On top of this, these charming creatures make good companions for people and other animals.

Today’s drawing lesson is dedicated to goats. More precisely, we’ll be drawing a mountain goat. It is also known as the Rocky Mountain goat.

Technically, mountain goats are not in the same genus as true goats. They belong to the Bovidae family, just as their mentioned relatives. Most likely, mountain goats share a common ancestor with true goats and sheep.

Within the Bovidae family, mountain goats are associated with antelopes, gazelles, and cattle.

Anatomically, the appearance of true goats and mountain goats is quite similar. Both demonstrate woolly coats, cloven hooves, and the signature curved horns.

The more significant distinction between these two groups is habitat. Mountain goats live in alpine and subalpine environments. They mainly reside among the mountain peaks of North America.

The high elevation protects theses animals from predators. Mountain goats are capable climbers. They are adapted to the insecure footholds of cliffs that are covered with ice and snow.

I hope that this introduction was interesting enough to make you excited and inspired to draw a goat. Let’s begin our drawing session! We’ll learn some other facts along the way.

Art Supplies For Drawing a Goat with Pen and Ink

We’ll start with a graphite pencil underdrawing, so keep an ordinary HB pencil and an eraser at hand.

I’ll be drawing on an A4 sheet of paper with a smooth surface.

For the inking part, I’ll be using two ink liners. Their sizes are 0.05 and 0.1. A combination of a dip pens and liquid black ink is also an option.

Drawing a Goat with a Graphite Pencil

I’ve chosen a pose with a slight inclination. This pose will make our artwork more dynamic and eye-catching. The goat will be standing on a rock and looking at the viewer.

Our first task is to create a stylized framework of the animal’s body. I start with simplified shapes that mark the position of the goat’s elongated head, horns, and ears. Mountain goats have thinner, lighter skulls than true goats. Also, their horns grow shorter, slenderer, and pointier than those of true goats.

It’s interesting to know that, unlike true goats, mountain goats do not butt heads. Instead, they stab each other with their horns – ouch.

At this stage of the process, the marks can be rough and sketchy.

I add a long core line that indicates the direction of the animal’s body.

The body is marked with a long elongated shape. Mountain goats have two types of fur, so their woolly coats are thick and shaggy. This feature is quite beneficial, as these animals live in a cold environment. Our shape also includes some space for the fur.

I mark the eyes, nose, and mouth, using subsidiary lines. There is a significant distance between the eyes’ level and the nose. Keep in mind that one side of the head will be less visible due to foreshortening.

See also: Drawing Basics – Construction

I create a simplified shape of the neck by joining the head and the body with two lines. Then I mark the short tail.

Let’s add a framework for the limbs. I mark the joints with circles.

For the forelimbs, the joints include the shoulder, elbow, and knee. (From top to bottom.) The joints of the back legs are the hip, stifle, and hock.

The shapes at the lower ends of the legs mark the hooves.

I add two inclined lines under the goat’s feet. They outline the direction of the underlying surface, so the pose becomes steadier.

I draw the contours of the limbs.

The areas near the joints are thicker, more prominent. Some parts, like hock or elbow, show an angular curve.

I refine the head and add the pupils and the ear openings. I also widen the area of the muzzle, but it’s still quite slender.

By the way, horizontal pupils enable panoramic vision, allowing the animals to notice danger as soon as possible. Such a shape supports an enhanced image quality of the objects that are directly ahead of the animal. Horizontal pupils also allow for more light to enter the eyes.

See also: How to Draw Animal Eyes with Pen and Ink

We no longer need the subsidiary lines, so I erase them.

After refinement, the contours have become smoother and more polished. I add the strands of long fur that are framing the lower sides of the head. They are more visible at the side that is closer to the viewer.

I refine the contours of the body and legs. The long, shaggy fur affects the appearance of the silhouette, so I remove the initial continuous line and replace it with a set of marks that imitate hairs.

I change the hooves, too. There are two toes on the front side of each hoof. They can spread out to improve balance.

I also add the dewclaws. They can be found on the back of the goat’s feet and help to prevent slipping.

