Although not an owner of a dog, it is quite easy to draw once you know how.
Learn how to draw a dog in this tutorial. Perfect step-by-step guide for the absolute beginner, but also containing some very useful information for more advanced artists. The steps will be explained based on working digitally on a computer or tablet, but you can easily transpose them if you work traditionally with pencil and paper.
So get out your drawing tools, and let's get started!
How to draw a dog step-by-step drawing tutorial
Step 1: Drawing the Circle Draw a circle in the middle of your canvas. The size of the circle will determine the size of your dog's head, so make it as big as you want your portrait to be.
Step 2: Center Find the middle point of the circle and gently run a vertical line through it. This is going to help create a little grid from where you will be drawing an accurate dog's head.
Step 3: Vertical Guidelines Notice the middle of each side of the circle, then gently draw vertical lines on either side. Just make sure that you space them relatively evenly from the borders of the circle.
Step 4: Horizontal Division of Circle Divide the circle into three horizontal sections of equal size.
Step 5: Mouth and Nose Shape Sketch a rectangular shape, a little rounded at the edges, which will become a nose and mouth. Place it under the circle, but not on the very bottom, so that all of it fits within the guidelines vertically.
Step 6: Add Nose Draw a small rectangle in the middle area of the mouth for the nose. Make the nose symmetrical according to the central vertical guideline.
Step 7: Add the Eyes Draw two small circles for the eyes; this will be the center along the line of vertical guidelines.
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Step 8: Draw the bridge of the nose. Starting from the edges of the mouth, draw two arcs back towards the inner corners of the eyes, very slightly separated from one another.
Step 9: Add Eyebrow and Eyelid Guides
Draw two curved lines running from the bridge of the nose to halfway along the central guides, providing guides for the dog's eyebrows and eyelids.
Step 10: Outline the Face Structure
Simplify the skull of the dog by drawing two curved lines from the outer guidelines, showing the temple and cheekbones. Add the mouth with an inverted "Y" shape and two curved lines extending from the ends.
Step 11: Draw Neck and Define Skull
Indicate the indentation of the skull from the center to the bridge of the nose by two curved, converging lines at the top of the head. The neck may be indicated as extending two slight curves down from the cheek lines.
At that point, for smaller breeds, adjust accordingly. For a golden retriever, add in that ear shape which is characteristic, and then finally erase the guidelines.
Adding Details to the Dog For this section, use an 8B graphite pencil or graphite bar.
The Eyes Now, consider the type of breed it is (in this case, Golden Retriever) and provide details for the eyes. Add fur details above the eyes to outline their structure and define the eyelids.
Fur Details on the Face Add fur texture to the nose bridge, face center and mouth using soft strokes in the directions indicated by red arrows.
Drawing and Shading Dog Fur For this part, use an 8B graphite pencil and a blending tool stumps, q-tip, or paper towel.
Draw the Neck Use your dog for reference to help in drawing the neck fur. For a golden retriever, extend the fur to the sides as shown with the red lines in the mini diagram.
Focused Shading Erase remaining guidelines and add shadows to the eyes, nose and upper mouth for added realism. Darken the line under the tongue and chin if it shows.
Add the Rest of the Fur Fill in the rest of the fur areas that are marked in red with soft strokes, similar to what was learned in step 4.
Blending and Completing Take your blending tool and blend the graphite traces for smoothness in the texture. Fill in the nose, but not too dark at the top—leave a few highlights. Shade more in the eyes. Your drawing should now appear polished and lifelike.
Congratulations! You have just completed your dog portrait!
We hope that our drawing tutorials step-by-step have been of great help to beginners who wish to improve their skills.
No matter if it is a perfect sketch of a dog in a realistic manner or some playful cartoon pup, our guide purports to give clear and simple instructions on how to do this.
With practice and application of these techniques, you will greatly relish bringing both realistic and fanciful dog characters into being on paper.
If you are really into digital art, then "Digital Drawing in Procreate for Beginners" course is waiting for you. We do have an entire batch of other tutorials that can help you along the way. Check the course offerings; pick the one which really resonates with you and dive right in—the practice that will take your skills to the next level.