How to Draw a Swan

Swans are one of the easiest animals to draw as you're learning and refining your artistic technique. A couple of simple curvy lines can become a swan with as little effort as it takes a swan to glide across the surface of a pond.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Draw a simple number "2" and make the line at the bottom of the "2" bump up slightly in the middle to look like a small hill.

2. Extend the top point of the "2" so that it curls under slightly like a hook. Make a curved line, like a smile, from the top of your hook and down about a half inch. The top of the smile will retrace the top of the hook.

3. Create tail feathers by making several zig-zag-like triangles off the base of the "2".

4. Add water ripples that start under the last tail feather and extend across the page.

5. Draw a line from the top of your hook (or smile) down to the water to make the swan's neck.

6. Take the point at the bottom of the smile and extend it to the top of the curve on the head of the "2" to make a beak. Add a black dot for an eye.

Tips & Warnings

• Look at a picture of a swan and see if you can recognize the "2" shape the swan makes. This will make the swan easier to visualize while you're drawing it.
• Sketch the swan out with a pencil. You can darken it with pencil shading or markers after it looks the way you want it.