This is another post linking you to some of the over 71 tutorials I’ve published over the last several years. Today, I’m sharing links to free step-by-step horse tutorials.
Why horses? The simple answer is that I’ve been a horse appreciator all my life. Horses have always attracted my attention,even as a child, when the horses across the road were a group of Shetland ponies owned by the neighbors.
Another reason for today’s post is that later today, I’ll be teaching my first horse drawing class for Ann Kullberg. Top Tips for Drawing Horses shares my best tips, tools, and techniques for drawing horses. I’ll even be doing self-crits on some of my favorite portraits and other horse artwork, going all the way back to one of my first paid portrait commissions. It should be fun.
If you haven’t signed up yet but would like to, it’s not too late (if you’re reading this before 1 pm Pacific time). Click here to sign up, but hurry! It’s almost class time!
Back to today’s post…. Some of the tutorials below are older and many of you may not have seen them when they were first published. That’s another reason for sharing them today. Take a few minutes to browse the list. I hope you find one that looks like fun.
Free Step-by-Step Horse Tutorials
Draw a Horse in the Landscape Using a Complementary Under Drawing
This is a two-part tutorial based on one of my favorite drawings, Green Pastures. Part 1 shows you how to draw the horse and the background using complementary colors.
Part 2 shows you how I glazed color to produce sparkling local color.
Prismacolor on Strathmore Artagain paper.
Part 1: Draw a Complementary Under Drawing
Part 2: Glazing Color over a Complementary Under Drawing
How to Draw a Horse Hoof
How to draw a horse’s hoof in graphite on ordinary drawing paper. This mini clinic includes step-by-step illustrations to show you how to draw a standing hoof. I also explain the purposes for the different types of lines I used to draw this hoof.
How to Draw a Horse Using a Grid
Are you looking for a good way to draw without tracing? This eight-step demonstration with illustrations and instructions helps you draw horses or anything else using the grid method. It includes a beautiful horse and a background, so you can practice both.
How to Draw a Horse’s Face in Colored Pencil
I love close-up-and-personal views of horses. So whenever I’m around horses, I try to get those types of photographs.
This tutorial is based on one of those photographs. The subject is actually the buckles and belts, but you’ll also see how I draw a sleepy eye, shadows and highlights, and hair textures.
The drawing method is based on the Flemish method of painting and begins with an umber under drawing.
This is a five-part tutorial that goes in-depth into under drawing, color glazes, deepening values and fixing mistakes. it’s not a weekend project, but it is full of good information.
Prismacolor pencils on Stonehenge paper.
Part 1: How to Draw a Horse’s Face in Colored Pencil
Part 2: How to Glaze Color over an Umber Under Drawing
Part 3: How to Deepen Color with Color Glazes
Part 4: How to Fix a BIG Mistake in Colored Pencil
Part 5: How to Finish a Colored Pencil Drawing
How to Draw Horse Legs and Feet
A horse’s hoofs are as distinctive as human finger prints. The equine portrait artist needs to know how to draw horse legs and feet.
But drawing a standing hoof is a lot different than drawing legs and feet in motion. This tutorial shows you how to draw legs and feet with a grid.
Start with Watercolors, Finish with Colored Pencils
Learn how to start a drawing with watercolor colored pencils to save time, then finish with colored pencil. I experimented with pale washes of watercolor for the background, then painted an under painting for the horse before switching to colored pencils.. Faber-Castell Art Grip Aquarelle and Prismacolor pencils on watercolor paper
Part 1: How to Start a Drawing with Watercolor Colored Pencils
Part 2: How to Finish a Drawing Started with Watercolor Colored Pencils
Tips for Drawing Animal Portraits
Are there basic principles you should keep in mind whenever you want to draw a horse (or any other animal)? Yes, and I share five of the most basic in this post. It’s not a tutorial per se, but it will help you with any drawing you want to do. It will also help you with the other tutorials.
Conclusion
And that’s my collection of over a dozen free step-by-step horse tutorials! I hope you enjoy them.
I also hope you found at least one that makes you want to pick up your pencils and start drawing!
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