How to Draw a Sheep

– Please… draw me a sheep!
- Hey!
– Draw me a sheep…

These lines from the bookThe Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry are known around the world and, of course, here at Dessindigo, we couldn't miss the opportunity to draw you... a sheep.

SHEEP, RAM OR EWE?

There are several terms that can be confusing; ram, sheep, ewe, ewe lamb, or lamb, but who are they really? Whether male or female, the generic term sheep can be used without making any distinction between the two genders. A male that has not been castrated is called a "sheep" - otherwise, the term "ram" is used - and for the female, the term "ewe" is used. The young, males and females, are respectively called "lamb" and "ewe lamb."

SHEEP DESCRIPTION

These mammals belong to the ovine species, a subcategory of the large bovid family. There are hundreds of sheep breeds, present in every country in the world. They are domesticated for their wool, skin (for making leather), meat, and milk. They are found in herds in their favorite habitat: large green spaces, where there is plenty of grass.

These gregarious ruminants have a group hierarchy and they do not tolerate solitude: they will need at least one other companion to live happily (not necessarily of the same species as them). However, they are more comfortable when living in a group.

Depending on the species, their size varies, but they do not exceed 80 cm at the withers. These animals have rectangular pupils, elongated horizontally (like goats).

To draw it, here are some important points:

• His eyes are on either side of his head,
• Its pupils are rectangular,
• Its fur is only dense on its body, leaving its four legs as well as its face with very short hair from the top of the neck/face and the middle of the legs,
• He has two toes on each foot, and hooves,
• It can be black, brown, or white.

Here I show the structure of the sheep with short fur, it is very simple. It can be broken down into basic geometric shapes: a diamond for its face, a circle for its belly, ovals for its legs, long rectangles for its paws, a triangle for its feet.

Sheep are generally sheared once a year. At that time, they have a very round and imposing appearance due to their voluminous fleece, thus, the structure of their body and musculature is almost indistinguishable. Let's now see how to draw them from the front, with a wide fleece.

DRAW A SHEEP STEP BY STEP

Let's look at the request from The Little Prince by Saint Exupéry:

1/

First, I sketch the structure of his face. (Remember to leave some space at the bottom of his head to draw the rest of his body.)

I start with the central line of his face. It is seen at a ¾ angle, so the small line of his muzzle is therefore off-center.

2/2

I draw the line of the eyes (the longest) and the line of his nostrils (the shortest).

- Where to place it in relation to the vertical axis? The nose one should be located at the point where the vertical line shifts. The eyes one should be slightly higher than the middle of the first line.
- How to draw from a ¾ angle? The right side is closer to the viewer, and the left side has a slight foreshortening. This difference is a bit less visible for the nostrils but for the eyes, if the right eye is fully visible, the left eye is visually truncated. That is why the horizontal lines are not centered in relation to the vertical line.

3/3

With small curves, I sketch the snout and forehead.

4/4

I draw the rest of the facial structure: the top of the skull, the hollow of the skull, and the chin.

What would you like me to translate or help with from French to English?

I add the ears by simplifying the shape into irregular diamonds, then I add the outline of the cheeks and neck.

6/6

The face of the sheep is taking shape: I detail the short fur on its face, its eyelashes, and its eyes with horizontal rectangular pupils, its nostrils with small ovals. Its ears are turned forward, pay attention to the detail of their structure in the drawing: they descend lower than the eye and go up to the top of the skull.

7/7

The face is finished. I will then draw several construction lines.

During this step, I trace the shape of the sheep's torso, which, I remind you, will have a very developed coat. Here I am drawing the structure of the fur, not the body: the top is rounded, like a half-circle, the bottom barely extends more towards a rectangular shape with rounded edges.

8/8

I'm adding the circle that represents his belly, and a half cylinder for his back leg.

At that moment, I can draw its four legs which end in small cloven hoofs. The sheep's legs appear slightly bowed, don't forget that its feet also subtly point forward.

 

9/

On the features of the bust, I trace the outlines of his curly mane, which extends well beyond the structure of his body and rises above the neck that is hard to discern.

Also specify the curly hairs that are behind its legs. The hairs are a bit shorter under the sheep's belly, so I thin out its coat in that area.

10/10

I'm finishing drawing the outlines of the sheep's wool using the construction lines that are now obsolete. I can erase them.

The fur is longer towards the bottom: it can be given more definition than on the back of the animal.

11/11

I add the sheep's tail by drawing a discreet tuft on its hindquarters.

Now that the lines are finished and the drawing is cleaned up, I texture the fur with a fine line. I can leave rest areas where the light is strongest on the subject: I paint mini strokes where the fur is in the light, versus real curls for areas that are in the shadow.

12/12

I add a colored background (you can choose the color you prefer). I hatch the main shadow areas: the left side of the face, the hollows of the ears, under the belly (legs and fur) as well as the hooves.

13/12

I roughly place the light areas.

 

14/14

I shade the fur under some curls to give it volume, and define the highlights on the entire body. To enhance the texture of the fur, I add small strokes: some white, and others pale blue to blend with my purple tones.

ZOOM:

 

15/15

I draw a faint shadow on the ground, thus completing the drawing of the sheep with its soft wool coat.

You can add colors to the drawing while maintaining light values if it’s a white sheep, like here. If it’s a black sheep, you can color its face and legs in black, and its fleece with a very dark brown.

And there you have it, it's all done!

You can finally draw the famous sheep wanted by Saint-Exupéry.

Illustrator and writer: Vincyane