How to Draw a Turkey Picture

By tracing the outline of your hand, you can create a basic shape that can be transformed into a turkey picture. The thumb becomes the head of the turkey and the palm becomes its body. The fingers become the turkey's tail feathers. This method is particularly helpful for people who are not artistically inclined or who find drawing difficult. This turkey drawing is a great project to do with the kids around Thanksgiving day.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Graphite pencil
• Colored pencils

1. 

   Place the hand you don't write with on a piece of white paper. Use the other hand to lightly trace its outline in graphite pencil.

2. 

   Lift your pinky finger and move it slightly outward. Trace it again to add a fifth tail feather to the turkey picture.

3. 

   Go over the outline of the palm and the bottom three-quarters of the fingers in a dark brown colored pencil. Create a rounded shape at the bottom of the palm to complete the turkey's body. Trace over the tips of the fingers in black pencil. Trace over the thumb in red. Draw a beak and a gobbler in red.

4. 

   Use dark brown pencil to draw a line connecting the top of the turkey's body where the fingers meet the palm. Then draw overlapping feathers on the turkey's body. Start at the base of the neck and work your way to the back of the body. Give the turkey an eye, and add additional tail feathers in between and behind the ones you've already created. Draw some simple feet underneath the body.

5. 

   Draw black lines down the center of the tail feathers. Then draw bold, thick dark brown lines going across the tail feathers.

6. 

   Color in the feathers with burnt ochre. To create texture, color each feather individually. Follow the direction of the semicircular lines you created when you drew the feather outlines. Go over the feathers again to darken them slightly.

7. 

   Create light hash marks with the burnt ochre pencil on the tail feathers. Make sure these lines go in the direction of the feather strands. Create a thick black band at the top of each feather with a slight curve at the top. Color in the turkey's eyeball in black pencil.

8. 

   Color the turkey's head red, and color the feet and the beak yellow.

Tips & Warnings

• Make several basic turkey picture outlines for your children to color while you're making Thanksgiving dinner.
• Frame your turkey pictures, or display them prominently on your refrigerator.

[tachic]

on 8/24/2009 Great Turkey picture!