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August 17, 2011 - 11:54pm — Awitsuyoni
Simple 15 min sketch
I know, I suck at anatomy...
First deer-drawing attempt.
I didn't edit it digitally or anything cause I'm technologically impaired.

I'm 15, so for me this is pretty swell

Tips and/or constructive comments are SO VERY WELCOME!
Awitsuyoni
August 17, 2011 - 11:54pm — Awitsuyoni

How do I make it smaller?

How do I make it smaller?
August 18, 2011 - 1:26am — moriwolf
moriwolf's picture

Wow this is your first try?

Wow this is your first try? This is a really good first try! Its better then what I can do and I have drawn several deer.....ANYWAY. Hmm, I'm no expert but I think you could make the upper front limbs (I don't know what thier called) a little thinner. Other than that I have nothing other than I like it.
August 18, 2011 - 2:04am — Unplugged
Unplugged's picture

((If you want your picture to

((If you want your picture to be smaller, you'll have to resize it in your drawing program and then upload the small version))

Wow, that's pretty impressive for your first deer attempt! I definitely agree with moriwolf. Did you use a reference or did you draw this from your memory? tl;dr ahead.

You've done really well on the head, its shape and the face as well as the ears. For a general tip, study the deer skeleton and how it affects the shape of the deer. (e.g ribcage and spine) Also, I'd suggest you to mostly work on the legs, since they're the weakest part of this drawing. They're not easy to draw, especially in different angles and positions. The pose itself is nice and dynamic. Smiling

You can check out these Deer Anatomy Scans as well as the Artist's section here for reference. I also like browsing flickr for deer photos.

For your legs here, pay attention to where they get thicker with muscles and where they get thinner (where the skin is close to the bones). You can see this well here, and also maybe on this photo. The legs are very thin and you can see the bones and joints beneath very clearly.

The overall proportions are good. Once again just the legs might need some work there. Overall, deer legs are about as long as the whole body+neck+head of the deer. The joints of front and back legs make a parallel and are also at about half of the leg's height, making the "upper" and "lower" bones of front and back leg ((don't know the scientific names, sorry)) about the same length. (this sounds confusing, but you can check this in the skeleton reference. compare the joints)

What is a common issue that each artist has to fight against is that you start paying attention to only a specific part of the drawing and lose the "big picture". This is why the legs of your deer all have slightly different proportions, like the left and right front legs. Smiling That's a thing you just have to practice though, so as long as you're aware of this that's good. It's a common issue, happens all the time to everyone, even to the best artists. As a general advice, just try to remind yourself to see the forest through the trees. It's not easy but it gets better when you get more confident with your subject.