How to draw a Horse with this how-to video and step-by-step drawing instructions. Easy animals to draw for beginners and kids.
Please see the drawing tutorial in the video below
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You can refer to the simple step-by-step drawing guide below
Step 1:
Building the Horse’s Main Body
For all of our animal drawing tutorials, we always begin by using construction shapes and lines. Construction lines are simple and easy-to-draw shapes that help us construct the basic shape of our animal before we begin adding complicated details. Construction lines are used by professional and beginner artists alike, and they are sometimes referred to as an artist’s best-kept secret.
To begin our drawing of a horse, we are going to use a long, horizontal oval to represent the horse’s main body. This first step is deceivingly simple because while it is just an oval, you need to make sure that it is placed perfectly on your page
Step 2:
Building the Horse’s Head
The second step in this easy horse drawing tutorial is also a simple construction step, but it is essential. In this step, you are going to use a small circle to represent the head in your drawing of a horse. To the right and above the main body construction oval, draw a small circle. You want the circle to be just above, and just in front of the main oval.
Step 3:
Building the Horse’s Muzzle
Before you join the head to the body, you need to quickly construct the muzzle of the horse. For the muzzle, you are going to use an oval shape that slopes at a 45-degree angle down towards the bottom right corner of your page. The top of this oval should overlap a lot with the head circle.
Step 4:
Building the Horse’s Neck
Finally, the time has come to join your horse’s head with its body. Begin with a curved line that starts at the very top of the head construction circle and curves down onto the top of the body oval. You want this line to join with the body oval just before the halfway point. Use another, smaller curved line to finish the neck, beginning just below the horizontal halfway point in the head circle, and join this to the body. You will use these lines to help you complete the final outline of your horse’s neck in later steps.
Step 5:
Building the Horse’s Ears
Adding the horse’s ears immediately transforms your construction drawing and helps you to see the horse come to life. To construct the ears, you are going to use two slightly differently shaped ovals. Begin where the neckline joins the head circle. At this point, draw a long and thin oval shape that comes to a point at the top. This front ear should look a little like a long petal. Just behind this first ear, draw another oval that is fatter and does not come to as much of a point.
Step 6:
Building the Horse’s Tail
For all the steps so far, you have used shapes to represent the different parts of the horse’s body. In this step, you are going to use a freehand curved line to create the general shape for the horse’s tail. The horse that we are drawing is on the move, so the tail is going to be flowing backward.
Step 7:
Building the Horse’s First Front Leg
We have broken down the horse legs drawing steps into a few parts because they are arguably the most tricky part of the horse drawing to nail. In this first horse legs drawing step, we are going to tackle the front back leg. Begin by drawing two small circles about a centimeter apart from each other. These two circles represent the two joints in the front leg.
The top circle should be in line with the head circle and should be the same distance away from the body as the head is.
Attach these circles to the main body oval with two lines that are as wide as the circles. You want to make sure that these lines are not two solid lines all the way down the leg. Instead, you want the lines to separate in between the circles. At the bottom of the bottom circle, draw a small curved triangular shape. This triangle will be the outline for your horse’s hoof.
Step 8:
Building the Horse’s Second Front Leg
In this step, you are going to use the same process to construct the second front leg. This front leg is the one closest to us, and it is bent as the horse is in motion. Again, you want to draw two circles to represent the joints, but these ci
rcles need to be in slightly different places.
If you use the two circles for the first front leg as guidelines, you want the top circle for this second leg to be behind them but in the middle of them.
Then, you can draw the second circle just below this first one and about a centimeter behind it. Use two lines to join these circles to the main body and each other. Because this front leg is closest to use, you can make the leg a little wider at the top where it joins the body oval. The final part of this step involves drawing a tear-drop shape around the bottom circle. This circular tear-drop shape will represent the hoof for this leg.
Step 9:
Building the Horse’s First Back Leg
You know the drill by now. In this step, you need to construct the back leg that is closest to you. The two joint circles need to be directly in line with the two in the very front leg. You also want to make sure that the bottom circle is in front of the top one. Because this back leg is the one closest to us, you want the top of the leg to be quite wide.
Step 10:
Building the Horse’s Final Leg
This step is the last horse leg drawing step. Begin again with your two joint circles, placing these higher than the others. Then, draw the lines that will be visible from our perspective, joining them behind the back leg you just drew. Finish this leg with the curved triangle for the final hoof.
Step 11:
Fine Lining the Horse’s Outline
At this stage of our easy horse drawing tutorial, you have done most of the heavy lifting work. Now, it is time to use a single fine-line outline to create the final shape of your horse. Using all the construction lines you have drawn so far, you are going to use a darker pencil to outline your horse. You can begin at any point, and gently add a few curves to your outline so that you are not following the construction lines too closely.
When it comes to outlining the legs that are closest to us, you need to take the line up into the belly of the horse to add some shape and perspective.
Around the joints in the legs, add a small bump in your outline. You can also add some additional streaks along the horse’s lower chest and neck to make it look a little more muscular. On the head, follow the construction lines fairly closely, but do not follow the dip between the circle and the muzzle oval. At the bottom of the nose, add the little curves that you can see in our example, and add a nostril and eye to the face. Outline the ears and add a few little curves inside them to add some depth and detail.
Step 12:
Drawing the Tail and Main Blowing in the Wind
Now that we have the general outline of your horse, it is time to draw the mane and tail. The way that we are going to draw these hair features will help give the impression of movement. Using a pen, or sharp pencil, draw many curving hairlines that flow towards the back of the horse. For the mane, begin around the ears, and start to draw a few small wavy lines in the right direction. Continue to move down the back of the horse’s neck, making the hairs longer as you go further back.
Step 13:
Adding Details to the Horse’s Legs
In this step, you are simply going to add details to the legs of your horse. Using the construction lines, add some curves around the joint circles, and add a few little lines in the areas of the legs that would be in shadow. You can also add small little strokes all along the legs to give the impression of hair in some places. Draw a line on the bottom of each foot to separate the hoof from the leg, and add some small lines on the hooves to give the impression of a slight shine.
Step 14:
Adding Texture and Details to Your Horse
Using the same technique as in the previous step, add cross shading lines throughout the body and head of your horse. You want to follow the general shape of the horse, and draw these textural lines in this direction. To make certain areas appear to have more muscular definition, add more cross-hatching to help them stand out. Add more textural lines in the areas that you would expect to be darker, such as around the eyes, in the ears, under the head, under the legs, and on the horse’s belly.
Step 15:
Finishing Your Easy Horse Drawing
In this final step of the drawing tutorial, you need to add some shading to add definition and make your drawing appear more rea
list. Using a dark gray or black color, add some light shading around the areas where you added additional textural detail in the last step. This shading will help define the contours of the horse’s body. Shade along the horse’s belly, down the insides of the legs, below the head, along the nose, and down the horse’s chest.
When you are happy with your level of shading, you have officially completed your horse drawing! Well done for having the patience to complete this tricky drawing tutorial. Hopefully you are feeling more confident in your drawing abilities, and we really hope that you are happy with your drawing of a horse.
