How to Draw Animals
Learn to use simple shapes to draw your favorite animal kingdom buddy or beast.
Up next in How to Draw for Beginners (40 videos)
Learn how to draw with the drawing lessons in this Howcast video series.
You Will Need
- An animal photo
- A graphite pencil
- Paper
- An eraser
Steps
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Step 1
Draw basic form
Study your animal photo. Break the form into circles, triangles, rectangles, and oval shapes, establishing accurate proportions.
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Begin a fish drawing with a large oval. Use circles for the hips of many four-legged creatures and triangles for heads, ears, and legs.
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Step 2
Round and contour form
Round the animal’s outline and define contour details by observing photo details.
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Draw details after establishing outside contours.
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Step 3
Add details
Add features such as eyes, ears, mouths, hooves, fur, and tails. Let your photo guide you in feature placement and in sketching the finer points of each.
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Step 4
Erase guidelines
Erase your original shape guidelines.
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Step 5
Add shading
Add shading to create realism and depth to your drawing. Now you have the basic skills to draw anything from a gerbil to a giraffe.
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Did you know? Polar bears are among the animals declining in population as a result of melting sea ice and were designated a threatened species in 2008.
