How to Draw White-Tail Bucks

Drawing a white-tailed buck is an excellent nature project.

Throughout time, the White-Tailed Deer has inspired many cultures, from Ancient Greece to the Americas. This fascination with the genteel creature continues today, as many nature-loving artists attempt to capture on canvas the deer's sleek and nimble body. Drawing a deer, specifically a buck, means paying attention to the basic geometric shapes that form the natural world around us.

Instructions

1. Draw a rectangle in the middle of your paper. This shape serves as the basis of the animal's body, so make the shape as large or as small as you'd like your final product to be. Draw a half-circle on the right end of the rectangle and erase the dividing line between the two shapes. Draw a trapezoid on the top left of the rectangle.

2. Draw an upside down triangle, roughly the same size as the trapezoid, directly on top of the trapezoid. Draw the triangle so that the shape's tip points down into the trapezoid. These are the outlines for the neck and head of the buck. Erase any overlapping lines so that your entire drawing will appear as one solid, cohesive shape.

3. Draw a thin, elongated triangle on the rear (right) of the deer's torso to make the hind legs. Do the same to the front (left), making this triangle slightly thinner than the rear. Again, erase the overlapping lines. Erase the 90-degree angle on the bottom left of the rectangle and replace it with a smooth, upward contoured line to make the deer's front underside.

4. Add a vertical line down from the front of the contour you just drew. This implies the deer's opposite front leg and gives the drawing a 3D depth. Draw a similar line jutting down from the right underside, just ahead of the rear leg, to give the impression of the deer's other hind leg. Around the bottoms of the triangle legs, draw a line on either side that juts upward, giving the appearance of muscle.

5. Erase any overlapping lines. Add details to the face. Erase any sharp, angular lines and replace them with smoother, more contoured lines to add realism. Draw in the deer's eyes, ears and nose. (Consult a picture if need be for accuracy.) Draw the tail, either up (alertness) or down (calmness). Consider how many points you want the buck's antlers to have and draw the antlers accordingly. Antler size and points vary, so consult a picture again for ideas.

References

• "Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing"; Lee Hammond; 2004