Easy Animals To Draw Realistically

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From visiting the zoo to begging for critters of their own, kids love animals! They love animals of all shapes and sizes, covered in fur, feathers, and scales— and they tend to love drawing them, too. Read on below the jump to learn how to draw all you favorite animals, including insects, household pets, and even sea creatures!

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1

Draw a caterpillar with a couple of rounded "M"s and a circle for the head. Give your caterpillar a nice bright smile while you're at it, and maybe a leaf or two to munch.
2

Draw a butterfly using more simple shapes and patterns. Include lots of color and try to make the wings as symmetrical as possible.

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3

Draw a frog poised to hop. The point of view can be from the front or the side, so long as you get the angle of the back legs right.
4

Draw a hamster with little paws and whiskers. Color it a darker brown on the outline and a lighter brown on its stomach, like so.
5

Draw a rabbit to keep your hamster company. Your picture could be of a domestic rabbit, shown above, or a rabbit like Bugs or the Easter Bunny. It's up to you!
6

Draw a turtle . You can try your hand at a cartoon turtle, a realistic turtle, or even a snapping turtle—draw them all if you want!
7

Draw a monkey . This one is a little complicated, but you should end up sketching a cute baby monkey with big eyes and a long tail.
8

Draw a cow grazing in a field. The more realistic your cow is, the more of a challenge it will be to draw it, but you shouldn't have much trouble so long as your proportions are correct.
9

Draw a fish as either gray and scaly or as a cartoon. If you'd prefer a fish you could keep in your home, try drawing a goldfish instead.
10

Draw a dolphin jumping out of the water. Make sure to shade it darker on the bottom!

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Question

How do I draw a lion?

Draw a circle for the lion's face, then surround it with zig-zag lines for the mane. Add two dots for the eyes, an upside-down triangle for the nose and an upside-down Y for the mouth.
Question

How do I draw a dolphin?

Draw a banana shape with a shape like this "< " on it, but round the point.
Question

How do I draw a realistic chick?

Start by drawing a figure eight shape (like "8"). Then, draw a beak and some eyes on the top circle. Finish up your drawing with some wings and webbed feet on the bottom circle. If you want, you can color your chick yellow and orange too.
Question

How do I shade without smudging?

Use a blending pencil, you can buy them at a craft store like Michael's or Joann's.
Question

How do I draw realistic eyes?
Question

How do you draw a picture of a baby fox?

You google pictures of a baby fox and draw from it.
Question

How do I draw without smearing the paper?

There is a special glove that prevents smearing and keeps your drawing neat and clean. This is a great tool for left-handed people, but also works for right-handed people as well.
Question

How do I draw a dog?
Question

How can I draw more than one animal in a picture?

Once you've practiced drawing one, you can add more to your picture. Make sure the first one you draw doesn't take up the whole page, so there will be room for more animals.
Question

How do I draw a spider?

SunPuppy

Community Answer

Draw a small circle for the head, and a bigger circle for the body. On the spider's head, draw eight tiny eyes and maybe a pair of spider jaws (half-crescents). Move on to the body and draw eight legs, four on each side, and finish it up by drawing whatever design you want on it!

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Trace over the final drawing with black pen or with pencil.
Draw lightly in pencil so that you can easily erase mistakes.
You don't need to add every strand of fur to an animal. Just draw the basic outline and shade it in.
To create realistic looking fur while drawing animals, try using colored pencils to add definition and texture.
If you want to use markers or watercolors on your drawing, use paper that is relatively thick and line over your pencil more darkly before doing so.