By CraftingStepByStepPublished Updated
Based on a video by Art for Kids Hub.
This cartoon reindeer starts with one shiny eye and ends with a big set of branching antlers. In between, you build a friendly animal out of simple curves and straight lines. The lesson comes from Art for Kids Hub, where a dad and his seven-year-old son draw side by side, so you see two versions of every step. The whole drawing takes about ten minutes, plus coloring time.
You need a black marker, a sheet of paper and something to color with. No pencil sketch is needed, and the drawings in the video come out different from each other. That is the point. Have fun and keep practicing.
Halfway through this lesson, your drawing will look a lot like a horse. Don't worry. A reindeer has the same long face, tall neck and straight legs. What turns it into a reindeer is the fluffy fur on the chest, the short tail and, above all, the antlers. If you have drawn our cartoon horse before, the head and legs here will feel familiar. The four-legged body also has a lot in common with how to draw a dog.
Printer paper is fine for practice. For a drawing you plan to keep, use a heavier sketch paper so the color does not show through. A black permanent marker with a fine point gives you the bold outline in the video. Washable markers are the safer pick for little kids.
Colored pencils are the best choice for coloring, because a reindeer looks best with soft blends of brown.
The finished reindeer uses three browns. A light beige goes on the neck and chest fur. A medium brown covers the head and body, and it blends into the beige where the neck meets the back. Dark brown fills the hooves. The antlers get a pale cream, and the inside of the ear gets a touch of pink. Press harder near the edges of the legs and belly to add a little shading. That small trick makes the body look round. Our guide on how to shade walks through it.
Want Rudolph? Color the tip of the nose bright red and draw a few short lines around it so it glows.
Draw a reindeer on the front of a folded card and sign it inside. Make a row of small ones for a classroom window, each colored by a different kid. A tiny reindeer also fits on a homemade gift tag. Our Christmas gift tags craft shows you how to cut and finish them.
Ready for another animal? Try how to draw a fox next.
10 steps · about 10 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Put your marker in the middle of the paper, then slide over a little to the left. Draw a small circle there. This is the reindeer's eye. Inside it, near the top right, draw a tiny circle for the highlight. Color in the big circle black, but leave the little one white. That white dot is what makes the eye look shiny and alive.
Tip
Keep the eye small. The whole reindeer grows out from it, and the antlers need room above.
Start above the eye and draw a straight diagonal line down to the left for the forehead. At the bottom, curve around to make the end of the snout. It looks like a backwards letter J. Now draw the cheek. Bring a curve back from the snout, under the eye, and round it off. You now have a long face that points down and to the left.
Tip
Make the forehead line a little longer if your face looks squished. A long snout reads as a deer.
At the tip of the snout, draw a small letter V, then add a short line down from its point to finish a Y. That is the reindeer's nose and mouth. Move up to the top of the head and draw the ear. Go up to a point and curve back down, like a pointed letter A. Add a second curve inside the ear that starts at the top and meets the bottom.
Tip
Keep the ear tall and narrow. A round ear will make your reindeer look like a bear.
Start at the back of the ear and draw a long curve down and away from the face. This is the back of the neck. At this point your reindeer looks a lot like a horse, and that is fine. For the front of the neck, start right under the eye and draw a curve down. Let the end of that line start to curve under, where the chest will go.
Tip
Leave a gap between the two neck lines. The body and legs fill it in later.
From the bottom of the front neck line, draw a straight line down. That is the front of the leg. Draw a second line beside it for the back of the leg. Keep the two lines close together at the top and a little further apart at the bottom. Close off the bottom with a small curve to make the foot. The hoof lines come later.
Tip
Draw the leg long. Reindeer stand tall, and the hoof line added later makes it look shorter.
Go back to the front of the neck. Draw a little zigzag line from the top of the neck down to the leg. It looks like a fluffy beard, and it is one of the things that makes your animal read as a reindeer. Now draw the second front leg behind the first. Match its shape, and stop the front line where it meets the first leg so it looks 3D.
Tip
Keep the zigzags small and close. Big points look like teeth instead of fur.
Start at the bottom of the back neck line and draw a curve back along the reindeer's back. Round it down at the end for the rump. Draw the back leg with two short diagonal lines that bend like a knee, then bring the front of the leg down to match. Close the foot with a curve. Last, draw the belly line between the front legs and the back leg.
Tip
Compare the back leg to the front legs. If it is shorter, stretch both lines down until they match.
Add the last leg behind the back leg. Copy its curve and connect it in. Now give every leg a hoof. Draw a line across each foot, a little higher in front and lower in back. Draw a short line on the front of each hoof for the split toes. At the back, add a short fluffy tail: one diagonal line going up, then a bumpy line coming down.
Tip
Keep the tail short. A long tail is the fastest way to turn a reindeer back into a horse.
Draw two short lines out of the forehead, then curve one line back and up into a big arc. Add a short line forward at the front. Fill the antler with spikes: curve down, then up into a point, again and again. Make some big and some small. Draw a second, simpler antler behind the first so it looks 3D. Finish with a small upside-down V for the second ear.
Tip
Don't worry about matching every spike. Uneven antlers look more natural.
Pick up your colored pencils. Color the neck and chest fur light beige. Fill the head and body with medium brown, and blend it into the beige where they meet. Use dark brown for the hooves. Color the antlers a pale cream and add a little pink inside the ear. Press harder near the edges of the body to add some shading.
Tip
Color the light beige first. It is much easier to blend brown over light than light over brown.
Keep going
How to Draw a Snowman
How to Draw a Reindeer
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Test your knowledge
5 questions covering what you just read. No signup, no score saved, and you can stop after this one.
Question 1 of 5
How do you give a cartoon eye a shiny look?
Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.How do you give a cartoon eye a shiny look?
Answer: Leave a tiny white circle unfilled
A small uncolored highlight makes the eye look wet and alive.
2.Halfway through, your reindeer looks like a horse. What does that mean?
Answer: You are on track, the details come next
Reindeer and horses share a long face, tall neck and straight legs.
3.Which features turn the horse shape into a reindeer?
Answer: Chest fur, a short tail and antlers
The fluffy chest, stubby tail and branching antlers are the giveaways.
4.How should the back legs be drawn so they look natural?
Answer: Diagonal lines that bend like a knee
A reindeer's hind leg has a visible bend partway down.
5.What do the short lines on the front of each hoof show?
Answer: Split toes, like a real reindeer
Reindeer have cloven hooves, split into two toes.
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