As a finishing touch, I add the contours of rocks under the feet of our animal.

The underdrawing is complete!

Drawing a Goat with Ink Liners

Mountain goats have beautiful fur coats of white or cream color. No doubt that this light coloration provides excellent camouflage among the snow!

As we’re going to use black ink to complete the drawing, working gradually should be our core principle. It’s always possible to add more lines, but removing the excessive marks can be extremely difficult.

See also: How to Fix Mistakes in a Pen and Ink Drawing

There are folds of fur in the neck area and also near the upper parts of the legs. With 0.05 ink liner, I mark the darker, deeper areas in the goat’s coat.

I work with groups of short lines. There may be some variation in direction, curvature, and length. In general, the marks follow the contours of the goat’s body.

The upper part of the body gets more light from the natural environment. In that area, much of the paper may be left untouched.

Also, I start creating the main contour of the animal’s body. Long lines imitate the flow of hairs.

In the image below, you’ll find samples of the fur texture and the enlarged contour.

With 0.1 liner, I draw the eyes. Then I darken the nose, mouth, and ear openings.

I draw the contours of the horns with an interrupted line and mark the texture of the yearly growth rings. Fur overlaps the foundations of the horns, so avoid any harsh outlines there.

With short marks, I start creating the texture of the head’s coat. In some areas, the lines resemble dots. (The image below, point a.)

Now let me explain the concept behind the other illustration (point b) in the image above.

Although the fur’s local color is light, it may look much darker in the shadowed areas.

Besides that, sometimes we deal with two objects that have a light local color. Let’s imagine that the first object is closer to the viewer and the second one is more distant. (Like, in our case, the closer and the farther leg of our mountain goat.)  We should increase the contrast to make a distinction between the objects.

Here’s a tip that helps to set the planes visually. It also allows conveying the feel of the fur texture.

The lines used for the closer object should imitate the texture – in our example, the hairs. When working on the farther objects, place ink marks in the gaps between the hair-like marks of the closer object’s contour. The lines that cover the farther object should be more unified.

We’ll use this technique when working on the goat’s legs. The folds in its coat require a similar approach.

I continue adding groups of short hatches with 0.1 liner. I work on the body. The deeper areas of folds in the coat (neck and belly) get an accent.

I create soft shadows that separate:

• the head and neck
• the belly and the upper legs

I darken the legs that are farther from the viewer. I make sure that the hairy contour of the legs closer to the viewer remain readable. We don’t have to be perfectly precise with our marks or draw every single hair or strand. The goal is to create the illusion of fluffy fur wrapping up the limbs.

I also accent the hooves, covering them with layers of cross-hatching. Horizontally-oriented lines are slightly curved. They repeat the contours of the hooves.

With a 0.05 liner, I add more lines to the head. The muzzle becomes slightly darker. This shift conveys the transition between the planes – it is assumed that this area receives less sunlight.

The sides of the nose become covered with short hatches while the marks follow the direction of the fur. The central part of the nose is worthy of the most delicate lines. They are very short, resembling dots.

I make the beard slightly longer.

I darken some areas of the fur on the head. This change is minor. The subtle contrast creates a hint at irregularity that is typical for natural textures.

I add layers of contour hatching to the horns, giving them more volume. One side of each horn is slightly lighter.

With a 0.05 ink liner, I work on the legs in a similar manner. New marks support the existing ones and contribute to the overall look of the texture.

Be patient, as drawing fur often requires a lot of time and effort.

I add some long lines to the lowest area of the belly to accent the form and emphasize its direction. These marks also strengthen the core shadow.

There are deep folds of the fur in the bottom part of the goat’s body. We remember that although the coat is light in value, it may look significantly darker in a shadowed area. I make sure that even the lighter, more prominent parts of the folds, are not too bright. They shouldn’t distract the viewer’s attention.

The hatches that I add to the lower parts of the legs are plain and unified. The fur is shorter there, and the contours reflect this change. You may need to add some contour hatching to the areas near the hooves to give the limbs more volume.

It’s time to complete the fur on the goat’s back and rump. These sections are lighter, so I’m going to leave much of the paper’s surface untouched.

