How to draw anthro

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Index of Tutorials

Here we keep the ever-expanding list of tutorials that are the greatest resources for up-and-coming artists. Proportions, muscles, emotions, and posing. it’s all here. So take your time, take a look, and use the resources that you need to improve upon your art.

If there is a tutorial/resource you know of that is not on this list, please comment with a link to it, or send us a note with a link to the tutorial/resource in question. We want to be sure to provide as much information to our mentorees as we possible can.

Thank you for visiting

KEY: FA = Fur Affinity, DA = DeviantART

Designing Heads by FurrFox (FA):
An awesome visual of how to map out a character’s head shape and muzzle w/ before and after.

Anthro Head Style by Ritts (FA):
Shows on one side how a bunch of characters look with the same head, and on the other how they look with more animalistic heads.

Eye Tutorial by FuyumiAya (FA):
A helpful tutorial on how to color eyes in one of many attractive ways.

Eye Tutorial by Kuridoki (DA):
How to draw some pretty cute anime eyes. =)

Muzzles by Ajna (FA):
A simple, easy-to-follow guide on how to draw muzzles. Great for beginners.

Face Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw faces.

Expression Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw expressions.

Emotions and Facial Expressions by Cedarseed (DA):
An extremely, EXTREMELY useful guide that covers every emotion the face is capable of creating. Fav it, save it, and for the love of god, use it

Face References ETC by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A bunch of random faces and some chibis.

Fun with Facial Expressions by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A must-see. Very cute. Very helpful.

Kyma’s Amazing Tutorial by Kyma (FA):
An interesting tutprial on how to draw an anthro face, different angles, and how to draw fur. Very much worth a look.

Applying Anatomy (face) by Zeddish (FA Forum):
Focuses mainly on the facial features of humans and anthro and how they correlate.

Draw a Dragon by Tojo-the-Thief (FA):
An awesome, helpful tutorial on drawing a dragon head.

Angry Drawing Tutorial by Patto (FA):
A funny 3-part tutorial, sarcastic, and easy to understand. Focused on dragon heads and coloring.

Angry Drawing Tutorial pt.2 by Patto (FA):
A funny 3-part tutorial, sarcastic, and easy to understand. Focused on dragon heads and coloring.

Angry Drawing Tutorial pt.3 by Patto (FA):
A funny 3-part tutorial, sarcastic, and easy to understand. Focused on dragon heads and coloring.

Drawing like Ru by Ruadri (FA):
Another helpful how-to-draw an anthro face tutorial. If you check them all out, you’d see how every artist goes about drawing differently.

Anthro Horse Head by Rov (FA):
A guide on how to draw an anthro horse head. Good instructions.

How to Paint Anime-Styled Hair by Getty (DA):
A pretty good tutorial on coloring/lighting hair.

Realistic Hair Tutorial by Orioto (DA):
A more realistic way of coloring hair. Very good reference.

How To Color Fur by MXGurl89 (FA):
An easy, quick example on how to give characters that «furry» look.

Hair/Fur Tutorial by TwitchWolf (FA):
A simple way to make hair and fur look complicated.

Shading Fur by JuicyTutorials (FA):
Another good way to make fur look like fur.

How to Draw Paws by Nizira-Hathor (DA):
A good tutorial for drawing footpaws. Every anthro artist should take a look.

How To Draw Paws with GEOMETRY by Blotch (FA):
A wonderful guide on how to make anthro and/or animal paws using geometrical shapes. Very helpful.

Foot Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw feet.

Hand Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw hands.

Multireference (hands and feet) by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A bunch of hands and feet in different poses. Very important to look at if you’re having a hard time with either of these two body parts.

Multi-reference Sketches (eyes and hands) by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
More helpful images, this time with hands and eyes instead of hands and feet.

Hands & Feet by Kamicheetah (FA):
Another how-to on drawing hands and feet. Very useful.

Digigrade Paw Tutorial by IceKrystal (DA):
Focuses on the toes, feet, and ankles of the digigrade paw, and how to make them either more realistic or more cartoony.

Canine Leg Tutorial by Roefel (DA):
A tutorial on canine legs, which can be helpful to anthro artists as well as artists wishing to draw feral canine characters.

POSE MANIACS:
The best reference for fe/male bodies at any angle, hands and feet.

The Pernese Dragon by KaiserFlames (DA):
A good reference sheet for any artist who wants to draw dragonlike creatures. Shows bone structure and muscle structure.

Anatomical Landmarks by Razekiel (DA):
A good reference if you’re drawing a male character. Shows all the major muscle groups.

Digigrade Legs by Ajna (FA):
A simple tutorial showing one way to draw digigrade legs. Great for beginners.

Digigrade Legs 2 by Ajna (FA):
An assortment of poses with digigrade legs, for use as a reference tool. Great for beginners.

