This is the horse you will be drawing. So that you’ll have the horse to look at as you draw, print it or save it to your computer.
Draw A Horse is one of the first drawing lessons I wrote for this site. The paper I used for the drawing is no longer made. It was a very hard and rough paper, and I used very hard pencils on it. I suggest that you let the value you are trying to create be your guide to which pencil to use, or choose a pencil a grade or two softer than what I call for in the lesson.
Pencils
The following pencil grades are mentioned in this lesson: 7H, 6H, 5H, 4H, 2H, B, 2B, 4B.
Drawing Paper
Drawing paper texture makes a difference in how a pencil hatch behaves and looks. I recommend a medium drawing paper like Strathmore 400 Medium tooth. It’s a good inexpensive paper that can take a lot of pencil pressure.
Other Supplies
A No. 2 flat brush with the bristles trimmed back to an eighth of an inch, a small stump, a kneaded eraser, a Tombow Mono Knock Stick Eraser, and some powdered graphite. (See how to make your own powdered graphite here.)
The Value Scale, Value Map, and Outline Drawing
I’ll refer to a gradated value scale with numbers from one to ten in my instructions. “One” is the white of your paper and “ten” is the darkest black you can create on your paper without squashing the grain. Print this out and compare your drawing to it as you work.
I put the value numbers in a line drawing to create a “value map.” Use these as a guide as you draw. I’ll refer to the numbers in the drawing lesson.
Here is a line drawing of the horse for you to print and trace onto your drawing paper.