A reindeer is a rather difficult object to draw with a pencil. However, the stylization techniques discussed below will help even small children draw it. For older children, an academic example of drawing an animal in a realistic technique is given.
In ancient times, the northern peoples considered the deer a symbol of light and purity, and its antlers were associated with the Tree of Life. Now its image is primarily associated with the biggest holiday – New Year and the “vehicle” for Santa Claus, who delivers gifts to children. This article will show you how to make an interesting New Year's drawing with a deer using a simple technique.
Simple drawing
The reindeer (the pencil drawing described in this example is made using simple shapes such as circles and elongated ovals) takes on a cartoonish look. At the same time, the picture looks festive and can serve as a basis for a New Year or Christmas greeting card.
To do this work you will need a black (or simple) pencil, colored pencils and a sheet of paper. Instead of pencils, you can also take felt-tip pens, so the picture will look much brighter.
The step-by-step drawing process consists of the following simple steps:
- First, draw the deer's nose in the form of a small circle. It should not be located in the center of the album sheet, but to the left. The animal's body will be drawn on the right.
- After that, you need to draw a large figure to the right of the nose, resembling a drop in shape. It should be a little wider at the top. This will be the deer's head.
- Next, draw the deer's eye in the form of a circle. Inside, draw the pupil and leave it empty, unpainted. Just below the pupil, also leave a white spot, this will be a highlight.
- Then, in the form of an arc, we will depict the deer's "smile" approximately in the middle of the lower part of its muzzle. The head of the animal is almost ready, and we will add the antlers later.
- Now let's start drawing the animal's body. We will depict it as an elongated "sausage", slightly raised on the right side.
- Draw a small tail on the top right of the body. The outline of the animal began to look like a dog, but at further stages of drawing it will acquire more similar features. Similar figures can be used to draw other animals: dogs, cats.
- We will depict the deer's legs as straight sticks.
- On top of the head, you need to draw antlers in the form of straight segments. They should look like tree branches. Now we can say with confidence that the drawing depicts a deer.
- You should also draw the animal's ears under the horns.
- As an additional detail, we will add a collar in the form of an arc and a bell to the deer’s neck, depicting it as a circle with a cross in the middle.
- Now we can start coloring. We will make the deer's body, tail and head yellow.
- Next, use a brown pencil to add "volume" to the drawing. To do this, draw shadows on the back lower part of the head, body and tail. Also add darker spots in the middle of the ears.
- We will color the collar ribbon and the animal’s nose with a red pencil.
- We will color the bell in light yellow. We will also add the final touches - we will draw snow in the lower part of the illustration with a pink pencil. This can be done using simple wavy lines.
On the remaining empty space of the sheet, draw small pink circles that imitate falling snow. You will get a festive picture like this:
For small children, you can offer coloring with wax crayons. They are softer and brighter than traditional pencils. Their only drawback is that they cannot draw fine details.
However, they are great for coloring large areas as they leave wide stripes. For small children, it is recommended to choose the thickest crayons as the thin ones break easily.
The layer of paint left on the paper can be smeared with your fingers, creating smoother transitions between colors. Before drawing, it is better for the child to put on old clothes so that he or she does not mind getting them dirty.
Cartoon deer
The reindeer (the pencil drawing in this master class will be cartoonish) is dedicated to the cartoon character Rudolph.
This character was created back in 1939, and its difference from the traditional image of a reindeer is that it has a red glowing nose, which saved Santa Claus when he got lost on Christmas Eve. This drawing is more complicated than the previous one.
So, let's start drawing:
- First, draw the deer's forehead as a vertical line and add a small oval-shaped nose to it.
- Then we draw the muzzle - we make a short horizontal line at the top, right above the nose, and a second one - longer at the bottom.
- Then we draw the round part of the head on top.
- Along the contour we will make a small depression from which the horns will grow and draw a triangular ear with a pointed end. Inside the ear we will draw a second curved line, close to the outer contour.
- Then we will make a rounding at the bottom of the head and draw a short neck.
- On the neck we will depict a collar in the form of a narrow strip. Under the muzzle we will draw a small bell. We will also add 3 small circles to the collar.
- Now let's draw the second ear at the top of the head. It should be smaller, as it is located at the back.
- We will depict the right horn on one side as a smooth, flowing line, and on the other – in the shape of the letter “E”.
- We will draw the second horn in the same way.
- We will depict the eyes as large circles, and draw the pupils at the top so that the gaze is directed upward.
- Now let's draw the deer's "smile" in the form of a short stroke.
- We will make the animal's chest in the form of a convex arc.
- We will draw the first leg short and massive, adding a thickening at the bottom - a hoof. Real reindeer have rather large hooves, which allows them to walk on loose snow without falling through.
- We will depict the second leg very close to the first one and make it shorter, since it is further away.
- We will indicate the hooves with short curved lines.
- Now let's draw the deer's back and belly. The lower part of the body should be made slightly narrower towards the top.
- The back leg should be drawn with a backward bend, taking into account the anatomy of a real animal. The hoof will be depicted in the same way as on the front legs.
- Now let's add the last leg, moving it a little to the side. It should also be shorter.
- At the back of the body we will draw a short tail.
- On the chest and stomach we will add roundings, giving volume to the figure of the deer. We will also add a few spots on its back.
- Now you can color Rudolph the reindeer with colored pencils.
For the body, use a light brown pencil, for the horns, hooves and eyes - dark brown, for the ears, chest and belly - light yellow, for the nose and collar - red. On the hooves, you can leave white unpainted areas - highlights that add additional volume.
The reindeer in this picture looks squat, but this does not spoil it at all. In nature, these animals actually have a thick coat of hair and a thick layer of fat, which protects them from severe frosts.
