How to Draw a Fox

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1. Icyiciro 1

   in i Gikomeye Uruziga Bya i Umutwe:.

   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.

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

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

2. Icyiciro 2

   i Kabiri Hagati Imirongo,.

   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.

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

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

3. Icyiciro 3

   i Nka A Igihe

   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.

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

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

4. Icyiciro 4

   Draw the first ear: a tall triangle, leaning outward.

   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.

   Gusuzuma Making the ears too small and too upright.

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

5. Icyiciro 5

   i ISEGONDA Kuri BIHUYE i Itangira.

   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.

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

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

6. Icyiciro 6

   Add the inner ear as a smaller triangle inside each.

   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.

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

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

7. Icyiciro 7

   i ku i Gitambitse: Hagati Umurongo:.

   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.

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

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

8. Icyiciro 8

   i Ku i Ikintu Bya i na A Umurongo: Inyuma Kuri i.

   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.

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

   Kugenzura... The nose should be small relative to the muzzle.

9. Icyiciro 9

   i Nka A munsi i Umutwe:.

   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.

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

   Kugenzura... The body outline should pass behind the head.

10. Icyiciro 10

    i Nka A Buri gihe,.

    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.

    Gusuzuma A thin tail, which loses the whole silhouette.

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

11. Icyiciro 11

    i Umweru na i Umweru Ikintu.

    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.

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

    Kugenzura... You should have two clearly reserved light shapes.

12. Icyiciro 12

    Shade the ear tips, legs and muzzle tip darkest.

    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.

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

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

13. Icyiciro 13

    i na A Bya ku i.

    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.

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

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

14. Icyiciro 14

    ku i Imirongo Kuri, na i.

    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.

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

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