How To Draw «Carrot» by Ajna (FA):
A simple example of how to draw a character in profile, along with how to draw a proper muzzle in profile. Great for beginners.

Fellas Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw men.

Ladies Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw women.

Pose Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
How to draw different poses.

Muscles the easy way by AlexDS1 (DA):
A simple guide to drawing a muscle-bound man

Big Guide to Drawing the Body by Cedarseed (DA):
Another extremely, EXTREMELY useful guide. Whether you draw humans or anthros, this tutorial helps explain a lot about how the human body is shaped, and its proportions. Save it, fav it, and use it

! It might save your life one day

Guide to Movement (Flexibility) by Cedarseed (DA):
Explains how the body moves, its range of motion, and quite a bit of other great information that can only help you as an artist. Take a look. =)

Artist’s Guide to Human Types (pt1) by Cedarseed (DA):
A big, big guide that might be more helpful to the artists drawing HUMAN art, since it goes over many different human types. Asian is the focus of this one.

Artist’s Guide to Human Types (pt2) by Cedarseed (DA):
A continuance of the above. Caucasian is the focus of this one.

Artist’s Guide to Human Types (pt3) by Cedarseed (DA):
A continuance of the above. Negroid is the focus of this one.

Basic Animal Anatomy by Cedarseed (DA):
Most helpful for drawing a variety of ferals, explaining muscle structures and such.

Drawing the Horse by Cedarseed (DA):
Another guide for drawing ferals, this one focusing on the horse. Very interesting and helpful. Shows gait, strides, size, different KINDS of horses, markings, etc.

Drawing Birds Pt.1 by Cedarseed (DA):
A guide to drawing feral birds. Can be helpful to anyone drawing wings, avians, beaked animals or anthros.

Drawing Birds Pt.2 by Cedarseed (DA):
A continuance to the guide above.

Drawing Birds Pt. 3 by Cedarseed (DA):
The final chapter on birds.

Asian Dragons Tutorial by Cedarseed (DA):
How to draw dragons.

Drawing Cats (Guide to Colors) by Cedarseed (DA):
A tutorial showing the typical colorings of a wide, wide range of housecats, including how to draw patterns, what colors are called, eye colors, and differences in species. Very helpful guide, and pretty to look at, too

Drawing Cats Pt.4 by Cedarseed (DA):
I don’t know where all the other parts to this tutorial group are, but this one focuses on cheetahs, pumas, lynx, and MANY other wild cat groups. If your anthro is or will be a cat. this tutorial is going to help you.

Pose Collection 001 by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A pretty wide assortment of random poses. Something everyone might want to look at when first deciding what they want to draw.

Pose Collection 002 by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
More poses, full body.

Manga Female Leg Poses by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A bunch of pretty, girl legs. =)

Men’s Clothing Reference by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A bunch of men, different poses, wearing different clothes. Good to look at if you have trouble drawing men, men’s clothing, or just poses in general.

How to make men look like men by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A part one, focusing on the head. A human head, sadly, but still important to note the differences.

Body Examples by FurrFox (FA):
Shows how a character looks before and after the «form» or «sketch» phase. 3 different view angles. Very helpful for learning how to plan out a drawing.

Turian Guide by Meken (DA):
A tutorial on how to draw Turians (from Mass Effect)

Turian Guide pt.2 by Meken (DA):
Part two of the Turian-drawing tutorial

Fox Tutorial by Culpeo-Fox (DA):
An awesome and in-depth tutorial on feral foxes, which can also be applied to anthros. Lots of great advice in this one.

Man-atomy Guide by Sidian (FA):
A very good guide on how to draw male characters, and how to draw sheaths (NSFW). Very, very helpful for anatomy and general information.

Nipples by Waitress (FA):
A simple tutorial on how to make nipples look good on females. Adult.

Fluids Tutorial by Forward Kinematics (FA):
An awesome tutorial on how to draw semen. Adults only!

Fluids Tutorial by Rov (FA):
Another tutorial on how to draw semen correctly.

Vagina Tutorial by KrisCrash (FA):
A must-see for anyone drawing the female anatomy. Extremely informative, and anatomically correct.

Penis Tutorial by KrisCrash (FA):
Another mist-see, but this time for the male anatomy. Informative and anatomically correct.

Typ0Dong1 Tutorial by Onta (FA):
A penis tutorial showing the difference between circumcised and uncircumcised, and how they look in the stages of arousal. Adult only!

Oysters & Sausages by Lynxia (FA):
A simple bunch of sketches showing how a penis or a vagina should look.

Penis Tutorial Pt. 2 by DrakeDragon (FA):
Another penis tutorial. xD

Penis Tutorial Pt. 1 by DrakeDragon (FA):
Another penis tutorial. xD

Genital Anatomy by Zeddish (FA):
Tackles the placement of anus, vagina, and penis. Anatomically correct. Easy to understand. Click «next» to see more.

