Tutorial: Draw an Arctic Fox!

It's November, and winter is coming - or has come - for most of us. So what better creature to draw than an arctic fox, all poofy in their winter fur? (And even if winter isn't coming your way, who can resist them?)

Because that's what we'll be doing! And if you follow the steps and post your artwork with the hashtag #ArcticFoxTutorial, you'll also get a special badge:

I have drawn this with your good old graphite pencil and some colored pencils, but you can obviously use other traditional and digital media as well Without further ado, let's begin!

Step 1: Draw a circle, and divide it into four parts.

Step 2: Let's get the most important details added, namely the eyes and the nose. The top of the nose should be halfway between the center and the lower edge of the circle. Also remember that arctic foxes, like other foxes, have small noses compared to dogs and wolves!

Step 3: Time to add the muzzle! Each whisker pad is a nosewidth wide, and has a rounded "smiling" shape. I've also added lines from the sides of the nose to the corners of the eyes, and from the eyes to the top of the whisker pad. This will give you a nice snout shape.

Step 4: Time for cheekbones, the "eye line", and the whisker pad over the eye. These are important to make our fox look like a fox, and all foxes have them. They can also be slightly tricky, but there is variation between foxes at this point... So being close is good enough!

Step 5: Time to add the ears. Compared to most other critters, arctic fox ears are rather wide, but not especially long - they don't want to freeze their ears off, after all! They also have a more rounded point than most other canines.

Step 6: Time to start sketching the fur around the head as well as inside and in front of the ears. Arctic foxes in winter fur are about the fluffiest animals you can imagine, so make sure the fur is long enough. Long pencil strokes = long fur! Also, draw in the jaw, which will be inside the circle, as arctic fox heads are slightly wider than they are tall.

Step 7: Cleanup. Or, if you're a digital artist, it's time for the lineart layer Remove all the sketchlines, and add extra details like the pupils. Remember that arctic foxes (like other foxes, including red ones) have slit pupils, not round ones!

At this point, the sketch/lineart is done, and it's time to move on to the coloring. I have used colored pencils, which influences my process to a certain degree - I will go over one area multiple times with different colors in order to add depth. In other words, you don't need to follow these steps exactly if you use a different medium where a different workflow works better.

Step 8: Greyscale detailing. I've first used a black pencil for the eyes (remember to leave a white highlight in the eyes! It makes them look so much shinier and full of life) and nose, and then a light grey one to start detailing the fur and for adding some shading inside the ear. Again, the longer strokes the longer the fur will appear, and it's pretty long inside the ear and on the cheeks! Also, using some darker grey outside the muzzle and cheekbones will push them forward, and give you a nice sense of depth.

Step 9: Time to color the eyes! I've gone for yellow eyes, but they can also be a darker golden, brown, or even blue. I have used two colors here, a yellowish orange for the base and a darker golden color around the pupil as well as the top and sides of the iris. This gives some nice color variation.

Step 10: With the eyes done, it's time to color the fur. White fur is rarely just white as it reflects a lot of light, so adding some color to it will help bring it to life. I've used a light golden here, in the same areas as I added grey. The golden works nicely with the eyes, and some foxes also have a more warm white color.

Step 11: Final details! I've darkened up the darker parts of the eyes, ears and mouth a bit, and added some more whiskers.

...And you're done! However, now you have just a head. Why not add a body as well?

Here are a couple sketches of arctic foxes in different poses. Feel free to follow along, or use them as inspiration The main thing to remember is that arctic foxes are really, really fluffy - which means they'll appear quite round, and with proportionally short legs. On the plus side, the tail is massive!

Cleanup/lineart. Again, remember the fur, and make sure those outlines are really fluffy!

...And finished sketches, as well as some notes. They were colored in much the same way as the fox head above. Also, blue detailing and shadows work wonders when drawing snow!

That was it! Now all that's left is to upload your artwork with the #ArcticFoxTutorial tag

But that was not it! There is an AMA/Q&A event too!

You can find it here: https://www.deviantart.com/kovowolf/journal/Save-the-Date-Q-A-with-BeckyKidus-1100255168

In other words, if you have any questions about my artwork, my techniques, my tutorials, obscure animals, life in Norway, or whatever else you might be curious about, this is the time to ask me. Just drop a comment in the journal linked above, and I'll be answering on November 13th from 1PM PST onward

This tutorial was sponsored by DeviantArt