How To: Draw Disney's Most Famous Cartoon Character — Mickey Mouse

On November 18, 1928, a star was born. His name: Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney's most famous character appeared before that date, but November 18 is known as Mickey Mouse Day because that's when he appeared in "Steamboat Willie," the first cartoon to feature synchronized sound. That short animated film is now in the public domain as of January 1, 2024.

Celebrate Mickey Mouse Day — or any day of the year when you need a quick Disney fix — either by watching Mickey's cartoons or drawing him yourself.

It doesn't take much to create a high-quality-looking sketch of Mickey. He's really just a bunch of circles, so you needn't be a professional animator to get it right.

The drawing lessons below by Disney all follow the same general technique for drawing Mickey Mouse. Some of the videos show Disney artists and animators like Floyd Norman, Eric Goldberg, Fabrizio Petrossi, and Don "Donny" Williams and their professional methods of recreating Disney's most memorable cartoon character.

* For a detailed step-by-step illustrated book entitled "How to Draw Mickey Mouse" by Walt Disney (1973), scroll to the bottom of this article.

1. Drawing Mickey — Detailed Sketch

2. Drawing Mickey — the 1920s Version

3. Drawing Mickey — the Pie-Eyed Version

4. Drawing Mickey — the Contemporary Version

5. Drawing Mickey — The 'Fantasia' Sorcerer

6. Drawing Mickey — Like Disney Artist Floyd Norman

7. Drawing Mickey — Like Disney Artist Eric Goldberg

8. Drawing Mickey — Like Disney Artist Fabrizio Petrossi

9. Drawing Mickey — Like Disney Artist Don 'Ducky' Williams

10. Drawing Mickey — The Easy Way

'How to Draw Mickey Mouse' by Walt Disney

Animator Michael Sporn posted a book on his website that came straight from Walt Disney:

This is actually a copy of the book that they gave out at the Disney/Lincoln Center event in 1973. They're identical to the Disneyland books, though they lack the colored pages.

You can view some of the pages below. For the rest of the images from this Disney lesson on drawing Mickey Mouse, visit Michael Sporn Animation.