How to Draw a Rabbit

 

You certainly know one, Bugs Bunny, Thumper, the White Rabbit from Alice... The rabbit has it all, big ears, a small snout full of whiskers, big eyes, and so he will be the big star of this article!
We will go through together step by step how to draw a rabbit and look at the essential elements needed to make a superb rabbit drawing.

Happy reading and above all, happy drawing :)

 

 

 

 

ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT

 

So obviously the general appearance of a rabbit, as well as its weight and size, depend on its breed. The body may be more or less cylindrical or compact, the ears large and drooping or small and upright...

Despite these variations, a study of the skeleton can give us very reliable foundations.

 

 

Like in most mammals, the same structure of the limbs is found. To speak in terms of similarities with our skeleton, the shoulders and pelvis are in red, the "arm" and the "thigh" in green, the "forearm" and the "calf" in pink, and the "feet" in blue (dark blue is the area that could correspond to the palm of our hand and light blue the "fingers").

 

• On top of the head, a line underlines the forehead line, which will be barely noticeable.
• The area shaded in orange will accommodate the eyes. They will be placed roughly in the middle of the skull, slightly shifted towards the back of the head.
• In yellow, the cheek area which is quite developed. It gives us the minimum limit to respect for the inner neck.
• The front legs are short and end in 5 toes, each equipped with a long, curved, non-retractable claw. The arch of the foot is covered with thick, rather shaggy fur.
• The hind legs are twice as long and only have four toes.

 

Now, let's zoom in on the head:

 

 

Two purple lines define the "edges" of the skull. You can note that it is quite regular; it could be placed in a rectangle. Therefore, between the eyes, the forehead is wide (area hatched in light blue).

In the two sketches in orange are the eyeballs and in yellow the "cheeks" (cheek pouches and jaw muscles).

 

 

THE EYES OF THE RABBIT

 

The rabbit falls into the category of prey and as is often the case, its eyes are placed on the sides. This means that from the side, they will face you, and from the front, you will see them from the side and it is mainly the volume of the cornea that will be prominent (you can see this in one of the images in the following point,the muzzle).

From a representation perspective, the pupil is round, large, and black. The iris is often brown with variations in shades ranging from more or less orange tones.

 

The eye has three eyelids. Two, visible in pink, move vertically, and are fringed with hairs on the outside and eyelashes. The third eyelid, which covers only a third of the eye's surface (somewhat like in cats), is normally never visible.

In the diagram: In orange is the eyeball. In green are the eyelids. You will note that they partially cover the eyeball at the top and bottom. Towards the inner part of the eye, highlighted by the green arrow, the corner is curved. On the other side, towards the outside of the skull, the eye ends in a point.

The blue arrow highlights the area of the white of the eye barely visible here.

 

 

OBSERVE THE SNOUT

 

Recall of previously addressed items:

Front view, the eyes, positioned on either side of the head, are mainly visible by the volume of the cornea. Two purple lines recall the general shape of the skull, see the forehead is quite wide. In yellow, the "cheek" areas.

 

 

The "truffle" itself is quite small, pink to orange in color. Continuing, the upper lip is split in two to form a "Y". The area shaded in blue highlights the muscles of the muzzle. You find these muscles as well as the typical "Y" shape in both drawings.

Note that the rabbit has many whiskers, among other things to compensate for the blind spot in front of the snout. As always, do not draw too many, as it will weigh down your drawing, and do not press too hard (or at all) on the anchoring points of the whiskers, as they are subtle.

 

 

 

THE EARS

 

 

The head is topped with two ears placed towards the back of the skull. In red, the attachment area at the top back of the head; you can see that it is quite wide.

For the general shape, you can modulate around a very soft triangle for the tip and return to a regular shape for the junction. Two skin folds come to "close" the ear at the bottom (diagrams in green).

The ears are covered with very short hair, so you can represent them with continuous lines without any worries. They are well blood-supplied and the skin is rather thin; you can play with a slight transparency and use a touch of "pink" for the inside in the context of a realistic drawing.

Note that they can be drooping in some individuals, for example in the lop rabbit.

 

 

 

THE PAWS

 

 

The rabbit moves by successive jumps, varying in length depending on its pace. Here, the hind legs are about to touch the ground and the last front paw in contact with the ground is about to lift off.

In blue you can see the construction of the ends of the limbs. In red, I have highlighted the joints with a line to give some structure to my drawing.

Reminder:5 fingers on the front paws and 4 on the hind paws.

If you want to depict a rabbit digging, a common activity for the animal, note that it uses both its front paws simultaneously.

 

 

 

 

 

DRAW THE RABBIT STEP BY STEP

 

 

It's high time to get to building our rabbit. We'll choose a fairly common pose but one that allows us to see the animal's anatomy well. Because let's be honest, when a little rabbit is curled up, we mostly see a head on a ball of fur! So, I've chosen the pose "standing on hind legs," as if on the lookout or observing around.

 

 

Step 1:

I start with the head (in purple), a slightly elongated circle. A small line for the back of the neck (the neck is short and muscular). A circle to place the mass of the shoulders (in the case of another view know that the shoulders are very close together). From the neck, I draw a line for the back that actually follows the line of the spine. I mark a little the middle of the back by arching the shape. Then a more substantial elongated round for the thigh of the hind leg.

 

Step 2:

In the head area, I place in yellow the "cheeks," they give me the inner limit for the neck. From the "shoulders" and "thighs" circles, I extend the legs. From the junction of the neck with the shoulders, I draw the belly line, bringing it back to the junction of the back with the thighs. I place the ears right at the top of the skull.

 

Step 3:

We can verify that all the bones of the legs are there (see the skeleton diagram for colors). Our legs are correct. I find the middle of the skull, orange line, and I shift slightly backwards to place the eyes.

 

Step 4:

I redraw the outlines and place some tufts where the fur is longer (belly, for example). On the head, I highlight some lines that will give structure to the drawing. In green, I mark the muscles of the muzzle. In red, I mark the volume of the lips and make some discreet dots for the attachment of the whiskers. In yellow, I underline the cheeks. In purple, I mark the base of the ears. In blue, I suggest the muscles of the upper eyelid.

 

Step 5:

The fur lay. The arrows indicate the direction of the fur to take into account in a realistic drawing.

 

Step 6:

I lay down the shadows, lighten the belly, legs, muzzle, and tail. I gently pink the inside of the ears. I add a few whiskers around the muzzle and above the eyes.

 

It should be noted that the fur will vary depending on the breed. Generally made up of short hair, it can sometimes be longer and more shaggy. As for colors, there are many: white, all variations of fawn, black, gray, even bluish-gray, with solid or spotted coats... The variations are very numerous.

 

Here we are done with this very nice little animal. Once you get the hang of it, don't hesitate to make it jump and your drawing will immediately come to life!

Above all, take the time to carefully observe this animal with several photos, illustrations. Understand how this animal is designed and first simplify it with simple shapes, before gradually adding detail.

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it made you want to draw this adorable creature. To draw another pleasant creature such as knowing how to draw a dog, feel free to check out the article available on our blog!

 

 

Editor and illustrator: Elo Illus