mood again with a tiger cub sitting beside a bowl of milk, sporting a clear white milk moustache. Draw a simple round bowl shape first, then the cub’s head bent slightly toward it, mouth closed and a short curved line just above the top lip to show the leftover milk.
Keep the moustache line simple, one gentle curve rather than a full shaded patch, since the plain white of the paper reads as milk perfectly well on its own against black ink.
If you want to swap the milk bowl for something else, a small dish of cream or even a puddle works just as well and needs no change to the pose itself.
Color the bowl rim in tangerine orange and leave the milk and moustache as plain white paper for the clearest contrast.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Bring in a little mischief with a tiger cub chewing on a slipper, ears back and wearing an unmistakably guilty face. Draw the slipper first as a simple rounded shoe shape held sideways in the mouth, then build the head around it with the jaw slightly open to grip the fabric.
Keep the eyes wide and the eyebrows raised slightly, almost apologetic, and angle the ears back against the head rather than upright, since perked ears would read as confident rather than caught in the act.
If the slipper looks too large for the mouth to hold, narrow its width slightly and tuck one end further into the jaw line so the proportions stay believable.
Color the slipper in tangerine orange with a small leaf green trim line for a bit of pattern.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Leaf Green,Black
Cool things down with a tiger cub paddling in a pond, only its head showing above the water. Draw a simple curved waterline first, a flattened oval shape, then place the cub’s head and the very top of its back just above it, ears slightly pinned and eyes wide with concentration.
Add a few short ripple lines fanning out from the chin to show the paddling motion, and keep them light and simple rather than filling the whole pond with detail.
If this is your first time drawing a head poking out of water, sketch the full body lightly in pencil first so the head sits at the correct size and angle, then erase everything below the waterline before inking.
Color the water in a soft leaf green wash of marker, leaving a few ripple lines as plain white paper for sparkle.
Palette: Leaf Green,Black
Have some fun with logic and draw a tiger cub counting its own stripes with one claw, looking thoroughly confused by the whole exercise. Draw the cub twisted slightly to look back over its own shoulder, one front paw raised with a single claw extended to point at a stripe on its side.
Keep the eyebrows drawn close together and the mouth in a small flat line, since this scrunched expression is what tells the reader the counting is not going well. A few stray question mark style squiggles near the head can push the joke further if you want them.
If the twisted pose feels awkward, draw the body first in its normal standing position, then rotate only the head and neck around to look back, rather than twisting the whole spine.
Add a small tangerine claw tip for a tiny spot of color at the center of the joke.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Return to something cosy with a tiger cub hugging a striped pillow that looks just like itself, paws wrapped tightly around it. Draw the pillow first as a simple rounded rectangle with a few evenly spaced stripes, matching the stripe pattern on the cub’s own fur so the resemblance is obvious.
Wrap both front paws around the pillow and tuck the chin down against the top edge, eyes closed in a contented, sleepy expression. Keep the back legs loosely curled rather than drawn in full detail, since the focus here is the hug, not the legs.
If the pillow and the cub start blending together, give the pillow slightly thicker, bolder stripe lines than the cub’s own fur so the two shapes stay easy to tell apart at a glance.
Color the pillow stripes in tangerine orange to separate it clearly from the plain black and white cub.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Bring a bit of summer energy in with a tiger cub holding a watermelon slice almost as big as its head, juice dripping down its chin. Draw the watermelon slice first as a simple triangle wedge with a curved outer edge and a few small seed dots, then place it gripped in both front paws close to the mouth.
Add two or three small drip marks running from the corner of the mouth down to the chin to show the mess, keeping them short and simple rather than overdone. A wide happy mouth with the tongue just visible sells the enjoyment of the moment.
If you want to vary this idea later, swap the watermelon for a different fruit slice entirely and the pose barely needs to change.
