How to Draw a Deer

On the left side of your page, draw two big circles side by side. Keep them on the left so the deer's body has room on the right later. Inside each eye, draw a small circle near the top right and an even smaller one near the bottom left. Color in the rest of each eye black and leave those two little circles white. That white shine makes the eyes look wet and cute.

Start beside the first eye and draw a U shape that dips down below both eyes and comes back up on the other side. That is the bottom of the deer's head. Between the eyes and right under them, draw a small oval nose and color it in. Under the nose, draw a J and a backwards J for the mouth. Then draw a small circle around the nose and mouth for the muzzle.

Deer have big ears, so go bold. From the top of the U on one side, draw a long leaf shape that goes up and out to a point, then comes back down. Do the same on the other side. Try to make both ears reach the same height. They stick out to the sides at an angle, almost like airplane wings, which gives the fawn that alert look.

Connect the two ears with a big curve over the top of the head. Now add the inside of each ear. At the bottom of the ear, draw a short zigzag with about three bumps for fur. From the top of that zigzag, draw a line that follows the outer ear shape up to the tip and back down. The inner ear line makes the ears look deep instead of flat.

Starting above one eye, draw a rounded shape that goes around the outside of the eye and comes down to touch the nose. Come back up around the inside of the eye and connect at the top. Repeat on the other side. These patches will be colored a lighter tan later, and they make the eyes pop out of the face.

Under the nose, draw a line straight down for the first front leg. Draw a second line beside it, closer at the top and wider at the bottom, and connect them with a U for the foot. Draw a J-shaped line from the chin curving down for the chest. Then add the second front leg behind the first with another line and a curved foot. Two overlapping legs make the deer look 3D.

From the top of the front leg, draw a short line back for the belly. Draw the first back leg with a bend in it, like a horse leg. Draw a big curve for the back and rump that comes around and stops near that bend. Add the back of the leg with a bump and a line down, and close the foot with a U. Draw the last back leg peeking out behind, and a curve under the chest for the belly.

Near the bottom of each leg, draw a small curve across. That marks off the hoof. Color each hoof solid black. On the back of the deer, draw a short tail that looks a lot like the ears: a curve that goes up, then a bigger curve that comes back down. It sticks up like a bunny tail. Add one small line on the back for the hip.

The spots are what turn this into a baby deer. Draw small ovals across the back and the top of the hip. You can draw a handful or a whole bunch. Real fawns have rows of them, so there is no wrong number. Keep them small and leave them white when you color. Now the line drawing is done.

Color the head, ears, body and legs medium brown. Use a light tan for the eye patches, the muzzle, the inside of the ears and the chest. Leave the spots, the eye shine and the white of the tail uncolored. Press harder with a darker brown on the back legs so they look farther away. A small white highlight on each hoof makes them shiny.