How to Draw Basic Animals
- 1). Review pictures of animals and choose one to draw at a time. Refer to it regularly as you draw the picture so that you can copy the proportions correctly. This focuses your attention on what the animal actually looks like, not what you think it looks like.
- 2). Sketch the main shape of the animal's body first. For example, if you are drawing an elephant, draw a large round oval for its body. Fill the page according to the scale of the animal. The oval body of an elephant will be much larger than the egg shape of a small bird, for example. Don't forget to leave space for the legs.
- 3). Illustrate the head of the animal. Assess the overall shape. Compare it to an egg shape, oval, bean, circle or rectangle. Visualize the shape on top of the head to simplify the process. Check the position of the head compared to the body, along with the length of the neck. Then, add it to the body in the appropriate place.
- 4). Identify the shape of the legs. Elongated triangles or sausage shapes are useful guidelines for dogs, giraffes or horses, for example. For a basic drawing, you do not need to be too realistic but it is important to correctly proportion the length of the leg against the body.
- 5). Add other features of the animals, such as plume, tail, ears, beak or whiskers. Use guidelines to illustrate these on the drawing, as you did with the body, head and legs.
- 6). Connect the lines of the animal together to create a cohesive outline. Trace around the edge of the different shapes to create a fluid outline. Refer to your picture to show the contours of the animal's body. Pay particular attention to the curve of the back and rump.
- 7). Fill in the finer detail of the basic animal. Eyes, nose and mouth plus a pattern on its fur will give life and a realistic touch to the drawing. Leave out intricate detail and simplify the details that are necessary to keep it simple.
