How to Draw a Fox

Paso a paso

1. Paso 1

   Bloquear en el gran círculo de la cabeza de zorro.

   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.

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

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

2. Paso 2

   Añadir las dos líneas centrales, ligeramente.

   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.

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

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

3. Paso 3

   Dibuja el hocico como una cuña larga y estrecha.

   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.

   Cuidado. A short, wide muzzle, which reads as a puppy.

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

4. Paso 4

   Dibuja el primer oído: un triángulo alto, inclinado hacia afuera.

   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.

   Cuidado. Making the ears too small and too upright.

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

5. Paso 5

   Dibuja el segundo oído para que coincida con el primero.

   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.

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

   Comprobar Both should sit the same distance from the centre line.

6. Paso 6

   Añadir el oído interno como un triángulo más pequeño dentro de cada uno.

   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.

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

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

7. Paso 7

   Colocar los ojos en la línea central horizontal.

   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.

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

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

8. Paso 8

   Añadir la nariz en la punta del hocico y una línea de nuevo a la boca.

   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.

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

   Comprobar The nose should be small relative to the muzzle.

9. Paso 9

   Dibuja el cuerpo como un triángulo redondeado debajo de la cabeza.

   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.

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

   Comprobar The body outline should pass behind the head.

10. Paso 10

    Dibuja la cola como una curva larga y gruesa, más ancha de lo que esperas.

    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.

    Cuidado. A thin tail, which loses the whole silhouette.

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

11. Paso 11

    Marca el pecho blanco y la punta blanca de la cola.

    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.

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

    Comprobar You should have two clearly reserved light shapes.

12. Paso 12

    Sombrea las puntas de los oídos, las piernas y la punta del hocico más oscura.

    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.

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

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

13. Paso 13

    Añadir los pocos bigotes y una sugerencia de piel en el pecho.

    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.

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

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

14. Paso 14

    Repasa las líneas que quieres mantener, y pierde los guías.

    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.

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

    Comprobar The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.