How to Draw & Shade a Horse

Capture the distinctive look of a horse by using a few basic shapes.

Horses have had an important role in society for several thousand years and continue to do so today. They have worked alongside humans on farms and they have been essential on battlefields. Before automobiles, they had an indispensable role in transportation. Horses also have always had a starring role in leisure-time activities, from riding competitions to racing. Horses display a variety of coat colors and various markings, and numerous horse breeds exist today. You can capture the distinctive look of a horse by using a few basic shapes.

Instructions

1. Draw a cone on its side that is about twice as long as it is wide. Make one end of the cone only slightly narrower than the other end.

2. Round all of the edges of the cone. This shape is the head.

3. Draw two small triangles next to each other at the top of the wider end of the head. These triangles represent the ears.

4. Draw a small circle near the edge, and in the middle of, the narrow end of the head. This represents the nostril.

5. Draw an oval one-third of the way from the wider edge of the head and right in the middle of it. Make the oval the same size as the nostril. This represents the eye.

6. Draw a rectangle connected to the bottom of the head and pointing downward. Make the rectangle as wide, and as long, as the head. This represents the neck.

7. Draw a kidney bean shaped body that connects at one end to the neck. The body should be slightly concave on top and convex on the bottom, or belly, side. Make the body about three times as long as the head.

8. Draw two front legs emerging from the body where it meets the neck. Make the legs half the width of the neck and curve the end of each leg slightly toward the front of the horse to represent the hoof.

9. Draw two back legs emerging from the underneath the rear end of the body. The top half of the leg should point backward and be wider than the bottom half, which should point forward and be the width and shape of the front leg.

10. Draw many slightly curved, thin lines emerging from the rear end of the body. These lines represent the tail.

11. Erase all stray and overlapping lines.

12. Add shade to the body by gently pressing the pencil onto the paper and moving it around in small circles, from the outline inward. Add less and less shade as you move toward the center of the body.

13. Shade the neck from the outline inward, leaving the center of the neck lighter.

14. Shade the back of the head, continuing the shading from the neck.

15. Shade the underside of the head and blend it into the shading of the neck.

References

• "Spirit of the Horse"; Bob Langrish, et al.; 2005