How To Draw Rear Ends Intro by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget.

How To Draw Rear Ends Pt.1 by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget. This part covers basic shapes.

How To Draw Rear Ends Pt.2 by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget. This part covers basic lines and how to shape the booty.

How To Draw Rear Ends Pt.3 by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget. This part covers tail placement.

How To Draw Rear Ends Pt.4 by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget. This part covers genitals placement.

How To Draw Rear Ends Pt.5 by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget. This part covers body variations.

How To Draw Rear Ends Pt.6 by Fisk (FA):
A must-see tutorial about butts that you’ll never forget. This part covers environmental impact.

Simple Shading by Millislim (FA):
An awesome way to look at shading, and simple to perform.

Ink/Color/Eyes Tutorial by Tiki_San (FA):
A tutorial for the more cartoony-side of coloring and inking. A very cute style.

How A Tojo Draws by Tojo-The-Thief (FA):
A tutorial on how Tojo takes a drawing from sketch to finish. Very informative.

Basic Face Shading Placement by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A general guide to shading faces.

Face Shading Trials by What-I-Do-Is-Secret (DA):
A very helpful guide to shading faces. Take a look and try to determine where the light source is coming from for each of the faces.

Shading Techniques Tutorial by Messa (DA):
A good explaination on how to color and shade a picture.

Copic Tutorial by Ecthelian (DA):
How to color a pencil and paper drawing with copic markers.

Another marker coloring tutorial by Guruubii (DA):
Another marker technique guide, by a different artist.

Watercolors Tutorial by AliTheBandit (DA):
How to color a pencil and paper drawing with watercolors.

Another Watercolors Tutorial by Noke89 (DA):
Another tutorial on watercolors, this one by another artist.

Watercolors in Photoshop by KidChan (DA):
A tutorial showing how to make an image in photoshop look watercolored.

Step-By-Step Guide to Coloring by Kuridoki (DA):
Doesn’t really explain how to line and color a drawing, but is a good example of the step-by-step process of lining a sketch and coloring the finished lineart.

Inking and Coloring by Tojo-The-Thief (FA):
A very detailed account of how to ink, color and shade. Very amusing, as well.

Color, Depth, and Shading by Purple KeCleon (FA/DA):
An amazingly detailed tutorial on color theory, how to distinguish foreground from background, complimentary colors, shading techniques, and how to make color pallets for characters. It’s very detailed, and may be a little overwhelming, but extremely useful to artists of all skill levels.

Shading Tutorial by Strawberry Neko (FA):
A simple shading technique that’s easy for beginners and easy to modify and grow with.

Shading Tutorial by Ajna (FA):
A wonderful tutorial for beginners on how to improve your shading techniques. Simple, and easy to follow.

Coloring Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
A rudimentary guide to coloring an artpiece.

Colorizing Lineart by AlexDS1 (DA):
A how-to about making it easier to color a scanned lineart without re-lining the whole darn thing

Coloring Tutorial by Nashya (DA):
A very advanced way of coloring a picure, but GOD does it look awesome

! If you can learn from it, you better damn well do so

How to color skin by Nashya (DA):
A coloring tutorial, pretty advanced and uses painter 6. Explains how to color using a fixed light source, and is very helpful to even the worst shaders (such as myself. ^_^;;)

How to make your flat colors POP! Number 1 by Nashya (DA):
A very helpful tutorial that explains how to color a lineart effectively, while retaining the smoothness of the original lines.

How to make your flat colors POP! Number 2 by Nashya (DA):
A very helpful tutorial that explains how to color a lineart effectively, while retaining the smoothness of the original lines.

Color Theory in a Nutshell by Cedarseed (DA):
A helpful guide explaining how colors effect mood in a drawing, and how to create certain moods.

Glow Tutorial by Zambuka (FA):
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to make something «glow,» this is a good place to start. I wouldn’t suggest making too many things glow in the same picture, however, it ends up looking crazy.

Tutorials by Dixie Von Fur (FA):
A journal containing a list of the currently finished tutorials by Dixie Von Fur. Will get longer as more people suggest more ideas!

How To Talk To Artists by WhiteFox (FA):
A handy guide to giving good critique and advice to artists who desire it.

Draw Furry Dot Com:
Filled with tons and tons of tutorials. Check it out for Furry-related tutorials!

TL;DR EXTREME Tutorial:
This tutorial covers SO MUCH material. How to draw shapes, muscles, skeletal structures, fur patterns, hands, etc. It is one LONG tutorial, but if you read through it, and take something from it, I assure you, you will be a better artist for it.

Unique Character Design Tips by ThunderCake (DA):
Covers color, concept, shape, simplicity, cohesiveness, repeatability, personality, and uniqueness.

