Christmas and big draft horses are one of the perfect equine pairings. And since all the Budweiser holiday stuff features the iconic Clydesdale, I thought that this week’s article would be an excellent intro into drawing one of the easiest horse breeds to sketch.
And this time, unlike my “How to Draw a Horse Head” and “How to Draw a Mare and Foal” articles, we’re not using a photo.
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Things You’ll Need
- Paper
- Pencils (A regular No. 2 is fine, but if you’ve got good drawing pencils, I recommend H, HB, 2B, and 6B)
- Eraser
- Clipboard (optional)
- Blending stump (optional) (can be substituted with wadded up tissue paper or toilet paper)
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The Drawing Process
So since we’re not using a photo, things are going to be a little different.
I begin with the same basic circles, but instead of full leg outlines, I just have some lines. I like to use four simple lines to sketch out the position of the legs before I actually do a full outline. That way I can make any length tweaks beforehand. Good rule for drawing freehand: a horse’s head length is equal to his shoulder and rump length.
Using the leg lines as a guide, I start to sketch out the general body. The nice thing about fluffy drafts is that you don’t have to draw fetlocks! Just make some big plumy feathering on those legs. Drafts also have a flatter back than other horse breeds and a more sloped head frame.
Now I’m starting to fill in my outline. This is where you begin to smooth out your lines with a 2B and add in those muscle lines. I also begin to add more detail to the mane, tail, and leg feathering. Make sure you get the hoof shapes right! And since the mane and tail are billowing, they’ll look a little longer and larger than they would be in real life.
Since Clydesdales have a sabino coloring, now is when you sketch out the borders of those white markings. I had already began to shade in when I forgot to take a photo, which is why there is that dark spot.
Clydesdales are heavily muscled, so keep that in mind as you shade. They have very powerful hindquarters and shoulders. When you’re done shading, feel free to add stuff into the background. You can see that my attempts at trees are not as good as my horses.
Use a softer pencil for the mane and tail, and try to be light on the feathering. Try to get a sense for how the hair would swish around the legs.
I love drawing drafts because most of it is hair on the legs and you can show a lot of movements with a few simple pencil strokes. If you want to learn more about these gentle giants, check out this article on the largest horse breeds in the world.
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I hope you enjoyed this how-to! If there is a horse breed (or a character) you would like me to do in the future, let me know below!