How to Draw a Gazelle in Pencil

Drawing a gazelle against the backdrop of its natural habitat creates an interesting portrait.

Gazelles belong to the antelope family. They possess legs that allow them to take great leaps as well as to run very fast. For artists who like to draw animals in their own habitat, the gazelle's African home offers an interesting visual backdrop for a gazelle portrait. The flatness of the earth emphasizes the length of the animal's legs in addition to the heights that it reaches when it jumps. When you're drawing a gazelle, take the time to choose an inspiration picture so that you gain maximum visual impact when the drawing is done.

Things You'll Need

• Gazelle pictures
• Ruler
• Drawing paper

Instructions

1. Look through magazines and books for pictures of gazelles. Seek out pictures that feature the gazelles running across the plains or in a mid-air leap.

2. Mark the gazelle picture with a grid that features 3/4-inch squares.

3. Prepare a grid on your drawing paper of the same dimensions. Lightly draw grid lines so you can erase them later.

4. Locate the grid square on your photo that has most of the gazelle's horns in it.

5. Determine the square number that the horns are in. For example, by counting the squares you discover that the square is five squares down and six squares across.

6. Find the corresponding square on your drawing paper.

7. Study how the lines that form the gazelle's horns intersect with the lines that make up the grid square. Notice their curves and angles, and the interplay between the lines.

8. Draw lines that mimic the lines in the photo's grid square on your paper's square. Replicate the way that they intersect each other and the way that they curve to form the outlines of the gazelle's horns. You'll end up with a line drawing that looks like the lines you see in the photo's grid square.

9. Finish filling in the rest of the grid squares on your paper. Although all of the areas are important in the overall composition of the picture, be mindful of the content of the grid squares that feature the gazelle's legs and the way they look in relation to the ground. His body will convey the the kinetic energy of the way he moves; if you draw the pencil lines correctly, you'll capture this essence.

10. Erase the grid lines on your gazelle drawing.

11. Shade the drawing. Notice the way the light and dark areas contrast each other. Use the side of your pencil's lead to shade the drawing. Mark the areas that need to be shaded lightly with your pencil. Use a pencil with the number 3B or higher to darken the darkest areas of your gazelle drawing.

Tips & Warnings

• A wide range of pencils exist that will allow you to lay down some rich shades and textures in your gazelle drawing. Experiment a bit with the pencils in the "B" range before you begin the gazelle drawing. You'll better understand the kinds of marks each one will make. This will help you lay down the right tone when you're shading.

References

• "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way"; Stan Lee and John Buscema; 1978
• "Sketchbook for the Artist"; Sarah Simblet; 2005
• "How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs"; Lee Hammond; 1995
• "Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil"; J.D. Hillberry; 1999
• "Keys to Drawing"; Bert Dodson; 1985
• National Geographic: Thomson's Gazelle

Resources

• Learn to Art; Shading Techniques: Hatching, Scribbling, Pointillism
• Learn to Draw: Shading
• Art Made Easy: Drawing Using a Grid
• All About Drawings: Grid Drawing