Organs Tutorial by Utilizator2 (DA):
Shows the organs and skeletal structure of the core of a body. Very helpful to remind artists what’s beneath the skin of our characters.

The Elements Tutorial by ShadowUmbre (DA):
A pretty easy guide to drawing different elements. Lightning, fire, snow, etc. Good if you need practice drawing backgrounds.

Tutorial Download by Unshackled Fenrir (FA):
This artist provides a large amount of tutorials in a downloadable format, filled to the brim with helpful hints from artists all over the internet. I haven’t downloaded it myself, but the general idea is that there’s no such thing as a bad tutorial. Download it, and see what you can learn!

Commission Tutorial by AlexDS1 (DA):
The best way to go about selling your art, if you plan on doing that someday.

Artist’s Guide to Human Types Addendum by Cedarseed (DA):
A very helpful addition to the series, as it shows different hair types, lip types, eye styles, hair pigment, eyebrows, eye/skin colors, hairline shapes, noses, breasts, body types, etc etc etc. This section would be EXTREMELY helpful to any artist. Take a look.

Arabesque Made Easy by Cedarseed (DA):
An interesting guide on how to draw celtic-type patterns without the usual pain and torment it takes to finish one. xD

Latex Coloring Tutorial by Rwolf (FA):
If you ever want to know how to color shiny fabric, this is the place to look.

Sai Brushes by JM Anime (FA):
A helpful set of example brushes to use in Sai. Shows you which to use for sketching, which for inking, and coloring as well.

HOW TO MAKE A FURSUIT

Body Construction Pt. 1 by Kithylinperth (FA):
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.
A six part guide on how to make your own fursuit body.

Tail Construction by Kithylinperth (FA):
A simple guide on how to make your own furry tail.

Hands Construction Pt. 1 by Kithylinperth (FA):
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
A five part guide on how to make your own furry hands.

Feet Construction Pt. 1 by Kithylinperth (FA):
Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
A four part guide on how to make your own furry feet.

Head Construction Pt. 1 by Kithylinperth (FA):
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.
A six part guide on how to make your own fursuit head.

Can’t find what you need? These might help:

How to Draw Furries, aka Anthropomorphic Characters

You can remember them from your childhood—Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, Disney’s Robin Hood. All these walking and talking animals that are so human-like that you start treating them like humans. These characters are anthropomorphic: they’re basically animals with their bodies modified to resemble humans both in the way of moving and in their general behavior.

Anthropomorphism is often used in children’s movies/books, because it’s easy to create original characters this way, and kids are naturally more drawn to cute animals/talking machines than to «normal», boring humans they can see every day. But anthros, as such characters are called, are also popular among older audiences.

Just like in manga, anthropomorphic characters can be much more interesting and visually appealing than real humans. Their exaggerated facial features allow artists to communicate their emotions freely, and there’s no pressure to reach full realism, since anthros are not real by definition. Because of this, they can be an excellent topic to draw!

But what exactly are anthropomorphic characters, and how can you create them?

What Is Anthropomorphism?

We are born with a tendency to assign human attributes to non-human entities. Before the dawn of modern civilization, people used to see a soul in stones, trees, and animals, and treated natural phenomena as powerful entities with their own will. Even random occurrences were assigned to the will of «fate», which sometimes «smiled upon» a person or was «cruel» to them.

This curious trait of the human mind has allowed us to create stories with non-human characters, to make them more interesting and to make their meaning clearer, especially for children. Non-human characters make the story obviously untrue, so that it can’t be confused with real events, but it just makes the deeper truth hidden in them stand out more.

Original depiction of a fictional anthropomorphic rabbit from the first chapter of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

To anthropomorphize means simply «to make something human-like». It can be done in various ways: a tree can be said to think and speak while keeping its normal tree look, but it can also have «arms» and «hands» made of branches, and a fully expressive «face» carved in the trunk. In the case of animals, they can be made bipedal and wear human clothes, and their faces can be changed to show human emotions.

Anthropomorphic characters are used today in cartoons and children books, but also as mascots for institutions and events, and as illustrations for ideas. An anthropomorphic polar bear can make us more empathetic towards these animals and feel more responsible for climate change, and an anthropomorphic Earth can help us care more about recycling. Even subtle anthropomorphism, like attaching a smile to an item, or simply talking about it as if it had feelings, can make us care more about it.

It’s very easy to feel sorry for this «lonely chair» once it’s given a recognizable facial expression.

The high expressiveness of anthropomorphic characters makes them very popular among artists, because they don’t require you to be so faithful to realism. You can make your character have human-like adventures with his friends (go to school, fall in love, get a pet) without ever having to draw a human, and make the story even more interesting this way. Your characters may have a finished, professional look, even if they’re actually simple—because their simplicity is not a flaw.

