How To Draw A Deer

It is not easy to draw a deer, especially a running one. It is difficult to convey its grace, the dynamics of movements. This tutorial will teach you how to draw a deer in pencil.

1. Draw the basic shape of the body.

First, let’s divide the picture into several parts. For this, draw two identical circles for the body and one small circle for the head. The next step is to draw hooves, the front hooves are close together, and the back ones are away from each other. Divide the distance between the hooves and the body in half in order to find the right place for the knees. To draw the front legs just trace straight lines, the back legs are not so easy to draw. Start with the left leg, it is practically straight; than continue with the right leg tracing a kind of a “flash” as shown on the picture.

2. Sketch of the deer’s legs.

If you have drawn the back legs following the instruction, you won’t have any troubles with the further steps. However, here is a step-by step instruction. In this step, refine the legs’ shape.

3. The shape of the body, head and legs.

In this step, outline the body and the head of the deer and erase guidelines. Smooth angular lines of the legs and draw the hooves.

4. How to draw the head of a deer.

Now let’s learn to draw antlers. To draw the deer’s antlers, first trace two curved main branches, then draw side branches between the antlers, they should look inwards. The antlers should be symmetrical and have the same size. Then you need to draw two ears and start to refine the traits of the "face". For this, draw symmetrical ovals for the eyes. Below outline a small round nose and draw a small mouth.

5. Refining the deer, adding details.

Now you can add some details. First, draw a small tail. Refine the shape of the deer's ears. Detail the eyes, nose and mouth of the deer and only then start refining the antlers.

6. How to draw a deer. The final step.

In this step we add shadows and color the reindeer’s coat. You can simply copy the coat from a photo, or place spots on its coat according your taste. An ordinary pencil drawing looks beautiful and voluminous, but colored pencils still fit better for this purpose, they make the picture of a deer more realistic. Draw the deer on the background of a winter northern landscape to make your drawing more picturesque.