I have been asked to make a small tutorial on how I draw horses. I taught myself slowly using what I thought was what you were supposed to do, so if it seems ‘unconventional’, that’s probably why.
I begin by looking at my page or reference (if I am using one). If I am not using a strict reference, I like to imagine what the horse on the paper is going to be doing. Once I have envisioned what I would like to draw, I begin with the three circles concept.
I don’t fully remember where I heard of this, but it has stuck with me for a long time. Basically, I am drawing three circles to represent the body of the horse. The first circle is the shoulder and chest of the horse. The middle one is the belly/back of it connecting the back and front end together. And the last circle is basically the buttocks of the horse, the thighs, if you will.
After drawing said circles, I move on to the legs, neck and head. It’s hard for me to stay on one step, because I tend to jump around.
It is important to note that having a horse anatomy chart on hand is extremely useful! Especially if it is one showing the muscles. Circle 1 in this photo shows the area of the front leg which I believe is called the elbow joint. I draw a sort of upside down v to represent this joint (or whatever it’s called).
Circle 2 shows where I have drawn a line to better define the muscle and the bone that connects the head and shoulders.
Circle 3 shows the line I drew to define the muscle on the butt/thigh.
If you examine a horse, you will notice that they have many “lines” which define the different muscles/bones. Once you single these lines out, it will be easier to draw the horse because you are not focusing on all the tiny lines and details. The way I view a horse I want to draw, is by looking at it simpler. I only put to paper the basic lines and shapes I see, then add any details I think would make it look better.
Horse legs are very tricky. I believe the legs can either make or break the sketch. If they are out of proportion, it doesn’t matter how well the body is drawn, it still looks like trash.
In order to avoid out of proportion legs, I like to gage the distance between the ground and the horses hooves.
I estimate the length I want it to be, rough sketch the hooves, then “cut” the leg in half by inserting the joint. It should be roughly in the middle. When I look at a horses leg, I see an almost funnelled shape. It starts out wide at the top and thins out until it gets to the hoof.
The back legs are kind of tricky to draw. Actually, they’re very tricky.
I am unable to add a video tutorial here, so I will be posting in parts.