Besides the obvious functionality of this solution, anthropomorphic characters simply have aesthetic value to many people. There are only so many ways to make a human beautiful, while you can design a thousand amazing bird-men based on various species. Just like manga characters, anthros can be made completely fantastic and detached from reality in their look, which lets the artist get extremely creative while keeping the story grounded in reality. Simply thinking of various anthros can be quite inspiring, too—what would a cheetah-man look like?

Goggly Cheetah by 0laffson

Anthropomorphic characters are also used in fantasy to make the world more remarkable and different from ours. In such worlds, humans are simply one of many intelligent «races», which becomes a convenient base for interesting interactions. For example, in a fantasy world, cat-men may be treated as slaves, which can be used as a safe way to tackle racial discrimination. Such a story can be made completely realistic, even dark, despite having such unreal characters.

In a fantasy setting, anthros don’t look so odd at all. Art by Rainbow-Foxy

What Are Furries?

Among anthropomorphic characters, animals are the most popular. Humans are animals, after all, so we are all pretty similar, especially among mammals. It almost comes naturally to us to assign human characteristics to animals, for example to call a dog mean for destroying our shoes, or to feel sorry for a male bird rejected by a female. Making the animal stand on its hind legs and do typically human things doesn’t seem too far-fetched to us because of this.

Art by Ilya Royz

We can also identify to an extent with certain animals. We can think of ourselves, «I’m like a wolf, quiet and withdrawn among strangers, but very loyal to my friends,» or «I’m like a lioness, I’ll do everything to keep my children safe.» If you’re creative enough, you can imagine a detailed vision of your «animal self», taking it outside of your mindset and into actual physicality. Wouldn’t it feel cool to have a tail to wag when you’re happy, and express your emotions more clearly with your ears? If you like this vision, you may be a furry.

Furries are people who are fans of anthropomorphic animals. It’s a very broad term, because your sympathy towards the fandom can be expressed in many ways. You may simply like reading comics starring anthro animals, draw them, or role-play as an anthro animal with your friends. You can create a detailed design of your fursona—your imagined animal-self—and «become» this character by wearing a special suit. You can even attend special furry conventions, where furries can interact with people who share the same interests. «Furry» is also the term for an anthropomorphic animal, even if it’s a reptile (though the term «scalie» can be used as well for the latter).

High quality fursuits are very expensive, but they allow for a great immersion into this fantasy world. Furries of Moscow by ThatFrank

While often portrayed by the media as freaks, furries are simply people who love the concept of anthropomorphic animals. The only difference between them and, say, Trekkies (fans of Star Trek), is that they are more visible—by the art they create (lots and lots of original art, not just fan art, like Trekkies), and the fursuits that seem to many people more childish than «normal» cosplay. A person cosplaying as a minotaur (bull-man) will get far fewer judgmental looks than a person cosplaying as a fox-man, which can only be explained by many misconceptions about the furry community.

For furries, anthros are like people of different species, sort of non-human-looking humans. When asked about the appeal of such a design, they usually mention the boring look of human characters (limited by their humanity). Anthro animals introduce a simpler, purer way of communication, without the complexity of «normal» human interaction. And their look can express their character clearly, which is not so simple in humans.

Art by iguancheg

Furries usually have a vast imagination, and many of them express it through their artistic skills. Creating art is the easiest way to make a furry character real and visible to other people. Drawing your fursona and using it as an avatar on social media can let you become that character and be seen as one by others. Role-playing is also easier when you have a «photo» of your character to show other players.

How to Draw Anthro Animals

I mentioned earlier that anthro characters are easier to draw than realistic humans, but easier doesn’t mean easy. You still need to know something about drawing humans, because anthro animals are human-like animals. So let’s see what you need to know to draw good anthro characters.

Anatomy Is the Key

Humans are the only truly bipedal mammals (walking on two legs as a normal way of locomotion). Therefore, simply making an animal stand on two legs makes it automatically look human-like.

You can also simply attach an animal head to a human body. However, you lose many opportunities for an interesting design this way, because while it technically can be called an anthro, it doesn’t look plausible, which kills the immersion (the «sewn» parts drag your attention away from the personality of the character).

Is it a rabbit? Is it a woman? Your brain has a hard time interpreting such a hybrid as one creature.

To create a realistic furry character, one that people could believe in, you need to look into the anatomy of both humans and animals. Once you get to know it, you’ll be able to create convincing designs—anthros that look as if they could really exist. Even simple, purely cartoon characters have their anatomy simplified, not guessed, and this makes a difference.

Rhythm

If you look at humans as a whole, they look relatively similar—some taller, some shorter, some skinnier, some fatter, but these differences are not really striking. Cartoon artists exaggerate these tiny differences to tell us more about a character, and the same should be done with anthros.

