expression
attempting to be something you are not; drawing a tiger that ends up looking like a dog
Idiomatic expression meaning to fail at imitating something great and end up with a poor result. Literally, 'draw a tiger but it resembles a dog.'
彼の新作は虎を描きて犬に類すで、前作の足元にも及ばない。
His new work is like drawing a tiger that ends up looking like a dog; it doesn't even come close to his previous one.
虎を描きて犬に類すにならないよう、自分の実力をわきまえて行動しなさい。
Act with an awareness of your own abilities so you don't end up drawing a tiger that looks like a dog.
A four-character kanji compound (yojijukugo) with the same meaning, derived from the same Chinese source. More compact and formal.
From a classical Chinese story in the 'Book of the Later Han' (後漢書) about Ma Yuan (馬援), who warned his nephews not to imitate a heroic figure carelessly, lest they end up like someone who tries to draw a tiger but produces a dog.