In this tutorial, I’ll show you a simplified way to draw goats: an adult one and a baby.
You don’t need any special knowledge of animal anatomy or advanced drawing skills to complete this project!
What You Will Need
You will need the following equipment (or similar) in order to complete this tutorial:
- drawing paper
- an HB graphite pencil
- a 3B graphite pencil
- an eraser
You'll also find our How to Draw Fur tutorial useful in this project.
1. How to Draw an Adult Goat
I draw an oval shape for the goat’s head, using the HB graphite pencil.
I add the shapes of the ears and pointed horns. Keep the elements simple and stylized; we’ll refine them later.
I draw the neck of the goat; it is basically a simple elongated shape.
I add the rough shapes of the chest and the rump; they are the building blocks of the goat’s body.
I join the shapes of the body, outlining the back of the goat. It has a prominence that marks the hip bone.
I draw the framework of the goat’s limbs, marking the joints with big circles.
At this stage, we can already mark the bottom line of the goat's body.
I refine the shape of the goat’s forelimbs; they are thicker in the knee area and end with a hoof.
Goats also have dewclaws on the back side of the limbs, which are rudimentary hooves.
I draw the contours of the hind legs. They have hocks—the joints between the knee and the fetlock that point backwards.
It’s time to draw the goat’s face. I sketch a vertical core line, and then add three horizontal lines for the eyes, nose, and mouth.
I draw the eyes with horizontal pupils. The eyes of a real goat are relatively small, but I want my drawing to look cute, so I make them slightly bigger.
Then I add the nose and the mouth with a hint of a smile.
I refine the shape of the ears, adding a deep shadow.
I add several contour lines to each horn and draw the beard. Both male and female goats have beards.
The body of a goat is covered with hair; its coloring can vary from white to grey or black.
I draw the hair along the contours of the goat’s body, using long hatches.
I add the rounded udder with two prominent teats.
I draw a short tail and create an illusion of its texture, using long graphite lines.
Let’s give some completeness to our sketch by adding values. With the HB pencil, I draw relatively long hatches that imitate hair.
With the 3B pencil, I darken the sides of the goat’s head to make the drawing more realistic.
I continue to add long hatches to the front part of the goat’s body, using the HB pencil.
It’s the right time to accent small details like the cloven hooves or the longer strands of hair.
I complete creating the illusion of hairy texture, working in the same technique.
I also strengthen the core shadows, applying an additional layer of hatching with the 3B pencil.
As a finishing touch, I add light hatches that imitate grass at the goat’s feet, using the HB pencil.
2. How to Draw a Baby Goat
I draw the rounded shape of the head, and then add the ears. The head of a baby goat is relatively big in comparison to the body; it is also shorter than the head of an adult goat.
Baby goats don't have horns as adult goats do, but they have so-called 'horn buds.' These are small bumps on the top of the head, between the ears and above the eyes. Our goat is too young, so we don't need to overload the drawing with information.
I add the rough shape of the chest. The neck of a baby goat is shorter than this part of the body of an adult animal.
I draw the framework of the front legs.
I add the contours of the limbs, accentuating the knees.
It’s time to draw the reference lines of the animal’s face. I sketch the vertical core line, and then add lines for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Leaving enough space for the forehead is important.
I also refine the shape of the ears.
I draw the eyes with horizontal pupils. Then I add the nose and a smiling mouth.
I add the back and the hind legs of the baby goat. The foreshortening doesn’t allow us to see much of the animal’s back, but we should mark it to make the drawing look realistic.
With the HB pencil, I add long hatches th