You can achieve this by using a simplified body rhythm. What is the very first thing you see when looking at the character? How would you describe its silhouette if you could only use the terms of simple shapes? Always start your sketch from this, and you can be sure that your character will send a consistent message about its body shape.

If your character is typically cartoon, make sure to repeat the rhythm throughout its entire body, for example: elongated torso, elongated head, long fingers and feet. If you go for realism, this is not necessary, but still make sure that your character has one base rhythm in its whole body.

You can learn about drawing rhythm from these tutorials:

Structure

Every animal has its own body proportions. Anthros combine the proportions of humans and animals, but they’re still not random. Proportions come mostly from the skeleton: the length of bones and the joints between them. You don’t need to know fixed values («like 13 cm»), just relative ones («the forearm is slightly shorter than the arm»).

You can learn the proportions of the bones by analyzing the skeletons of both humans and the animal that you want to use. The Internet is full of great references for this, especially if the animal is one of the common ones. To analyze the proportions, gather a set of various references (the more different views, the better), and sketch the skeletons in a simple way, trying to find a recipe you can memorize.

Later, combine both sets of proportions into one, focusing on functionality as well as the look. Animal legs look the way they look not because this is cute, but because they are optimal for quadrupedal motion. Similarly, the uncommon structure of human legs comes directly from their function—creating an upright position and allowing for bipedal movement. A bipedal fox-man, therefore, can’t just be a fox standing on its hind legs—they must be modified to look more human-like. And that’s just one of many things you need to consider when creating a body structure for your furry!

How to Draw an Anthro Wolf Head

Introduction: How to Draw an Anthro Wolf Head

This is how to draw an anthro wolf head. Please do not copy my art. This is for educational purposes only. If you use this please make your own style or make some changes in how yours is drawn. Thank you.

Step 1: Materials

First gather your materials.
I have 3 basic tools for drawing here.
-mechanical pencil (or a regular pencil it’s your choice)
-eraser (I prefer General’s TriTip)
-paper (I’m using a Strathmore Drawing paper pad)
I also like to listen to music while drawing 🙂

Step 2: Starting Out

First draw a circle. Shown in the first picture.
Then draw a reference line across the circle as shown in the second. This is the line where the ear will start and the eyes will sit. If you’d like you can divide the face one more time from top to bottom as ill show in the third picture though I don’t like to use it anymore. Remember to keep your lines light.

Step 3: Getting There

Now to make this circle look like a wolf. Add ears starting at the line going across and then the second. The second ear is trickier but don’t worry you’ll get it. If you added the second line going doing start the second ear from there and go down a bit farther than half way. Father that add cheek fluff and a muzzle. Draw a line going a bit off the circle and add a nose shape then go down in a bit of a backwards J to the circle. Below that do another backwards J farther into the circle.

Step 4: Eyes and Such

Now define the muzzle and lips how you’d like.
And now eyes. There’s many different eye styles you can do so make your own and mix up different styles you like! For this style of anthro I use a triangular like eye shape. Don’t forget pupils and shine spots if you want them.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

Now for a neck. You can do the basic shape as shown in the first picture, or a different one as shown in the second. Or even make your own! Then add some fluff or a hair style/poof if you’d like, ear definition and go over the lines you’d like to keep with a pen or lining marker (I didn’t do this as I was just sketching out for this). Now you have your own anthro wolf! Don’t forget to sign your art with a signature (SP in my case because of my Instagram name Screaming_Peasants)

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How to Draw the Body : Basics

By Kelly | June 18, 2007

1. Structuring the Figure

Here’s an example of a quick and easy way to block out a pose. Nothing fancy, just a simple stick-figure ‘armature’ made of simple shapes. With just a few lines, I’ve plotted out the basic pose and proportions of the figure. Note that the tail is sketched in as well, and it forms a natural extension of the spine. I sketch in a crosshair on the head, just to plan where the eyes will be on the face.

I added these festive lines to give you a hint what I’m thinking as I sketch this out. The red line, which falls from the hollow of the collarbone at the neck’s base, all the way down to the level of the feet, is the figure’s center of weight. It doesn’t have much bearing on the figure drawing itself, but you can use it to judge if your figure’s in a stable standing pose. For action poses, don’t worrry about it- but remember than the point on the collar leads the pose, more often than the head.

The happy green swoosh indicates the angle of the feet. Most beginners draw the feet as perfectly parallel, or perpendicular, to each other. Instead, the feet are usually at an angle closer to 45 degrees, nearer at the heel with the toes angled out.

2. Block in the Forms

When I settle on a stick-figure pose, I start drawing the 3D forms on top of it. This is a good point to double-check with a mirror (or digitally, horizantal flip) to see how your sketch is shaping up from a fresh perspective, and correct any weirdness in the rough drawing. I flesh out all the forms before adding details like fur and clothing. For more detailed instructions on specific parts, check out Drawing Anthro Heads, How to Draw Eyes, and How to Draw Hands.