Color the watermelon flesh in tangerine orange with a thin leaf green rind along the curved edge.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Leaf Green,Black
Try a trickier pose next with a tiger cub carried by the scruff of its neck, dangling with all four paws hanging loose and a thoroughly unimpressed pout on its face. Draw a simple adult paw or hand shape at the top of the frame gripping a small fold of fur at the back of the neck, then let the cub’s whole body hang below it.
Keep the legs loose and slightly bent rather than straight, since straight dangling legs look stiff and unnatural, and draw the tail curled slightly for a touch of movement. The pout works best with narrowed eyes and a small downturned mouth.
If the scruff grip looks unclear, add two or three short fold lines where the fur bunches up under the fingers so the action reads clearly.
Keep this one mostly in plain black ink, with just a small tangerine accent on the gripping hand or paw for contrast.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Have some fun with expressions and draw a tiger cub practicing its scariest face in a small hand mirror, giving you a reason to draw the same face twice in one picture. Draw a simple round mirror shape held up in one paw, then draw the cub’s face both directly, mid snarl with bared teeth, and again smaller and reversed inside the mirror’s reflection.
Keep the snarl exaggerated, with the nose wrinkled, eyes narrowed and a few short whisker lines pushed forward, since a half hearted snarl will not read as funny against the cute round face shape underneath it.
If drawing the reflection feels tricky, sketch the main face first, then simply copy the same expression smaller inside the mirror outline rather than trying to flip it perfectly.
Color the mirror frame in tangerine orange so it reads clearly as a separate object from the cub’s face.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Loosen up with a tiger cub doing a big morning stretch, bottom raised high and front paws stretched flat along the ground, the classic cat pose every reader will recognize instantly. Draw the front paws and chest low and flat first, then arch the back up steeply before dropping down again to the raised hind end.
Keep the tail standing upright and slightly curved at the tip, which balances the low front half of the pose, and draw the mouth open in a small wide yawn to match the stretch.
If the back arch looks too gentle to read as a real stretch, exaggerate the curve further than feels natural, since a subtle arch tends to disappear once the stripes are added.
Add tangerine color just inside the open mouth for a small warm accent against all that stretching black and white.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Add a little drama with a tiger cub stuck halfway up a tree trunk, hugging it tightly with wide worried eyes. Draw a simple vertical tree trunk first, a little bark texture with a few short curved lines, then wrap the cub’s front legs fully around it partway up, back legs dangling or braced lower down.
Keep the eyes extra wide and the ears flattened to show the slight panic, and angle the head looking down rather than up, since looking down is what makes the stuck feeling obvious.
If the grip around the trunk looks loose, overlap the front paws slightly on the far side of the trunk rather than stopping them at the edge, so the hug reads as a tight one.
Color the trunk in a warm tangerine brown tone and leave the cub in plain black and white for contrast.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Readers who enjoy animals caught in awkward little moments like this one might also like the scenes in this puppy drawing list.
Bring in something delicate with a tiger cub batting at a fluffy dandelion puff, one paw raised mid swipe. Draw the dandelion first as a simple round puffball on a thin stem, made of lots of tiny short lines radiating outward rather than one solid shape.
Place the cub crouched low nearby with one front paw lifted and reaching toward the puff, eyes locked onto it. Add two or three small loose fluff marks floating away from the puffball to show a few seeds already disturbed by the swipe.
If the dandelion ends up looking too solid, thin out the radiating lines and leave more white paper showing between them, since a dandelion puff should look delicate rather than like a solid ball.
Leave the dandelion as plain white paper and black line work, with no marker color needed to keep it looking light and airy.
Palette: Black
Keep the everyday cat habits going with a tiger cub sharpening its tiny claws on a scratching post, stretched up tall against it. Draw the scratching post first as a simple vertical cylinder wrapped in a few rough texture lines, then place the cub standing up on its back legs, front paws pressed high against the post with claws extended.
Add a few short diagonal scratch marks on the post where the claws dig in, since these marks do most of the work of showing the action. Keep the back legs braced wide for balance rather than standing straight together.
