# How To Draw An Owl > How To Draw An Owl is a 2010 image-macro meme that sarcastically condenses owl drawing into two steps: simple circles, then a detailed owl with the punchline 'draw the rest of the fucking owl. **How To Draw an Owl** is a satirical instructional image that pretends to teach you how to draw a detailed owl in just two steps. Step one shows a pair of simple circles. Step two shows a fully rendered, intricately detailed owl, with the instruction to simply "draw the rest of the fucking owl." First appearing on Tumblr and Reddit in August 2010, the image became a widely shared joke about tutorials and instructions that skip every important step between "start" and "finish." ## Origin The original illustrator behind the image is unknown. The earliest documented appearance was on a Tumblr blog, and it was submitted to the Reddit subreddit r/Pics on August 21, 2010[5]. The Reddit post pulled in 1,787 upvotes, 893 points overall, and 124 comments before archiving[5]. Commenters on the original post were quick to point out a predecessor. Ben Edlund's 1997 comic *The Tick Omnibus* included a similar gag where readers were instructed to: (1) draw an oval, (2) bisect the oval with a straight line, and (3) draw The Tick holding an oval bisected by a straight line[5]. That comic had been shared online as early as 2008[4]. The owl image took the same joke structure and stripped it down to its purest, most sharable form. - **Platform:** Tumblr (original post), Reddit r/Pics (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (original illustrator) - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview The image is laid out like a page from a learn-to-draw book. It has two panels. The first panel, labeled "Step 1," shows two simple overlapping circles, the kind of basic shape you'd find in any beginner art guide. The second panel, labeled "Step 2," shows an incredibly detailed, realistic drawing of an owl, as if a professional wildlife illustrator had spent hours on it. The joke is obvious: the entire artistic process between "rough sketch" and "museum-quality owl" is just... missing[5]. The humor works because everyone has encountered instructions like this. A recipe that says "sauté until perfect." A math textbook that says "the rest is trivial." An IKEA manual that seems to skip three critical steps[2]. The owl meme gave people a visual shorthand for that universal frustration with oversimplified guides. ## How It Spread Within days of hitting Reddit in August 2010, the owl image popped up on FunnyJunk, BuzzFeed, and DeviantArt[7][6]. Through the rest of 2010, it spread across DamnLOL, Democratic Underground, and MemeCenter[5]. A June 2011 repost to r/Funny only managed 19 points, but by then the image had already been absorbed into the broader internet vocabulary[5]. The first major derivative came on January 5, 2012, when Tumblr artist Van Oktop posted a parody guide to drawing a horse using the same two-step format[8]. The post picked up over 7,200 notes and was featured on Tumblr's curated Comics tag[5]. In April 2012, someone recreated the owl gag using the mobile game Draw Something, sharing it to the r/DrawSome subreddit[5]. More variations followed through 2012, including one using artwork by the late cartoonist Burne Hogarth. In January 2013, artist Marlo Meekins posted a series of similarly absurd instructional drawings to her Tumblr[5]. ### The Japanese Malfoy Twist The meme's most unexpected spin came from Japan. On February 20, 2013, Twitter user @wasabeeef0630 posted an image applying the two-step joke to drawing Draco Malfoy from *Harry Potter*[1]. The tweet was retweeted over 41,000 times and favorited more than 18,000 times[5]. The joke worked on a level English speakers wouldn't catch. Draco's Japanese name is "Marufoi" (マルフォイ), which sounds like "Maru kaite foi," roughly meaning "Draw a circle. Presto!"[1]. This wordplay connected to a well-known song from the anime *Doraemon* that teaches kids to draw the character starting with "Maru kaite" ("draw a circle")[1]. The pun was irresistible, and other Twitter users started making similar images with different *Harry Potter* characters. By July 2013, someone had released a mobile app that generated a drawing of Draco after the user input a circle[1]. Kotaku covered the whole drawing craze on July 4, 2013[5]. ## How to Use The meme typically follows one of two formats: **Classic image format:** Share the original owl image (or a variation) whenever someone posts a tutorial, guide, or set of instructions that clearly skips the hard parts. It works best as a reaction image in comment threads or group chats. **Phrase format:** Quote "draw the rest of the fucking owl" or "draw the rest of the owl" as a verbal shorthand. This version is common in workplace and professional settings when someone presents a plan that