3. Clean-up and Details

My final task is simply to draw on top of my rough sketch, finalizing all the details without stressing over the pose and anatomy. Planning your drawing and analyzing it at every stage will usually have the best result. If you’re drawing with pencil, use a pen or brush to ink over your sketch, and rub out the loose lines with an eraser. Digitally, if you sketch in blue it’s a simple task to drop the colors, leaving only the black lines on top (see this tutorial for a demo).

Don’t be afraid to sketch lots of loose and messy poses before you get it right.
Good luck and happy drawing!

77 Responses to “How to Draw the Body : Basics”

Ah, I liked the fact on the 45 degree angle for the feet, I never realy realized that. I like the simple sketching out for the pose to, a good way to brreak it down!

I Tried This And It Worked Wonders For My Drawing Abilities. Great Technique, Much Appreciated!!

wow, this helped me out so much thanks x3!

OMG! i love this. my drawings are now wonderful cause i used this technique.

I love drawing, but tend to never do full body pictures because the center of gravity is always wrong. This was a great help, especially with the second panel. I can’t ever pose the feet just right…curses…

Keep up the great tutorials. Maybe could you do one on action poses in the future?

This has helped do much in my body posing! I have frequently had a problem with standing poses because I just couldn’t get the gravity and the feet right. And just looking at how you do armature has helped me adjust how I do mine. It has definitly imporved things!

This has helped me out LOADS!
I had a problem with drawing standing people, so this is perfect.

I MUST TRY THIS!!

This tutorial helped me INCREDIBLE MUCH.
Reccommended to all my furry friends 😀

Thanks for all your help I understand it ah little more now ^_^! Thanks You!

Awesome… Thanks for a great tutorial. This helped a lot. =3

thanks this has helped me out alot I’m still not that good but this really helped

hey thanks for the great tutorial it help m out a lot ^_^

it help me so much ty =))))

I am truly grateful to you for this site. I haven’t drawn in so long I’d forgotten. Thank you!

Wonderful tutorial. This tutorial, and many others on this site, has really helped me improve my work.

Wow, thanks alot for this tutorial, now I can actually draw (ish).

such an amazing tutorial, i didnt draw for like 5 years and when i tried this i was just stunned off the outcome of my drawing, its just that i cant really make other poses yet >.

This tutorial is great, I thank you alot. When I tried to draw furries in the past everything came out wrong.

Thanks for the help on it, made a good start for me. x3 Oh, a little question though, I’m currently drawing a pic with three furs on it, interacting with each other, being close and such so that one of the furs hides parts of another, any tips on how to do those, I mean stick figure and such. Thanks for your time of course.

Really great. My second drawing after reading this tutorial actually turned out really good. And I’ve been drawing for aout a week, and only two pictures with this sort of anthromorphic style. All others have been more cartoonish.

Thank you, Kirin-Chan! Thanks to this, I were finally able to do sketching of anthro. Now they look a little better than usual!

wow, thanks for this tutorial, it has helped me so much in improving my drawing skills.
Thanks again

This has helped me a lot with poses!

hey, i want to learn how to draw furry males, muscled ;f especially tigers and bears and wolves!
(inspired by cyberklaw, furnation.com/cyberklaw)

Hey you budding artists out there if your looking to make pro stuff I got some books that’ll be a great help of course no doubt the guy that made this site is a pro level himself, but it’s good to get as many references as possible…okay “The complete idiot’s guide to manga illustrated” by John Layman and David Hutchison…”Manga Madness” by David Okum…and “Vanishing point” by Jason Cheeseman-Meyer. also if your into dragons try “DragonArt” by J “NeonDragon” Peffer.
P.S. this tutorial will most likely help me with my two wolf people I’m trying to draw! thx ^_^

i think this is a great way to sharpen my skills in the fields of furry

i love you more than the person that linked me to this site. :]

Hey! I’d love it if you went more in-depth with this, maybe some basic things like drawing arms or legs, or even a tutorial on how Clothing would fit on a fur?

thnx alot!! ^_^ i’m a gay fur… and… i’ve always wanted to draw them. but i’m not tht good at tht. thnx 2 u… i’m getting rly good.

Your style is Perfect!
I was trying to teach a friend how to draw and I learned more than he did!
I Love your art, and it was an honor viewing it and learning from it.

