This step-by-step drawing guide will show you how to draw a running dog, detailing the motion and anatomy of the animal in a running position. The dynamic pose and streamlined form make this drawing an excellent exercise in depicting the movement of animals.
Characteristics of a Running Dog
Head: Looking forward with a streamlined snout.
Body: Lean and elongated, showcasing the dog’s musculature and flexibility.
Legs: Alternating between extended and bent, giving the impression of speed and rhythm.
Tail: Carried straight and slightly up, balancing the movement.
Once you have completed this running dog, you can explore my other detailed guide to drawing dogs, and there’s also a tutorial on how to draw French Bulldogs in various styles.
About This Guide
This guide uses a color-coding system to help simplify each step:
Red Color: Directs attention to the current step you are working on.
Black Color: Indicates lines that have already been completed.
Grey Color: Shows the first lines used to outline structure and proportions.
By following these steps, you can accurately capture the details and dynamic movement of a running dog.
Step 1: In the first and second steps, we’ll create a basic sketch, so draw lightly with your pencil. Begin by drawing a circle for the head. Below and to the left, draw a circle roughly twice as large for the front part of the body. Draw another circle, similar in size to the head, slightly to the left of the second circle for the back part of the dog’s body. Connect all three circles with lines.
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Step 2: Using simple lines, mark the shape of the visible ear, the muzzle, and the position of the eye with a small line. Also, indicate the placement of the legs in a running pose using simple lines to define sections and their positions. Don’t forget to outline the tail with simple lines.
Step 3: Let’s start drawing our running dog. First, draw a single continuous line for the top outline of its muzzle, starting from the edge of the circle and ending at the beginning of the ear. This will form the mouth, the muzzle and the front part of the dog’s head.
Step 4: Now let’s draw the dog’s neck, the lower part of the muzzle, and the ear.
Step 5: Draw an oval where we marked the eye, fill it in with black, and leave a small uncolored area for a highlight. Also, draw the nose of our running dog in this step.
Step 6: Add small details like a few lines on the ear to show folds, and add details around the eye to give depth and shape to this part of the head.
Step 7: Begin drawing the front leg of the dog that’s closest to us, depicting it in a bent position as our dog is running. Leave one section, including the paw pads, for later steps.
Step 8: Complete the outline of this leg and divide the paw into individual sections.
Step 9: Outline the body of our dog and continue these lines into the back leg, leaving one section for the next step.
Step 10: Finish outlining the back leg we started in the previous step and divide the paw into individual sections.
Step 11: Draw a small section of the front part of the body visible from our perspective, and then add the second front leg located below the one we’ve already drawn.
Step 12: Since our dog is running, only one leg touches the ground in our drawing. This is the second back leg, which we’ll draw in this step, with the paw positioned as if pushing off the ground.
Step 13: Using a single line, outline the tail based on the basic sketch from step 2.
Step 14: Let’s add the finishing touches like body folds and muscles using simple lines on the body, legs, and neck. Additionally, we can add three small dots on the muzzle for whisker marks.
Step 15: With that, we’ve completed our guide on how to draw a running dog. Carefully erase the basic sketch to get a clean drawing. You can also try a new technique: outline the finished sketch with a pen or ink, and once the ink is dry, erase all the pencil lines. If you choose this method, you can leave the basic sketch lines until the end and erase it with other pencil sketch lines.
Bravo on Completing the Steps!
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