How to Draw Hanging Deer Heads

Deer before it is gutted or mounted deer heads can be the inspiration for your artwork.

If you happen to be a hunter and an artist you may have some interest in drawing a hanging deer head. The approach will be similar to drawing a regular deer but you'll obviously be working on something that is no longer living. After shooting deer, hunters typically hang the animals by their necks for storing and cutting up. Another equally acceptable approach would be to draw a deer head that has gone through taxidermy and been mounted. Either of these can be the inspiration for artwork depicting a hanging deer head. According to "Deer: The Ultimate Artist's Reference," by Doug Lindstrand, "It quickly becomes evident that no two deer seem to look alike...colors, sizes and antlers all vary."

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Gather some images of a hanging deer or a mounted deer head from the internet or books. If your home has a mounted deer head this could serve as your ideal model.
- 2
  
  Decide which route you'll go. A deer in cold storage ready for gutting may be a little more gruesome but could allow you to draw portions of the body. A mounted head will be more straightforward and approachable for most.
- 3
  
  Sketch a forward facing deer head. Use an oval-like shape to work around for the entirety of the head.
- 4
  
  Add a small snout with two outward facing nostrils at the closest and lower end of the head. Include an outward sloping neck from the side of the head and just under the snout.
- 5
  
  Draw two small, black eyes on the outer edges of the upper portion of the head. Extend two long, oval shaped ears out from the head where the eyes are located.
- 6
  
  Sketch a large set of two sharp antlers on either side of the top of the head. The antlers needn't be symmetrical but should look something like tree branches.