How to Draw an Ugly Duck

An ugly duck usually refers to the 19th century fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson, in which a family of ducks accidentally raises a swan. Young swans have short necks and big feet and are covered in down. They have mottled gray or brown coloring for the first few years before turning white. Keep this in mind when drawing an ugly duck.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drawing paper
• Pencils
• Tortillon
• kneaded eraser

1. Draw simple shapes. Use circles for the head and front of the duck. Sketch a large oval for the body, small ovals for the wings, rectangles for the legs and triangles for the beak. For an ugly duck, make the beak a little bit large and put a crook in it.

2. Connect the shapes with lines. Curved lines connect the head to the body and form the neck. You should have the general outline of a duck. If it is not an ugly enough duck, exaggerate the proportions to make it more ungainly.

3. Add shading to create dimension and blend until smooth. If using a pencil, smudge with a tortillon and go in with a kneaded eraser to create lighter areas. Follow the shape of the duck.

4. Fill in with fine lines and details. Use curved lines for the feathers. Put dark oval pupils into the eyes keeping a white dot in the pupil for realism. Add some dark to the end of the beak.

5. Create texture with fine marks. To draw an ugly duck, make the feathers ragged and uneven on the wings. For the body, give it a messy appearance by varying the direction of the pencil lines.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't forget to add large webbed feet.
• Practice drawing your duck until you are satisfied with how it looks.