How to Draw a Fox Step by Step

In this tutorial I will show you how to draw a realistic fox step by step, without any reference. You'll learn how to sketch the pose to avoid proportion mistakes, how to add proper anatomy, and how to make it look real with details. You can also use this workflow to learn how to draw other similar animals.

This is a tutorial for beginners with a single, simple pose. If you want to learn more about foxes, their species and their anatomy, try this tutorial instead:

1. How to Prepare the Basic Sketch

Step 1

How often have you noticed that your drawing went wrong only when you were finishing it? To avoid such a situation, it's good to start with a very general sketch first, and add the details to it later. The general sketch is easy to fix and quick to draw, so you don't waste so much time on it if something goes wrong.

Start with a rectangle for an elongated fox body.

Step 2

Measure the distance to the ground. Foxes are long-legged, so make it one body width long + some space for the paws.

Step 3

Sketch a very general rhythm of the legs on both ends of the rectangle.

Step 4

Add a thick neck. It should be slightly shorter than half of the body.

Step 5

Attach the head to the neck.

Step 6

Draw the long, tapered muzzle in front of the head.

Step 7

Sketch a bushy tail on the back.

2. How to Sketch the Legs of a Fox

Step 1

Take a good look at your basic body plan now and try to see if anything's off. Fix it, if necessary.

Add a "6" in the shoulder area. It's a very easy way to create a form of the shoulder for many animals.

Step 2

Draw a line across the back side of the rectangle. This is a symbolic femur (the thigh bone).

Step 3

Add a perpendicular line to it. Its length will create the width of the thigh.

Step 4

Outline the thigh using these two guide lines. Don't worry if the thigh looks too fat—it should be fluffy!

Step 5

Add some details to both the shoulder blade and the hips.

Step 6

Time for the lower parts of the limbs. Sketch the length of the paws.

Step 7

Add the wrist and the heel.

Step 8

Draw the forms of the wrist and the ankle.

Step 9

Outline the paws.

Step 10

Connect the paws to the wrist and ankle.

Step 11

The forearm and the calf both need some muscle masses. Add them in the form of an oval along the "bone" lines.

Step 12

Add more details to each leg: the elbow, the knee, and the bony landmarks of the ankle.

Step 13

Gently outline the forms to create the whole form of the limb.

Step 14

Let's make the paws complete, too. Add the other visible toe.

Step 15

Draw the tips of the toes.

Step 16

Add short, blunt claws.

3. How to Draw the Head of a Fox

Step 1

The head is a very important step, because we pay more attention to the proportions of the face than to the other parts of the body. Even if you sketched the body nicely, a tiny mistake in the face may destroy the whole impact of the drawing. So be very careful here!

Draw a high forehead for the fox, smoothing the step between the head and the muzzle.

Step 2

Draw a curve across the face—this will help us find the location of the eyes and define the sides of the face.

Step 3

Draw an oval in the front of the head. This will be a symbolic eye socket. By drawing the eye socket first, you get a nice reference point to properly place the actual eye (thus solving the biggest problem in drawing a face!).

Step 4

Draw the round eye in the middle of the eye socket (or somewhere near, if you've noticed the eye socket has been placed wrong).

Step 5

Draw the nose bridge along the muzzle.

Step 6

Draw the nose at the tip of the muzzle.

Step 7

Lead a line from the forehead to the chin.

Step 8

Draw an oval here.

Step 9

Draw the lips along these guide lines.

Step 10

Draw a line across the head, halfway up the forehead.

Step 11

Sketch the height of the ear. Foxes have them very big!

Step 12

Draw the outline of the ear with gentle curves.

Step 13

Draw the base of the ear.

Step 14

Draw the cheek-mane on the side of the head.

4. How to Draw the Body of a Fox

Step 1

Draw the lower side of the fluffy neck, creating a step between it and the head.

Step 2

Draw the rest of the "mane" on the neck.

Step 3

Draw the line of the belly.

Step 4

Draw the line of the back, curving towards the hips.

Step 5

Add some furry landmarks.

Step 6

If you want to make the drawing more interesting, you can add the second pair of legs.

5. How to Finish the Drawing of a Fox

Step 1

The sketch is finished, and now it's time to add the final lines. If you have been drawing with a pencil, you can now take a darker tool (like an ink liner) to make the final lines more striking. If your sketch is too dark for this, you can put another sheet of paper over it and draw the final lines on it.

Create the final shape of the eye by adding the eyelids.