Just like in the previous case, you can use different types of pencils for coloring – traditional, watercolor, wax or plastic, which allow you to get thinner lines. This way, the child will learn to work with different types of materials and master several drawing techniques.
Academic drawing
The reindeer (the pencil drawing in this example is suitable for older children) is close to the real image and is done in an academic style.
The work is done with a simple graphite pencil of HB hardness. You will also need an eraser to correct lines and remove auxiliary objects.
Let's move on to the step-by-step drawing process:
- First, let's outline the basic outline of the animal's figure. We'll outline the head as a trapezoid, as shown in the figure below, slightly to the left of the center of the album sheet.
- We will depict the body in the shape of a larger trapezoid.
- Next, we mark the lower border of the drawing with a long arc.
- Next, we will use straight lines to indicate the position of the animal's hind legs. We will extend one of them slightly forward, the other will be curved.
- The front legs will also be depicted as straight lines. They will be slightly shifted back, that is, they are drawn at an angle to the vertical.
- We will outline the contours of the horns at the top of the head using a sweeping arc.
- Now we will refine the contours. Let's start with the head. Mark the depression at the level of which the eyes and nostrils will be. Draw the ear on the left, and make the neck smoother and more prominent. The deer will "look" back.
- The animal's chest will also be made more convex in its lower part, on the front legs we will draw thickenings (approximately in the middle), these will be the knee joints. The deer's hooves will be "hidden" in the snow.
- Now we refine the contours of the belly. When passing into the hind limb, you need to draw a depression depicting the animal's groin.
- We will "raise" the back of the back, and draw the bend of the hind legs more clearly. It is necessary to remember that it should be directed backwards.
- Let's draw the second hind leg more clearly, with an expansion at the top and a narrowing at the bottom.
- The next step is to erase the auxiliary lines.
- Then we draw a line on the neck, making it more muscular, add muscles on the front legs and refine the contours of the muzzle.
- Again, we delete the extra lines.
- Then we draw the nose, the line of the mouth, the cheekbones and the eye of the animal.
- Now we detail the horns. Draw the branches of the horns with broken lines. The horns should widen slightly at the ends. To give them more expressiveness, immediately shade them with a simple pencil.
- In the front part of the muzzle and on the folds of the neck, we will also do some light shading to give volume to the animal’s figure.
- Now we will do the shading of other elements: darken the front legs from the inside. Make a wide strip of shading approximately in the middle of the body. The lower part of the abdomen, the inside of the back legs, and the buttocks should also be darker.
- At the last stage, we will draw the lower arc more clearly and erase all unnecessary lines with an eraser. The drawing is ready.
You can color it with colored pencils, or leave it as is.
Deer in a Christmas tree ball
Another option for a simple reindeer drawing could be a stylized illustration in a Christmas tree ball. You will need colored pencils, markers, and paper.
Let's start drawing step by step:
- First, you need to draw the outline of the Christmas tree ball using a compass or a stencil ruler. It should be a large enough circle to fit the deer. The ball should be placed in the center of the paper.
- Add a Christmas tree ball mount on top. Make the bottom edge wavy and the top edge oval.
- Now let's outline the outline of the Christmas tree ball.
- Add a “tail” on top – a loop of thread on which the ball is hung.
- In the center of the Christmas tree ball we will draw a round head of a deer.
- Next, draw a rounded horn on the left. The ends of the horn do not need to be sharpened, as this is a stylized, not realistic drawing.
- On the right we draw the second symmetrical horn.
- Add small ears on the sides.
- In the middle you need to draw a small round nose.
- Then we draw an arc that divides the animal's muzzle from the nose into two parts and 2 small arcs depicting the eyes.
- Then draw the 2 front legs. They need to be done the same way as the paws of toy animals - with soft, smooth lines.
- We will draw hooves on them in the form of small rectangles.
- Next, you need to mark the deer's belly with a horizontal line. It will "sit" with its hind legs spread apart. We also depict them using rectangles.
- We will show the snow level with two wavy lines to the right and left of the deer.
- In the middle of the neck we will draw a narrow strip of a collar and a bell on it in the shape of a circle.
- Now we start coloring. We will color the lower part of the muzzle with a yellow pencil.
- Using a red pencil, draw “cheeks” on the muzzle and use the same color to color the deer’s nose.
- We will also paint the strap on the neck red, and the bell yellow.
- Using a brown pencil, color the top of the head, body and ears.
- We will paint the deer's horns and hooves dark brown or black.
- We will paint the Christmas tree ball mount yellow, and work on the additional details with an orange pencil.
- Draw the outline of the Christmas tree ball inside with a blue pencil. Add the same color to the "snow". Draw snowflakes in the form of empty circles above the deer. Make their outlines thicker on the left side to add volume.
- To make it more clear and elegant, you can outline the inside of the Christmas tree ball with a blue marker.
- At the final stage, we will outline the contours of the Christmas tree ball mount with a yellow felt-tip pen. We got a very festive drawing.
You can place not only a simplified, stylized image of a reindeer in a Christmas tree ball, but also a realistic one. You will get a very original composition. As other options for drawing a reindeer with a pencil, we can recommend the following interesting drawings.
This is a deer against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains or against the backdrop of the polar lights (this can be done using shading with colored pencils, or by cleaning their lead with a knife or sandpaper and rubbing it with your fingers on an album sheet), a deer against the backdrop of a dark blue sky and the moon.
And also a surrealistic reindeer, painted in different bright colors, reindeer and Santa Claus's team. Such illustrations can be used for participation in children's New Year's drawing competitions.
Video about drawing
Reindeer pencil drawing: