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Uploaded:April 6, 2011
Artist:Finalprodigy
Difficulty:Advanced  Advanced Skill Level
Steps:20
Updated:April 6, 2011
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How to Draw a Realistic Wolf

Hey guys, I haven't done a realistic tutorial in a while so I thought I would get back into the swing of things by fulfilling this request for a wolf tutorial. This is an advanced tutorial but I think everyone should be able to learn something from it. So, let's get started!

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how to draw timon and pumbaa
how to draw a realistic wolf
how to draw vegeta and goku
how to draw a realistic wolf step 1

STEP 1.

So, I knew that I wanted to draw a wolf but I didn't want to draw it in just any ordinary pose. I decided that I since I haven't seen very many drawings of wolves stretching, I would go for that. This was my first practice sketch.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 2

STEP 2.

So, after getting a decent reference picture, I got my white board out and practiced before moving on to paper. I really encourage white boards and dry erase markers when you want to practice drawing but don't want to use up paper.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 3

STEP 3.

So, with the practice sketches out of the way we can move on to the actual drawing. I completed this drawing with a set of graphite pencils (ranging from H to 9B), a kneadable eraser, and a mechanical pencil (for final details). This drawing is on cold-press watercolor paper(I prefer the texture). The first step is to represent the wolf's body with simple shapes. You want to start at simple and move to complex later on.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 4

STEP 4.

Keep lightly adding on shapes. I developed the body more during this step.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 5

STEP 5.

Add in the basic shape of the head.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 6

STEP 6.

Add some guidelines to help denote where some of the features like the ears and eyes, will eventually go. Define the head a bit more.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 7

STEP 7.

Now you can sketch in the basic forms of the legs and tail.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 8

STEP 8.

Alright, time to start focusing on the head. Start by adding the ears.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 9

STEP 9.

Add in some guidelines for the eyes and nose. No need for detail yet.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 10

STEP 10.

Add in the eyes and nose. Don't worry about shading or accuracy yet. Just get representations of features down on paper. You can worry about perfecting everything later.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 11

STEP 11.

Now we can fan out to the rest of the body. Pay attention to how the fur is flowing. Don't just sketch in lines at random. A huge part of the realism aspect of this drawing is the fur. So, keep your lines light and remember that you will be layering the fur so this is only the first layer of many.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 12

STEP 12.

As your going around hinting at the fur, you can hint at other small features like the toes.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 13

STEP 13.

This step involves defining the wolf's outline. I recommend a pencil somewhere between HB and 4B for this.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 14

STEP 14.

Here is the end result of outlining. Notice how the wolf is already popping out more than it was before.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 15

STEP 15.

I chose to add a background to this drawing. It is really up to you to add a background and you can choose to add whatever you want. I just sketched in the basic idea of it during this step.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 16

STEP 16.

Time to start adding more detail to the head. Start out with a darker but still hard pencil, something between B and 4B. It often works better to go from darkest to lightest.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 17

STEP 17.

This step depicts the head after adding more detail to it. Don't freak out if you are finding yourself smudging your drawing with your hand. I feel as if that adds more to your drawing and somehow makes the blending more natural. So, don't worry about smudging until the final stages of the drawing.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 18

STEP 18.

We can now take the same darkest to lightest approach with the body. Remember to pay attention to the direction of the fur. Also, make sure that all of your pencils are sharp! Dull pencils won't do you any good from here on out.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 19

STEP 19.

This step just involves building layers of fur and adding more detail to the body. This step takes more than any other step but is crucial to the drawing. Don't get lazy with the fur and just scribble it in! Actually make the effort to make it look realistic, at least from afar.
 
how to draw a realistic wolf step 20

STEP 20.

And here we have our finished wolf. You can study the finished drawing and compare it to your own to see what details you missed or feel like adding. If you go all out on this drawing, it will most likely take you more than 4 hours, depending on how quick you are. Anyway, I hope this was an informative and fun tutorial for everyone!
 

Comments: Post Comment

 
WolfWarrior's comment

 

WolfWarrior ~ Feb 1, 2013, 10:09:27 AM
How do you get it to come out as a clear photo?! Mine are complete rubbish!! jawdrop
 
WolfWarrior's comment

 

WolfWarrior ~ Jan 31, 2013, 3:19:44 PM
I love how it's unusual! I love wolves!!!! X3
 
LionTheWolf's comment

 

LionTheWolf ~ Sep 2, 2012, 11:58:48 AM
Wolves are my fav animal! :) B)
 
Grover's comment

 

Grover ~ Aug 24, 2012, 4:22:29 AM
Wish I could draw like this Attempted it but it wasn't as good as yours. plotting omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg
 
jellybray's comment

 

jellybray ~ Apr 14, 2012, 10:31:12 PM
BRAGGER!!! angry oh well i did it too...IN YO FACE!!! bucktooth X3 Jk but i did draw this perty well tho...kinda bucktooth
@Alex951753drawings
boogie meowla yay I DID IT HA X3
 
wolfmaster's comment

 

wolfmaster ~ Apr 1, 2012, 2:57:12 PM
inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove inlove WOLVES ARE MY LIFE!!!!!! jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock X3 X3 X3 X3 X3 X3 X3 X3 X3 X3
 
Sleeping_With_Sirens's comment

 

Sleeping_With_Sirens ~ Jan 12, 2012, 7:33:07 PM
This is really cool... I wish I could draw like you You were obviously given a prodgidy for drawing Amazing...
 
Sleeping_With_Sirens's comment

 

Sleeping_With_Sirens ~ Jan 12, 2012, 5:14:52 PM
This is awesome omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg DRAW MOOOOOORE !!!! Lolz you're the beast of realistic yay X3 X3
 
Katelena's comment

 

Katelena ~ Jan 5, 2012, 4:48:06 PM
Lol...the drawing it to high level for my skills...... nah. bucktooth watermelon tomatoe
 
Alex951753drawings's comment

 

Alex951753drawings ~ Dec 18, 2011, 3:26:56 PM
boogie meowla yay I DID IT HA X3
 
:lol: confused :fear: X3 :x_x: :shakefist: :zzz: :shrug: :inlove: =D =( :bow: :boogie: :innocent: :omgomg: O_o :3
:rolling: :plotting: :ill: =$ :fart: :hai: :mature: ;p ^^; :drool: :stupid: :poke: :tomatoe: :threaten: T_T :snooty: :singing:
B) :yay: :yawn: :watermelon: :wtf: :wow: :jawdrop: :paranoid: :dumb: :evil: :angry: :speechless: :blank: :rock: :salute: =B ;)
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