May many blessing rain from the heavens and be given forth from the gods.

hi thanks a lot for helping me draw

The Illustrations are very cool and beautiful! Thanks for the help, helping me to draw!

helped me get the feet right, thanks!

thnx for this, i realy wanted to get into the world of fury and the only way to do that is to learn to draw and this has really helped out.

i kno this may be asking alot but could you make a tutiral that would teach how to draw the body details, what i mean is like the arms, legs, chest, and aother important featuers. I would be really happy and this would really help me get a beter view on how to draw furries. thnx ^^

oh my gosh this helped me lots! i NEVER draw full body cuz i can’t get the bottom half! Mostly i cant seem to get my furries in shape, hehe. they all looked blocky. but now they look better! thank you!

YAY I finally got the posing down.. now I just gotta work on arms, legs, feet and hands 😀

Thank you for this tut!

Wow, that helped me out trememdously! But your example is at a straight-on angle. I’m wondering if you could do a perspective tutorial. It’s the hardest aspect for so many people and I haven’t been able to find any good ones.

Helped so much.I’m a big fan of your art now!Drawing skills improved overall.I love drawing those of the canine family.:D

this is amazing stuff thanx alot. although i can imagine it vividly i still cant draw it right even with the help unless their is somthing else i hadnt seen

i really like the tutorial and i think it’s great but can you please add some other animals (wolves especially) and maybe how to draw some different clothing too.

damn thats a baddass fox you drew give you props

yo, its crazy what a bit of line work can do!! i have avoided even attempting anything other than robed figures for ages, i study this for like ten mins, and i can draw bodies!! amazing tutorial!!

also your comic good cheese is totaly amazing! the best i’ve read.

just sayin thanks for all the amazing work.

This has definitely helped me out. Honestly, I used to skip the blocking part and go right to the details. Then I’d wonder why I was getting so frustrated.

Thank you so much.

this is a nice tut, i less so have problems with the feet, and more with the chest and arms, i cant seem to get them proportional.

Wonderful tutorial, best I’ve found so far ^-^

Cheers very much,

I’m half finished with a drawing that I started while reading this tutorial and it is already several times better than anything I’ve ever drawn.
Thanks.

This is a great technique. Out of all the techniques I have tried this is the most suitable one for me. Thanks for your hard work :3

Do you suppose we could get PDF versions of these tutorials that would be printer-friendly? It would be nice to be able to print the tutorial and not also get three pages of Web 2.0 stuff (the comments).

Wow. This really works. I couldn’t draw a furry at all before. This is amazing. Although my drawing still isn’t have as good as your drawing, my drawings have improved greatly. I’m glad I found this site.

Wow!! I have such a problem with proportions. This helped tremendously! Kudos to you!! Krath Says:
July 20th, 2008 at 9:48 am

Awwww… He’s so cute!

Thanks for the tut! Will definitely give it a go!

I have read all of your tutorials and they are quite informative. As an animator, I have followed the stick figure routine for a few years now. I did, however, like a nitwit, forget about the 45 degree angle trick. Now I understand why some of my feet appeared out of place so thank you for that.

i really cant wait for u to make another tut, iv tried a few of theses n now i think i need something new ^^ would really like that

Thanks! This really helped alot with my drawing! n.n

This helped me soooo much thank you soo much X

Thanks! This helped me with my first attempt at drawing.
I would love to see some more poses.

thank you this realy helped me

hi thanks for that it looks great
i still dont get it though ohwell!

May your furries jump off the paper and chill with ya at school, college, work, or whatever. this site is awesome.

This helps so freaking much!
Thanks for the help,
Keeping it real and furry-
TheFurFreak

DUDE. Ive never been able to draw ANYTHING before… with this little bit og help its really coming along! *HUGS* Thank you so much

Wai this tutorial is really great! before my anthro’s looked like s*** :S now they look kinda good! thnx thankyou thankyou thankyou!

Thanks, I used to draw Anthro a lot a while back, when I was still drawing….I’m hoping to renew my skills here.

Thank you. ^.^ This helped a lot.

your tutorials have helped me a bunch. my drawings have gone from o.k. cartoons to shows potential of bringing it to the next level. i would appreciate however, some help with shading with pencil drawings. bringing things into “3D” is still kinda akward for me. if you could do a small tutorial on that i’d be thankfull

Do you realize how awesome you are!?

Thanx soooo much.

I love you, good cheese, and roza ^.^

I can’t tell you how much this has helped me. this is the first time i’ve ever been able to draw anything that looks remotely like what i aimed for!

I really like the basics, but could you be a bit more discrete? I draw the bodies proportioned right and all, but it never ends up looking 3D.

do you have any advice?

I can’t seem to use the lines before hand.
I just don’t learn that way.
Do you have any other techniques or know of places where i could get what i needed?

I have always had trouble with human features.

Thank you, Furrette.

looking for a good kitsune tutorial. any help would be great. Thanks.

nice. I had some problems eith the details. not any more.

I draw my furries without clothes I should put clothes on yes?
this helped me alot thanks

That is so awesome, thanks for sharing this info, the foot thing really helps alot,