With a 0.05 liner, I add more short lines to the mentioned areas. In the image below, you’ll find a close-up sample of this texture.

I add some short lines along the contour of the goat’s back. They create the illusion of light coming through the hairs.

The components of the head (eyes, nose, and horns) and the hooves are my reference points in terms of value and contrast. They should be dark enough to emphasize the lightness of the fur.

At the end of this stage, we should get a nice, soft gradient from the lighter top of the animal’s body to its darker bottom. Squint your eyes softly and look at your artwork. Do you like the resulting value transition? This simple trick will help you to determine whether you need to add more ink marks.

With a 0.05 liner, I add long, mostly parallel, lines to the stones. The marks repeat the direction of the planes. The darker areas of the relief get an additional layer of hatches.

I use fewer lines in the bottom part of the drawing. This trick creates the impression of a transition of value.

With a 0.05 liner, I work on the details of the rock texture. The goal is to give some interest and credibility to the environment, leaving the goat as a focal point. Be careful not to overdo this element. A few cracks and hollows will be enough.

I darken the area right under the animal, strengthening the cast shadow.

I evaluate the artwork once again. It is complete!

How to Draw a Goat with Pen and Ink – Conclusion

Congratulations! We’ve created a beautiful drawing of an interesting mountain goat. I hope that you’ve enjoyed our creative journey – and also learned a couple of useful things!

I wish you much inspiration for your future art projects and pen and ink drawings. Have fun and enjoy your work!

Drawing a Horse with Charcoal

Horses are wonderful creatures. They combine an element of gracefulness with strength and beauty. In this drawing lesson, we’ll take a look at the process of drawing a horse with charcoal on toned, gray paper.

Here’s a look at the completed drawing…

Materials and Surface for Drawing a Horse

Charcoal is an inexpensive, traditional drawing media. Yes, it can be dusty and a little messy, but this is a small price to pay for the forgiveness and versatility of the medium. Plus, if the correct paper is used, then the messiness is greatly reduced.

In this lesson, we’ll use charcoal in various forms to complete the drawing. Vine charcoal is used in the early stages while compressed charcoal is used in the later stages.

Vine charcoal is soft and brittle. It’s easily spread, erased, and manipulated on the surface. This makes this form of charcoal best suited for the initial marks.

Compressed charcoal is darker and harder than vine charcoal. Unlike vine charcoal, compressed charcoal is more difficult to erase. For this drawing, we use compressed charcoal in pencil form.

See also: Charcoal Drawing Techniques

White charcoal is also used to address the lighter values and to produce a variety of grays. This material isn’t truly charcoal and the make up of this material is considered a “trade secret”. However, it does behave in a similar manner as compressed charcoal, so its use is best reserved for the later stages of the drawing.

As I mentioned before, the surface is important for a few reasons. The texture of the tooth of paper plays a role in how the medium behaves. Smoother surfaces will not hold charcoal, making the process messy and dusty. Papers with a heavier tooth will help to hold the material in place, reducing the dust. For this drawing, gray Canson Ingres paper is used. It has a similar tooth as traditional charcoal paper. Both papers feature a laid pattern.

See also: All About Drawing Papers

(The following links are affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you purchase at no additional cost to you.)

• Vine Charcoal
• Charcoal Pencils
• White Charcoal
• White Charcoal Pencils
• Canson Ingres Paper (Gray)
• Blending Stumps

Drawing with Values

To ensure accuracy in our drawing, the grid technique is used. For this approach, a grid is created over the reference image. A corresponding grid is created on the drawing surface. We are then able to observe the visual information in each square and transfer the information to the drawing surface.

Here’s a look at the reference image with a grid placed over it…

A white charcoal pencil is used to create the grid on the drawing paper. Graphite is avoided since it is a different medium and some of the grid lines may be visible when charcoal is layered. A very light touch is used with the white charcoal pencil so that the lines are just barely visible. This will ensure that the grid lines are easily removed when they are no longer needed.

We can begin anywhere on the drawing surface, but since I am right-handed, I decided to start in the upper left corner and work downward and to the right. This helps to keep my hand out of the way as I work.

