Chicken drawing for children with pencil, paints

Drawing a chick will help a child learn what real little chicks look like. Before starting the lessons, parents need to choose the right tools and materials, look at several step-by-step master classes and choose a picture to copy.

What you need for drawing

It is advisable to choose paints in natural shades. The table lists the main paint colors and additional tools that you may need for painting, as well as their purposes.

Simple pencil	It is needed to create a sketch. For a colorless drawing, you will need 3 pencils of different hardness with marks: T2, TM, M2.
Eraser	Required to remove excess pencil lines
Yellow paint	It is needed to paint the chicken's body.
Orange paint	To work out the details and color the beak
Brown paint	Useful for creating shadows, drawing feathers and painting legs.
Black paint	It is needed for the design of the eyes and the final outline.
Art brushes	Brushes should be of different thickness and hardness.

If the chicken is going to be painted with watercolors, it is better to give preference to special sheets for watercolors. This paper is thicker than regular album paper. It does not deform from moisture. The surface of these sheets is rough, so they absorb excess paint well and do not allow it to spread.

Step by step instructions on how to draw a chicken with a pencil

A chick (a drawing for younger children should not contain too many details) drawn with simple pencils can be more realistic than a picture made with paints. Thin pencil lines can show the direction of feather growth, apply shadows and work out small details of the drawing.

Contours

First you need to make a pencil sketch with the mark T2.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Draw a small circle in the center of the sheet. This will be the chick's future head.
2. Draw an oval at the bottom that is twice as large as the head. Place it at an angle. The top of the figure should touch the outline of the circle at the bottom.
3. Using thin lines, connect the circle and oval into 1 figure. The place where they connect is the chicken's neck, so the lines should be slightly curved inward.
4. Draw a small tail for the chicken, slightly extending beyond the oval lines.
5. Draw 1 small wing on the side. Its edges can be depicted with a wavy line, imitating the shape of feathers.
6. Since the chicken in the picture will be turned half-turned, the other wing should not be drawn completely; it is enough to depict only a small part protruding from behind the breast.
7. Draw the bird's legs below. They should have the shape of an inverted and elongated cone.
8. At the bottom, on the thinnest part of the legs, depict hooked toes.
9. Draw a triangular beak.
10. Add 1 small and round eye. Draw 2 short eyelashes.
11. On the other hand, there is no need to draw the eyes. It is enough to indicate the protruding eyelashes, which will show that the chick has 2 eyes, it is just not visible.

Erase all additional lines with the eraser. Remove the connections of the figures inside the neck, erase the lines inside the tail.

Detailing

Details should be drawn with a pencil marked TM.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Outline the outline of the chick's head and body with a zigzag line, imitating protruding fluff and small feathers.
2. Draw a small crest on the top of the chicken's head.
3. Draw feathers on the wings and tail.
4. On the bird's legs you need to make several horizontal stripes.
5. Draw nostrils on the beak.

Use an eraser to remove the contour lines of the head on the crest, and also erase the old contour of the body.

Shadows and highlights

The shadows need to be worked out with a pencil marked M2.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Shade the lower part of the body.
2. Draw a shadow under the wing.
3. Paint the tips of the wings.
4. Shade the area under the tail.
5. Apply a few strokes to the front of the neck.
6. Mark the shadow under the crest.
7. Carefully blend all applied strokes with your fingers.
8. Use an eraser to remove any graphite that accidentally got smeared outside the outlines of the drawing.
9. Color the chick's eye and shade the beak.

When applying strokes, do not press the pencil. Use a sharp-angle eraser to erase a little graphite inside the eye to create a glare. Also remove a thin layer of graphite from the top of the beak.

Step by step instructions on how to paint a chicken

A chicken (a drawing for children can be done in a cartoon style), drawn with paints, will turn out bright and beautiful. The colors of the paints should be selected taking into account their features.

For example, gouache will become 1-2 tones paler after drying, and watercolor will have to be applied in 2-3 layers to get bright shades, since this paint is translucent.

Sketch

The sketch should be made with a pencil marked T2.

Algorithm of actions:

1. In the center of the sheet, draw an oval at an angle. Its upper part is the chicken's head, and the lower part is the tail.
2. Use zigzag lines to indicate the shape of the chick's plumage, standing sideways. The lines may extend beyond the drawn outline. It is important to maintain proportions, so the head should be drawn smaller than the body.
3. The breast should be round and slightly protruding forward.
4. Draw the tail slightly raised, with a protruding corner at the end.
5. Mark the bottom line of the wing.
6. Draw thick, short legs with straight toes.
7. Indicate the position of the round, small eye and triangular beak.

