How to Draw a Fox

שריט־פֿאַר־שריט

1. שריט 1

   Block in the big circle of the fox head.

   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.

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

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

2. שריט 2

   Add the two centre lines, lightly.

   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.

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

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

3. שריט 3

   Draw the muzzle as a long narrow wedge.

   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.

   װײַז אױס A short, wide muzzle, which reads as a puppy.

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

4. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס Making the ears too small and too upright.

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

5. שריט 5

   Draw the second ear to match the first.

   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.

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

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

6. שריט 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.

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

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

7. שריט 7

   Place the eyes on the horizontal centre line.

   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.

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

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

8. שריט 8

   Add the nose at the tip of the muzzle and a line back to the mouth.

   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.

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

   באַשטעטיק The nose should be small relative to the muzzle.

9. שריט 9

   Draw the body as a rounded triangle below the head.

   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.

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

   באַשטעטיק The body outline should pass behind the head.

10. שריט 10

    Draw the tail as a long thick curve, wider than you expect.

    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.

    װײַז אױס A thin tail, which loses the whole silhouette.

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

11. שריט 11

    Mark the white chest and the white tail tip.

    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.

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

    באַשטעטיק You should have two clearly reserved light shapes.

12. שריט 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.

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

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

13. שריט 13

    Add the few whiskers and a suggestion of fur on the chest.

    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.

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

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

14. שריט 14

    Go over the lines you want to keep, and lose the guides.

    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.

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

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