How to Draw Cattle with this how-to video and step-by-step drawing instructions. Simple drawing for kids and beginners.
Please see the drawing tutorial in the video below
You can refer to the simple step-by-step drawing guide below
Step 1
Large flowing lines and shapes
Actually, the steps on this website are almost the same, the important thing is that you have to do from big things to small things. For me, the process of drawing animals in general is universal.
I always start with some large natural shapes combined with gestural lines. This step is of the highest importance because you lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing.
Also pay attention to the correct proportions and placement of your drawing. The location of shapes within the boundaries of your drawing will determine your overall composition. If you’re just doing research this doesn’t matter much, but when you’re drawing or sketching for your first painting, keep this in mind.
Once the ground work is placed on paper and step 1 is completed, I dissect the animal into different parts, mainly the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.
Step 2
Build large cubes
This step is mostly imagination, I try to imagine myself big shapes. Because these large shapes will often blur your drawing. So try to avoid them on paper.
Of course, when you’re drawing a new animal for the first time, it’s helpful to print these large shapes on paper. But only if you find it difficult to imagine will I include the necessary shapes in your drawing.
The most useful shape for me is the shoulder keystone shape. Then you have a good basis to put your foot down.
Step 3
Head and neck
Once you have the essence on paper, we can draw step by step on large forms.
As mentioned before, I always divide my subjects into sections, for animals this is the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.
For the Head, I started with the eyes and nose, these are important features for me because they determine the proportions of the head. Once these were correct, I sketched the ears and the rest of the head on paper.
Try to achieve the correct proportions of the facial features, which are usually the focus of your drawing. And people can easily tell if something is wrong with the drawing if the overall proportions don’t match.
It’s important that you draw between and around the large shapes. And only create hints with minimal lines. As you can see above, I only tried to draw “hints” of fur.
I went down and tried to trace the anatomy of the beast. Because the cow has a lot of hair – depending on the subspecies – as opposed to the dog in another example, I don’t draw lines but curves to indicate the fur.
Don’t focus on every detail you see, because the drawing is just an expression of the artist’s perception of reality. And so it is not “THE” exact reality you perceive around you.
Step 4
Shoulders and Body
Again, try to think in big shapes and don’t get distracted by the details. You will notice that the simpler the drawing, the easier it is to see.
Cows stand tall on their feet and are heavily built. When young, they often have long legs compared to their bodies. This can make them look clumsy when jumping across pastures or fields. But this also gives them a lot of charm.
Once I place the lines of the shoulders and body, I try to draw ‘around’ and ‘over’ the imaginary shapes and lines of steps 1 and 2.
Step 5
Foot
Legs can be a bit tricky because the muscles can be complex. Try to clearly imagine the anatomy and simplify it according to the structure you see, to easily review the above anatomical study.
If you have followed the steps above, you will see it gradually starting to look like a cow. And if you’ve created a nice looking cow then the next step is to point out the details. Try to stop at the right moment and don’t put too many details into your drawing.
Sometimes drawing fewer lines will tell you more about the drawing.
Step 6
Details, tonal values and colors
Try to add some tonal value to your drawing, do this by applying the laws of light and shadow.
Erase the construction lines with the HB pencil from steps 1 and 2, if you don’t want them in your detail.
When you use a pencil, this can be done by crossing out or lightly shading the area with graphite. And when it comes to putting darker values on paper, just press harder or use a 4B or even 6B graphite pencil.
Highlights can easily be created by erasing them with an eraser.
Other drawings for your reference:
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