How to Draw a Fox

Stap met stap

1. Stap 1

   Blok in die groot sirkel van die jakkalskop.

   Everything else gets measured against this, so draw it in one motion rather than in short careful passes. A slightly lopsided shape drawn confidently is more use than a perfect one built out of twelve nervous strokes, because you can correct a shape and you cannot un-see a hesitant line.

   Pas op Drawing it small to leave room for detail. The big shape is most of the drawing - use the space.

   Gaan na It should fill most of your page, with a margin all round.

2. Stap 2

   Voeg by die twee middelste lyne, lig.

   These are the rulers for everything that follows. Without them the two halves of the fox drift apart by a few millimetres at a time and you do not notice until it is finished and subtly wrong. Press lightly - they come off at the end.

   Pas op Skipping them because it looks symmetrical already. It will not be by the time you are done.

   Gaan na They should cross at the middle of the shape you just drew.

3. Stap 3

   Trek die muilband as'n lang, smal wig.

   This is the shape that says fox rather than dog. It comes off the lower half of the circle and it is longer and thinner than feels right - compare its length to the head circle rather than guessing, and it should be about half as long as the head is wide.

   Pas op A short, wide muzzle, which reads as a puppy.

   Gaan na The muzzle should be about half the head's width in length.

4. Stap 4

   Teken die eerste oor: 'n hoë driehoek, leun na buite.

   Fox ears are big - roughly as tall as half the head circle - and the outer edge curves in slightly rather than running dead straight. Set the angle deliberately, because the two ears must agree.

   Pas op Making the ears too small and too upright.

   Gaan na The ear should be about half the height of the head circle.

5. Stap 5

   Trek die tweede oor om by die eerste een te pas.

   Compare it to the one you just drew rather than to your idea of a ear: same size, same angle, same distance from the centre. This is the comparison habit that fixes proportion everywhere, and a pair is the easiest place to practise it because the error is obvious once you look for it.

   Pas op Making the second ear smaller - it usually happens because your hand is more cramped on that side.

   Gaan na Both should sit the same distance from the centre line.

6. Stap 6

   Voeg die binneoor by as 'n kleiner driehoek binne in elke.

   Set in from the edges and slightly lower than the outer point. This is where the dark goes later, and it is what makes an ear read as a cup rather than as a flat shape stuck to the head.

   Pas op Inner triangles that touch the outer edges, which flattens the ear.

   Gaan na There should be a visible margin all round each inner triangle.

7. Stap 7

   Plaas die oë op die horisontale sentrum lyn.

   Fox eyes are almond-shaped and angled - the outer corner sits higher than the inner one, which is what gives a fox its sharp expression. Leave a full eye's width between them.

   Pas op Round eyes set level, which looks startled rather than alert.

   Gaan na You should be able to fit one more eye between the two.

8. Stap 8

   Voeg die neus by die punt van die muil en'n tou terug na die mond.

   A small rounded triangle, and it points down. The line from the nose back along the muzzle is what separates the top of the snout from the jaw, and without it the muzzle reads as a solid wedge.

   Pas op A large round nose, which pulls the drawing back toward a dog.

   Gaan na The nose should be small relative to the muzzle.

9. Stap 9

   Trek die liggaam as 'n geronde driehoek onder die kop.

   A sitting fox is essentially a wide-based triangle with the head on top. Overlap it with the head circle rather than butting them together - the overlap is what makes the head sit in front of the chest.

   Pas op Placing the body directly under the head with no overlap, which reads as two stacked shapes.

   Gaan na The body outline should pass behind the head.

10. Stap 10

    Trek die stert as'n lang dik kurwe, wyer as wat jy verwag.

    This is the shape most people undersize. A fox tail is about as long as the body and roughly a third as thick, and it curls round the base of the body rather than sticking out behind. Draw its outline as two curves, not one.

    Pas op A thin tail, which loses the whole silhouette.

    Gaan na The tail should be at least a third as thick as the body is wide.

11. Stap 11

    Merk die wit bors en die wit stertpunt.

    These are the two shapes that make a fox recognisable without colour. They are areas you leave alone, not areas you draw - deciding now where the paper stays white is what stops you shading over them in the next step.

    Pas op Shading the whole fox evenly and then trying to erase the white back in.

    Gaan na You should have two clearly reserved light shapes.

12. Stap 12

    Skadu die oorpunte, bene en muilstender.

    A fox's dark points are its ear tips, its lower legs and the very tip of its muzzle. Get real contrast between those and the white chest - a fox in a narrow band of grey looks like a stuffed toy.

    Pas op Being timid, so the darks and the whites end up only slightly different.

    Gaan na The ear tips should be clearly the darkest part of the drawing.

13. Stap 13

    Voeg die paar snorbaars en'n teken van pels op die bors by.

    Detail is suggested, never itemised. A handful of marks in the right places lets the eye fill in the rest, and drawing every one flattens the drawing into texture. Put them where they matter and stop early.

    Pas op Adding detail evenly all over, which removes the contrast between busy areas and quiet ones.

    Gaan na Step back. You should still read the big shape first, detail second.

14. Stap 14

    Gaan oor die lyne wat jy wil hou, en verloor die gidse.

    This is the step that turns a construction drawing into a finished one, and it is the one most people skip. Press harder on the outline and the features; leave the small stuff light. That difference in weight is what makes a drawing look deliberate rather than traced, and it costs thirty seconds.

    Pas op Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

    Gaan na The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.