Drawing a horse’s head can be a challenging task for beginners. However, it is not impossible to learn. With practice and patience, anyone can learn how to draw a horse’s head accurately. This step-by-step guide will show you how to draw a realistic portrait of any horse in just a few simple steps. You can use a pencil and paper or a stylus and tablet if you prefer digital drawing.
Keyword: how to draw a horse’s head
Step 1: Start by Sketching the Outline
Sketching the outline of the head is the first step in drawing a realistic-looking horse portrait. Grip the pencil lightly and begin by sketching a faint oval using a smooth sweeping motion using your whole forearm and wrist. At this point, don’t worry about accuracy.
This oval will be the basic outline on which you will build the large shapes for the muzzle, the jaw, the nostrils and mouth, and, of course, the neck. Make sure the circle is neither too big nor too small on your paper. It should be just the right size to fit the whole head and neck on the page comfortably.
Before sketching the outline, look at photographs of horses and take note of approximately where the features fall relative to the overall shape of the head. As you sketch, remember the relative proportions of the particular features of the horse you’re drawing.
Like people, subtle differences in size, spacing, and prominence of facial features help us distinguish one horse breed from another. To accomplish this, we must closely observe the subject and ask ourselves dozens of questions, such as: Are there distinguishing patterns of color in the horse’s facial fur? How tall are the horse’s ears? Are the eyes set widely compared to the nostrils? Is this horse young or old? Content or anxious?
And look for many more signs of individuality in this specific horse. Alternate frequently between looking at your drawing and the actual horse or photo of a horse as you draw. Position your reference photo or the horse in a way that it requires just a glance to move from one to the other.
Continue to use light, sketchy lines to faintly outline the nostrils, mouth, and eyes. Once you have the head’s basic shape sketched out and know where you want to locate the eyes, nostrils, and mouth, you can add more detail. You can also add a few lines to indicate the mane’s direction and the ears’ shape.
When sketching the outline, don’t worry about making it perfect. This is just the starting point, and you can refine the details later. Just focus on getting the basic shape and proportions right, and you’ll be ready to start adding details to the head.
Step 2: Learn to Erase While Adding Detail to the Head
Adding detail to a horse’s head will make the drawing look more realistic and lifelike. Alternate using your pencil with your eraser to reduce too heavy lines or relocate them to the wrong place. Embrace this back-and-forth movement between pencil and eraser as you refine and adjust the horse’s features. Begin lightly sketching the basic shapes of the ears, eyes, muzzle, nostrils, mouth, and overall mane shape. Concentrate on placing these features in the correct location by referring to a photograph. Keep your eraser handy and use it often to adjust these preliminary lines as you plot the drawing.
The eyes should be slightly wider than the muzzle, and the mane should be slightly shorter than the ears. The muzzle should be about a third of the length of the head, and the ears should be slightly longer than the muzzle. The mane should be slightly curved and drawn in a way that follows the contours of the horse’s head. Draw two small triangles at the top of the circle for the horse’s ears. The ears should be slightly curved and point forward or back. When drawing the eyes, make sure they are slightly curved and the pupils point in the same direction. The nostrils should be curved, and the mouth should be slightly open. Next, draw the ears of the horse. The inside of the ears should be slightly darker than the outside. After the face, draw the horse’s mane. The mane should be drawn to create a sense of movement. The muzzle should be slightly pointed, and the chin should be slightly curved. Finally, draw the details of the face. This includes the jaw muscles, chin, and whiskers. The whiskers should be drawn in a way that follows the contours of the face.
Step 3: Refining the Features
After you have sketched the outline of the horse’s head and added some detail, it’s time to refine the features. This step is about adding more detail and ensuring the shape and proportions look accurate. Start by refining the outline. Take your time and ensure the shape is accurate and looks like the reference photo or the actual horse’s head you’re studying.
Pay attention to the shape of the muzzle, the size and shape of the eyes, and the shape of the ears. Next, add more detail to the facial features. Draw in the nostrils, the mane, the eyelashes, and the shadows of the ears. Make sure to keep the proportions accurate and the details consistent.
Once you have added all the details, you can start adding tone to the basic shapes. Use a blending stump to pull the shading around the forms as you create the illusion of volume. Pay attention to the light source and make sure the shadows are in the right places.
Finally, you can add the finishing touches. You can add highlights to the mane and eyes and add some texture to the fur. You can also add a few details to make the horse’s head look more realistic. Now, your horse’s head is complete! Step back and admire your work – you have just created a beautiful drawing of a horse’s head.
Step 4: Adding the Final Touches
Now that you have drawn the basic outline and features of your horse’s head, it’s time to add the final touches. The most important thing to remember is to keep the overall look of the horse’s head consistent.
Use a darker pencil or pen to add the horse’s mane. Start with the longer hairs at the top and work your way down. You can also add shorter hairs around the face to give the mane more texture. Next, add shading to the horse’s head with your pencil or pen.
You can use hatching, cross-hatching, or stippling to create subtle shadows and highlights. This will give the horse’s head more depth and realism.
Finally, add some more subtle details to the horse’s face. You can add shading to the eyes, nostrils, and the mouth. You can also add some wrinkles or freckles to the muzzle. These details will help to make your horse’s head look more realistic and lifelike.
Once you’re finished, take a step back and admire your work! You can create beautiful drawings of horse heads with a bit of practice. Have fun and be creative!