Use an eraser to remove any extra lines, if any.

Coloring

Now you need to color the chicken's body, its eye, beak and legs.

Step by step:

1. Take a wide brush, dip it into the water, squeeze it against the edge of the jar, and lightly wet the painted body of the chicken.
2. Take some yellow paint and paint the head and body completely.
3. Let 1 coat of paint dry, then apply 2 coats.
4. Mix yellow and orange paint in a 1:1 ratio, use a wet brush to apply this color to the chick's neck area, under the wing and on the tail.
5. Color the lower part of the body.
6. Using a thin brush, pick up some brown color and paint the chicken's legs.
7. Then paint the beak with orange paint.

Wait until the drawing is completely dry, and then paint the eye black. You can use a felt-tip pen instead of paint.

Detailing

The drawing needs to be detailed, drawing the chicken's feathers along the contour and creating highlights. For younger children, parental assistance may be required.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Using a thin brush, pick up some orange paint and use a zigzag line to highlight the growth of feathers on the lower part of the bird's body.
2. Add a few strokes under the tail, outline its tip and upper part.
3. Also paint the back.
4. Make a few strokes on the top of the chicken's head. There is no need to color the neck and chest.
5. Outline the wing with orange strokes.
6. Add 1 small stroke above the eye and 3 strokes of different sizes on the chest.
7. Wash the brush thoroughly in clean water and take white paint. Put 1 small dot inside the eye and on the beak, imitating glare.

All orange strokes should be applied in accordance with the direction of growth of the chick's feathers.

Pattern variations

The chicken (a drawing for children can be done with colored pencils or artistic pastels) drawn in the picture can resemble a cartoon character that the child likes. Recognizable images will help to interest the child and focus his attention on the lesson.

Further in the article you can look at 5 step-by-step master classes on drawing chicken characters from famous cartoons.

Chicken Little

This is a minor character from the animated series "Be-be-bears". You can draw it with a pencil and color it with markers.

Algorithm of actions:

• The body and head are 1 square with rounded corners. Use a simple pencil to draw this figure in the center of the sheet.
• Draw the chicken's wings spread out in different directions.
• Add a crest on the top of the head in the form of 3 elongated feathers with round ends.
• Draw straight, long legs with 2 thick toes on each foot.
• Finish drawing round eyes and small eyebrows.
• Draw the beak as a circle divided in half by an arched line.
• Draw large pupils in the eyes and mark 2 round highlights inside.

• Use an eraser to remove excess pencil lines.
• Use a yellow marker to color the chicken's body, wings and crest.
• Paint the legs and beak orange.
• Paint the pupils with black, avoiding the highlights.

Trace the outline of the drawing with a black marker.

Chicken Tweety

This is a chicken from the American cartoon series called "Sylvester and Tweety". In this master class, Tweety will be drawn with a simple pencil and painted with gouache.

Algorithm of actions:

• Use a pencil to draw a large chicken head that tapers towards the bottom.
• Add some cheeks.
• Draw a thin, short neck.
• Tweety has a small, oval body. Its length should be 2 times shorter than its head.
• Draw the wings tightly pressed to the body. They should look as if Tweety hid the tips of the wings behind his back.
• The transition from the body to the legs needs to be done correctly. Tweety's plumage looks like shorts. This needs to be shown in the drawing.

• Tweety's legs are short and his feet are very large. His feet have 2 large, round toes.
• Now you need to design the chick's face. Draw the eyes in the form of highly raised arcs.
• Draw small arcs at the bottom, slightly extending over the eyes, which imitate chubby cheeks.
• Draw the beak from 2 semicircles. The lower part should be slightly smaller than the upper one.
• Draw 2 arcs on the sides, curved inward, again imitating cheeks.
• Inside each eye, draw an elongated pupil and iris.
• Add 3 long eyelashes to each eye.
• Draw small arched eyebrows.
• On the top of the head, depict a crest in the form of 3 long hairs.
• Use yellow paint to paint the chicken's body, head and wings.
• Paint the legs and beak orange.
• Paint the irises of the eyes with blue paint.
• Fill the pupils with black and outline the entire drawing.

The outline should be done with a thin brush with hard bristles.