Due to the nature of charcoal, more than the contour lines are addressed in this early stage. As you can see, some information about the values are added. Since vine charcoal is so easy to erase, we can smudge and move the material around on the surface.

We can continue with this loose application of the charcoal, working our way down the body and the picture plane. At this point, I’m not concerned with the details – just the values, the contours, and shapes.

Once we have the basic shapes and some of the preliminary values in place, we can clean up the background with a kneaded eraser. As you’ll note, this eraser is used for more than just clean up. It is also used to manipulate some of the shapes of values as the preliminary drawing is developed.

All of the remaining grid lines in the background are erased. Since we have the basic shape of the horse defined, we no longer need them.

Drawing the Details of the Horse

Now we’re ready to begin developing the details of the horse with applications of compressed charcoal. We can think of the drawing that we have in place at this point as an “underpainting”. We’ll continue to manipulate the shapes and values as the drawing continues.

Since the eye of the horse is a natural focal point, I decide to begin here. By alternating between white and black charcoal, we can slowly broaden the range of value as we address the texture and subtle details.

As we continue to work our way outward from the eye, we should consider the directional strokes that we make with both the pencils and the blending tools. The hair of the horse flows along the form of the head. This creates subtle indications of direction. Our marks and blends should reflect this. Ensuring that our marks flow in unison with the hair helps to create the illusion of texture and form in the drawing.

For the large shape of light value in the center of the head, a stick of white charcoal is applied. This white charcoal is slightly more intense that the white charcoal pencil and covers a larger area.

It’s easy to assume that every single detail must be included in order to develop a representational drawing. Thankfully this isn’t the case. As long as we capture the general shape and relative value of the subject or objects, then our drawing will be successful. We can see an example of this with the harness and saddle.

In this area, the details are suggested rather than replicated exactly. This ensures that attention is not pulled from the head of the horse. The harness is a supporting element and not the “star of the show”.

We’ll slowly work our way over to the snout of the horse, gradually building out a range of value. The snout of the horse protrudes out. This creates a bit of distortion called foreshortening. Since a grid was used to create the preliminary drawing, this should already be worked out.

However, in order to create an even greater illusion of space, we should slightly broaden the range of value and create more contrast here. Objects that are closer to the viewer usually feature stronger contrast in value and higher levels of contrast.

The details should also be slightly more developed here as well.

Addressing the Background

Once we have refined the drawing of the horse, we can consider the background. In this drawing, the background is acceptable left as the raw, gray paper. However, I decided to add a bit more contrast to make the horse stand out by covering the background with white charcoal.

The application of white charcoal alone is acceptable in the background and creates the necessary contrast. However, by blending with a blending stump, we can make the background recede even further. This increases the illusion of space in the drawing.

Once the background is in place, we’re ready to put the finishing touches on the drawing. Some of the hairs and whiskers are added with a sharp charcoal pencil, overlapping the background.

How to Draw a Horse with Charcoal – Conclusion

Now our drawing of a horse is complete. Here’s another look at the completed drawing…

Charcoal is a wonderful medium for drawing. The rich blacks and forgiveness of the vine charcoal allow us to develop convincing drawings in a short period of time compared to other drawing mediums. The nature of charcoal as a medium also helps us to bridge the gap from drawing to painting. Layering is important with charcoal as it is with opaque painting mediums. Sure, it’s a little messy. But with the right paper and patient applications, charcoal is an excellent drawing medium.

Combining Markers and Colored Pencils

Some mediums simply work well together. One such combination is alcohol-based markers and colored pencils. However, we must consider the order in which we develop a drawing with this combination of media. The markers are typically added before the colored pencils. This means that the marker drawing becomes an underpainting, leaving the details and more intense colors to the colored pencils.

See also: Combining Markers and Colored Pencils

In this lesson, we’ll take a look at my process for combining markers and colored pencils to create a realistic drawing. We’ll draw a deceptively complex candy bar. Here’s a look at the completed drawing…

Materials and Surface for this Drawing

Before we dive into the drawing process, we’ll first take a quick look at the materials and the surface we’ll use. While you’re free to use any brand of markers and colored pencils, it’s important to use alcohol-based markers. These markers differ from their water-based counterparts in both performance and price.

