If you’ve ever wanted to draw a horse but never quite got around to it – now’s the time. Horses have captivated people for thousands of years and make a great subject for both beginners and seasoned artists. No matter what level you’re at, with a few tips and tricks, you’ll be well on your way to creating your own beautiful horse drawing.

Step 1: Create the body

Let’s start with the basics. Draw an egg shape for the chest area, then draw another egg shape on its side as shown. Try to relax your hand a little to create loose lines – remember you can always erase if you make a mistake! For the rump, draw a circular shape that is a little bigger and rounder than the first two. Once you’re happy with the shape of your horse’s body, draw a smooth, curved line for the top and bottom of the neck.

Note: Draw lightly with a pencil or charcoal for steps 1-5.

Step 2: Add the legs

Draw a rectangular shape with slightly curved sides for the forehead of the horse. Add four u-shaped lines for the tops of the legs, making sure the back legs are slightly larger than the front legs. To finish this step, add a curved line on the rump for definition and a line connecting the neck to the front legs.

Step 3: Build definition

In this step, we’re going to start building definition on the head, legs and torso. Draw the ears just above the forehead and add a curved jawline. Next, you’ll draw two slightly curved lines from the forehead downwards which will be the top of the face. Add the knee-joints of the legs by drawing u-shapes on the front legs and the same on the back legs with some additional connecting lines. To build definition around the shoulders, draw an angled line from the back of the front leg up through the shoulder and a curved line where the neck connects to the body.

Step 4: Complete the basic shapes

You’re more than halfway there now! For this step we’re going to add the next section of the legs with tapered rectangular shapes (see above). In this step, you can also add a line to complete the rest of the jawline, the nose and the muzzle.

Step 5: Start to build detail

Now that you’ve drawn the basic shape of your horse, it’s time to start adding the details. Draw small lines on the head, chest and neck to help give your horse a more three-dimensional appearance. You can also add a nostril and a rough outline for the mane and tail.

Step 6: Add the finishing touches

You’ve drawn all the main line work, now all you need to do is add detail. Define the mane and tail with loose lines to create the appearance of hair and add in small lines around the jaw, neck and belly for shorter hairs. You’ll also need to add the hooves, facial features and detail on the ears. Once these details have been added, you can either go over the line work you would like to keep with a permanent marker or press a little harder with your pencil. Finally, use an eraser to lightly remove any messy lines and tidy up the edges.

We hope you had fun following along and creating your own horse drawing! If you’re craving more, check out our video tutorial on how to paint a horse in oils.