Chicken Como

The chicken (a drawing for younger children can be done by skipping the step of creating a simple pencil sketch) named Como is a character from an animated series for children aged 2 to 5 years.

In this master class, Como is drawn using colored pencils.

Algorithm of actions:

• Draw an arc with a grey pencil. This will be the shell on Como's head. Draw the edges of the shell with a zigzag line.
• Use a yellow pencil to draw an oval body of the chicken.
• Draw the second half of the eggshell at the bottom using a grey pencil.
• Using brown color, draw thin legs of the chicken with short toes.
• Draw the eyes, the pupils inside them, and the eyebrows.
• Highlight the beak with orange. It can be depicted slightly open. In this case, draw the tongue inside with a pink pencil.
• Komo is friends with a pink worm. He often wears it on his "hat". You need to draw this worm on the top of the eggshell.
• Using a yellow pencil, draw small wings spread out to the sides.
• Draw a triangle on the chick's chest. Color the chick's body yellow.

• Use a pink pencil to color the worm and the bird's tongue.
• Use a grey pencil to draw round spots on the eggshell and colour them in.
• Paint the chicken's beak orange.

You can outline the drawing with a dark brown pencil or a black pen.

Chicken Chicky

Another character from the cartoon series called "Funny Chicken Chiki". It can be drawn with gouache.

Algorithm of actions:

• Using a wide, hard-bristled brush, pick up some yellow paint and paint a large circle.
• The edges of the circle should be made uneven, imitating the plumage of a chick.
• Draw a tuft of hair on the top of the head.
• Draw wings that should widen towards the ends.
• Using orange paint and a smaller brush, paint short legs with 3 long toes.
• Dry the drawing.

• Draw elongated oval eyes in white.
• While the white is drying, use orange paint to draw a beak from 2 semicircles. The lower part should be smaller than the upper one.
• Draw pupils inside the eyes with black paint. Dry the drawing.
• Dip a thin brush in white paint and put 2 medium-sized dots in each eye. They will imitate glare.

The outline of the drawing can be done with brown paint and a thin brush.

Chicken from the Soviet cartoon "Who are these birds?"

In this cartoon the animation was puppet-style, but the main character, a chicken, can be drawn using a simple pencil and watercolors.

Algorithm of actions:

• Using a simple pencil, draw the round body of the chick.
• Add small wings, long legs and a crest on the head.
• Draw the eyes round but small.
• Inside each eye, draw the pupils and iris.
• Add 3 straight and long eyelashes.
• Draw long toes on the feet.
• Draw an elongated beak that widens towards the middle and tapers towards the corners.

• Take a medium-sized brush, mix yellow and white paint in a 1:1 ratio, and paint the chicken's body.
• Add 1 part brown to the resulting shade and paint the wings.
• Mix brown and orange paint in a 1:1 ratio, paint the comb and beak.
• Paint the irises of the eyes with blue paint.
• Paint the pupils with black.
• Take the thinnest brush and outline the iris of the eyes with dark blue paint.
• Rinse the brush in clean water. Paint the bird's legs with brown and outline the drawing.

The outline of this drawing should be done with a brown marker. Black will make the picture too sharp.

Examples of images for copying, tips for beginners

Those who are just learning to draw need to know a few secrets that will make the drawing more accurate.

Tips for Beginners:

• To avoid smudging the graphite of a simple pencil, place a sheet of clean paper under your hand.

• By creating a sketch using circles and ovals, you can trace round objects or tablespoons by placing them on the paper.
• When painting the body of the chicken, it is important not to go beyond the eye lines, especially if they are supposed to be white. To avoid this, paint should be applied around each eye and wait until it dries. After that, you can start painting.
• If the paints take a long time to dry, you can blow on the drawing with a hair dryer.
• When painting long chicken fingers with paint, the brush should be pressed at the base and raised closer to the end of the finger, then the line will smoothly change thickness.
• To show the direction of feather growth, you need a brush with hard bristles and very thick paint. Then you will get clear strokes.
• You should only outline a picture drawn with paints after it has completely dried.

The main rule of drawing is not to get upset if the drawing does not turn out beautiful the first time. You can always take a new sheet of paper and try to draw the picture again.

Drawing chickens will help children develop their thinking and prepare their hand for writing. Parents should conduct classes together with the child, explaining in the process of drawing what chickens are, where they come from and how they grow. The picture for copying can be chosen from the options presented in the article.

Video about drawing

Chicken drawing for kids: