How to Draw a Real Monkey

Monkeys are fascinating, clever and often very funny creatures. Their expressive personalities and unique physical traits make them very entertaining creatures to draw. Similar to humans, monkeys have expressive faces, fingers and body language that can make for dynamic character studies and life drawings. Here we will be drawing the capuchin monkey, a native monkey of South and Central America.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Drawing pencils
• Kneaded eraser

1. 
    
   Here is the basic frame for the monkey.

   Block out the basic shapes of a capuchin monkey. Using ovals, circles and lines, create a basic frame on which to add all of the monkey details. Start with a large football-shaped oval in the center on the page. Then add a circle for the head, then dd lines for the arms, legs and curly tail. Finally, add four small circles for the hands and feet.

2. 
    
   The monkey is now taking shape.

   Add two smaller circles for eyes and a half football-shaped oval for the nose and mouth inside the circle that you’ve made for the head. Then add a mask shape around the eyes, two small ovals for nostrils and a bent line for the mouth. These will later blend in to become the face. To the side of the head, add a small circle for the ear. With long ovals, like jellybeans, add the fingers and toes.

3. 
    
   With the frame in place, we begin to really see the monkey.

   Add circles around the shoulders, ankles, knees and hips. Now draw lines around the frame of the arms and legs to add thickness to the capuchin monkey’s limbs. Trace around the curly tail line to add thickness to the tail of the monkey.

4. 
    
   Now the basic monkey is done.

   Trace out the fur around the lines that were added for thickness. Inside the face, use the framework provided to flesh out the details of the face. Place small upturned curved lines around the nostrils to create the nose. Place small curved lines around the eye circles to create eyelids and add the bridge of the nose by creating lines that run up around the monkey’s face mask area and around its eyes. Add knuckles to the hands and feet with small hill shaped curves.

5. 
    
   A realistic and very cute monkey!

   Complete the capuchin monkey by adding shading and fur lines. First, darken in the eyes leaving a little bit of white to show reflection, then add shading to the face and ears. Fur can be detailed by making small lines in a burst-like shape around the animal's body to indicate a ripple in the animal’s coat. Darken the hands and feet, being careful not to overdo the shading. Gradually darken the tip of the tail and down to add color to the monkey’s tail, and do the same on the top of the monkey’s head to show the coloration pattern of the monkey’s fur. To add depth, darken the limbs of the monkey that are furthest away from the viewer. This will add a further dimension of realism to the drawing.