If the standing pose looks unsteady, widen the stance of the back legs and lower the body’s center slightly so the cub looks balanced rather than about to topple.
Color the scratch marks in tangerine orange so they stand out clearly against the post.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Give the cub a small accomplishment with a tiger cub carrying a big stick in its mouth, walking proudly with its chest puffed out. Draw the stick first as a simple long diagonal line with a few small branch nubs along its length, then place it gripped firmly in the mouth, extending well past the head on both sides.
Keep the walking pose confident, front leg stepping forward, tail held high and slightly curved, since a drooping tail would undercut the pride in the pose. The stick should look clearly too big and slightly awkward to carry, which is the whole charm of the drawing.
If the stick looks too thin to notice, thicken the line slightly and add one or two more small branch nubs so it reads as a real stick rather than a stray mark.
Color the stick in a soft tangerine brown tone to separate it clearly from the black and white cub.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Wind the energy down with a tiger cub flopped over a log after a long day of pouncing, completely boneless and worn out. Draw the log first as a simple rounded horizontal shape, then drape the cub’s body over the top of it, front half hanging down one side and back legs trailing down the other.
Keep the limbs loose and slightly bent rather than straight, and close the eyes with a small relaxed mouth, since a stiff straight pose will read as awake rather than exhausted. The tail can simply hang down and rest against the log for extra weight.
If the flop looks too neat, let one paw droop lower than the other and tilt the head slightly off center, which reads as more genuinely tired than a symmetrical pose.
Color the log in a muted tangerine tone and leave the cub in plain black and white for a restful contrast.
Palette: Tangerine Orange,Black
Close the page with a tiger cub surprised by its own reflection in a puddle, caught mid flinch at this final, slightly comic moment. Draw a simple flattened oval puddle shape on the ground first, then draw the cub leaning over it with a small mirrored version of its own startled face looking back from inside the puddle outline.
Keep both faces matching in expression, wide eyes and a small open mouth, raised ears, since the joke relies on the reflection genuinely startling the cub rather than looking calm. A few short ripple lines around the puddle edge suggest the surface just moved slightly.
If drawing two faces feels like too much, simplify the reflection to just the eyes and ears rather than the whole face, which still reads clearly as a startled reflection.
Color the puddle in a soft leaf green wash with a few white ripple lines left unpainted for shine.
Palette: Leaf Green,Black
For more small animal expressions and reactions like this one, the animal doodle painting ideas list is worth a look next.
What to Do Next
Pick one tiger cub from this list, the sleeping belly up pose or the yawning pajama cub are both kind starting points, and work through it on plain sketchbook paper with your fineliner before reaching for the markers. Once you have a favorite shape down, the rest of the page tends to fill itself in quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What pens work best for a tiger doodle like these?
A black fineliner in a fine to medium tip gives the cleanest outlines and stripes. Add tangerine orange and leaf green markers afterward for small accent touches, rather than filling the whole cub with color.
How do I keep tiger stripes from looking too busy?
Draw only five or six short curved stripes per cub rather than covering the whole body. Fewer, more confident stripe marks read better at a small doodle size than a dense, even pattern.
Do I need to draw a full tiger body every time?
No, many of these poses work just as well as a head and shoulders study if you are short on time. Focus on the face and one clear action, like a raised paw or an open mouth, for the strongest result.
What if my cub looks more like a kitten than a tiger?
Stripes and slightly larger paws are what read as tiger rather than house cat. Keep the ears a touch more rounded and the face a little wider than a kitten’s to hold onto the tiger feel.
How long does each tiger doodle take to finish?
Most of these poses take ten to fifteen minutes once you are comfortable with the shapes. Simpler poses like the sleeping cub or the hugging pillow finish fastest, while action poses with two figures take a little longer.
Have any thoughts?
Share your reaction or leave a quick response — we’d love to hear what you think!
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