glosses over the difficult middle steps. For example: "The roadmap says 'Step 1: Build MVP. Step 2: Scale to 10 million users.' Classic draw-the-owl situation." People also create original two-step parodies by picking any complex skill, showing an absurdly simple starting point in panel one, and a masterwork result in panel two. ## Cultural Impact The meme crossed over from internet humor into corporate culture in a significant way. Twilio, the cloud communications company, adopted "Draw the rest of the fucking owl" as one of its core company values. The phrase stuck with the company even after it grew into a $4 billion+ public company[3]. For Twilio employees, it was a rallying cry meaning "figure it out yourself, there's no playbook"[3]. The broader phrase "draw the rest of the owl" entered everyday language as a way to call out oversimplified instructions. It gets applied to everything from self-help books that promise easy solutions to complex problems, to success advice from billionaires that boils down to "just believe in yourself"[2]. The concept hit a nerve because the gap between step 1 and the finished product is where all the actual work, skill, and struggle live. ## Fun Facts - The top comment on the original 2010 Reddit post referenced The Tick Omnibus comic from 1997, proving the joke format had been around for at least 13 years before the owl made it famous[5]. - The Japanese Malfoy version became popular enough to spawn a mobile app where the size of the circle you draw determines the size of the Malfoy that appears[1]. - The Doraemon "draw a circle" song that partially inspired the Malfoy meme has taught generations of Japanese kids how to draw the robotic cat character[1]. - Twilio's C-level executives regularly said "Draw the rest of the fucking owl" in meetings, profanity and all[3]. - The phrase has been applied far beyond art tutorials, covering IKEA instructions, self-help books, recipe blogs, and billionaire success advice[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is How To Draw an Owl? It's a joke instructional image showing two steps to drawing an owl: step 1 is two simple circles, and step 2 is a fully detailed owl drawing, with all the actual skill required left completely unexplained[5]. ### Where did How To Draw an Owl come from? The image first appeared on a Tumblr blog and was posted to Reddit's r/Pics on August 21, 2010, where it earned 1,787 upvotes[5]. ### What does How To Draw an Owl mean? The meme is a joke about instructions that skip the hardest parts. "Draw the rest of the owl" means someone is presenting a complex task as if it's absurdly simple[2]. ### How do you use How To Draw an Owl? Share the original image or say "draw the rest of the owl" whenever you encounter instructions, advice, or tutorials that gloss over the difficult middle steps[3]. ### Is How To Draw an Owl still popular? The image itself is a classic that still gets shared, and the phrase "draw the rest of the owl" is widely understood shorthand in both internet culture and professional settings. Twilio made it a lasting part of their company culture[3]. ### Who drew the original owl? The original illustrator is unknown. No creator has been identified despite the image's widespread popularity since 2010[5]. ### What is the connection to The Tick? Ben Edlund's 1997 comic *The Tick Omnibus* featured a nearly identical joke where step 3 was "Draw The Tick holding an oval bisected by a straight line." This predated the owl meme by over a decade[4]. ### What was the Japanese Malfoy version? In February 2013, a Japanese Twitter user posted a version featuring Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. It went viral because "Marufoi" (Draco's Japanese name) sounds like "Maru kaite foi" ("Draw a circle, presto!"), creating a bilingual pun[1]. ### How popular was the Malfoy version? The original tweet by @wasabeeef0630 was retweeted over 41,000 times and favorited more than 18,000 times, and it spawned a dedicated mobile app[1][5]. ### Why did Twilio adopt this meme? Twilio used "Draw the rest of the fucking owl" as a core company value to express a culture of self-reliance and figuring things out without a predetermined playbook[3]. ## References 1. [How to draw an owl by RayFan9876 on DeviantArt]() 2. [Japan's “Draw the Owl” Meme Has a Harry Potter Twist - Kotaku]() 3. [What does draw the rest of the owl mean? - Resto NYC]() 4. [How To Draw an Owl - Know Your Meme]() 5. [List of Internet phenomena]() 6. [Draw the owl  –DZ]() 7. [For some reason I'm reminded of The Tick Omnibus, wherein was featured "How to d... | Hacker News]() 8. [Van Oktop]() 9. [How to Draw An Owl]() 10. [Japan's “Draw the Owl” Meme Has a Harry Potter Twist - Kotaku]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/how-to-draw-an-owl Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library