How to Draw a Fox

ជំហាន​ដោយ​ជំហាន

1. ជំហាន 1

   ប្លុក​ក្នុង​រង្វង់​ធំ​នៃ​ក្បាល​ឆ្កែ ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល It should fill most of your page, with a margin all round.

2. ជំហាន 2

   បន្ថែម​បន្ទាត់​កណ្ដាល​ពីរ​បន្តិច​ម្តងៗ ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល They should cross at the middle of the shape you just drew.

3. ជំហាន 3

   គូរ​មាត់​ជា​ចាន​វែង​តូច ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល The muzzle should be about half the head's width in length.

4. ជំហាន 4

   គូរ​ត្រចៀក​ដំបូង ៖ ត្រីកោណ​ខ្ពស់ បង្វិល​ចេញ ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Making the ears too small and too upright.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល The ear should be about half the height of the head circle.

5. ជំហាន 5

   គូរ​ត្រចៀក​ទីពីរ​ដើម្បី​ផ្គូផ្គង​នឹង​ទីមួយ ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល Both should sit the same distance from the centre line.

6. ជំហាន 6

   បន្ថែម​ត្រចៀក​ខាង​ក្នុង​ជា​ត្រីកោណ​តូច​នៅ​ក្នុង​មួយ​ៗ ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល There should be a visible margin all round each inner triangle.

7. ជំហាន 7

   ដាក់​ភ្នែក​នៅ​លើ​បន្ទាត់​កណ្តាល​ផ្ដេក ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល You should be able to fit one more eye between the two.

8. ជំហាន 8

   បន្ថែម​ច្រមុះ​នៅ​ចុង​មាត់​ និង​បន្ទាត់​ត្រឡប់​ទៅ​មាត់ ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល The nose should be small relative to the muzzle.

9. ជំហាន 9

   គូរ​រាងកាយ​ជា​ត្រីកោណ​មូល​នៅ​ក្រោម​ក្បាល ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល The body outline should pass behind the head.

10. ជំហាន 10

    គូរ​ចុង​ជា​ខ្សែកោង​វែង​ក្រាស់ ធំ​ជាង​អ្នក​រំពឹង​ទុក ។

    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.

    ប្រយ័ត្ន A thin tail, which loses the whole silhouette.

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល The tail should be at least a third as thick as the body is wide.

11. ជំហាន 11

    សម្គាល់​ទ្រូង​ស និង​ចុង​ចុង​ស ។

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល You should have two clearly reserved light shapes.

12. ជំហាន 12

    ដាក់ស្រមោលចំណុចកំពូលត្រចៀក, ជើងនិងចំណុចកំពូលមាត់ងងឹតបំផុត.

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល The ear tips should be clearly the darkest part of the drawing.

13. ជំហាន 13

    បន្ថែម whisper តិចតួចនិងសំណើនៃសក់នៅលើទ្រូង.

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល Step back. You should still read the big shape first, detail second.

14. ជំហាន 14

    ដើរ​កាត់​បន្ទាត់​ដែល​អ្នក​ចង់​រក្សា​ទុក ហើយ​បាត់បង់​មគ្គុទ្ទេសក៍ ។

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.