How to Draw Dogs

A dog is a man's best friend, and they're wonderful subjects for drawing, too. Follow the steps below and you can sketch a cute pooch simply by using basic shapes and adding details.

Things You'll Need

• Black felt tip marker
• Drawing pencils
• Drawing pad or paper
• Photo or drawing of a dog

Instructions

1. Draw a circle for the dog's head.

2. Add a second slightly larger circle below the head for the dog's body.

3. Draw a third circle a few inches away from the body circle for the hindquarters.

4. Draw an oval shape that overlaps the head circle to form the dog's snout.

5. Draw two lines to attach the head to the body.

6. Draw a pair of curving lines to attach the body to the hindquarters.

7. Make the legs from curving lines at the bottom of the body circle and the bottom of the hindquarters circle.

8. Draw small ovals at the bottom of the legs for paws.

9. Draw in the ears and tail.

10. Erase the interior lines of the original shapes.

11. Add eyes and a nose to the face.

12. Add lines to the paws for details.

13. Color with felt tip markers or inks if desired.

For a More Realistic Dog

1. Use a sketch or photo of a dog as a model.

2. Draw light grid lines across the photo.

3. Draw a light grid on your sketch paper with very light pencil lines.

4. Working one square at a time, sketch what you see in each square with a pencil.

5. Erase the grid lines when you are done drawing.

Tips & Warnings

• When working from a photo grid, don't try to draw the whole shape at once. The point of the exercise is to learn to draw exactly what you see, not what you know.

• Always sketch lightly in pencil first so that you can erase your guidelines.

• Try different size circles and shapes to make different types of dogs.