Alcohol-based markers produce translucent marks that build in intensity with each stroke layered. Water-based makers do not behave in this manner and instead, produce fairly opaque marks with one pass. This means that alcohol-based markers give the artist more control, but this added control does come at a higher price. (The following links are affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you purchase at no additional cost to you.)

• Staedtler Lead Holder with 2H Graphite
• Alcohol-Based Prismacolor Premier Markers
• Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils
• Canson Marker Paper
• White Gouache

Marker paper is semi-translucent. This is an advantage for illustrators wishing to transfer sketches or photos to the surface. This paper is designed to absorb the applications made by the markers, reducing any bleeding that may normally occur on standard drawing paper.

See also: All About Drawing Papers

This paper, however, is fairly smooth with a relatively weak tooth. This means that the number of layers of colored pencil applications that you can add is reduced. This will not be an issue since we are using the marker applications as fairly developed underpainting.

Sketching the Candy Bar with Graphite

Clearly, a photo reference is used to create the drawing. In this case, I simply purchased my favorite candy bar from the store, took a delicious bite, and snapped a photo. Here’s a look at the reference image…

The Contour Line Drawing

Since we’re striving for realism in this image, we’ll first transfer the subject onto the marker paper. There are several ways to do this. In this case, I chose to use a light board. But even with a light board, some of the details are lost. For this reason, I refined the contour line transfer by observing the reference photo.

A note on tracing – I won’t go too deep here into the process of tracing and the unnecessary debate on its usage in the art creation process. The reality is that tracing (or some form of ensuring accuracy in a contour line drawing) is used often by professional artists and illustrators. It has been used throughout history as well.

See also: Is It OK to Trace in Art?

Even though the contour lines have been transferred, the drawing must still be developed through careful observation and mark making with markers and colored pencils. If your goal is to develop your observational drawing skills, then yes – you should not trace. But this is not the focus of this work. Our goal is realism.

Since we want the contour line drawing to be fairly light, a 2H graphite pencil is used to trace the image and then refine the drawing freehand. Here’s a look at the contour line drawing…

Creating an Underpainting with Markers

As it is with other forms of mixed media, we’ll use the strengths of each our mediums to make up for the weaknesses of the other. In this case, the markers cover areas quickly but it is difficult to develop delicate details due to their tendency to bleed. Colored pencils, on the other hand, are slow to cover larger areas but are excellent at developing details.

Since the colored pencils can be used over marker applications, it makes sense to use the markers to develop an underpainting. We can then apply colored pencils over the top, allowing bits of the marker underpainting to influence the color.

Generally speaking, we’ll think in terms of value and shape to develop the marker underpainting. We’ll observe the shapes of different values of color and attempt to mimic or even exaggerate what we observe in our drawing.

For the most part, we’ll choose at least three colors for each section on the candy bar. One color should be a midtone with a lighter and darker version. This will provide us with a range of value for each color. Of course you’re free to take this further with a broader range of tone.

We can begin anywhere we wish. In this case, I chose to start with the brown sections of the wrapper. From there, I progressed on to the text.

As we continue to develop the marker underpainting, we’ll address the exposed chocolate and filling. For the chocolate, similar colors are used as those applied to the wrapper. However, we need to ensure that the final color contrasts that of the wrapper. To achieve this, we’ll start with a different base – Light Tan. We’ll also push the chocolate to be more red by allowing the Sienna Brown to dominate.

As we did with the wrapper, we’ll gradually bring out the form and texture of the chocolate by layering shapes of colors of differing values.

For the delicious filling, we’ll focus on using colors that are more yellow – even though the colors in our reference are fairly muted. Browns are used to create contrast which leads to the illusion of texture. Since this areas features moist caramel, some open areas are left to give the impression of highlights.

It’s only natural that we assume that “white” parts of a subject should be also be white in our drawing. However, if we look a little closer at “white” areas, we’ll often notice a bit of color. Sometimes, these light values are cooler and sometimes they are warmer. Often, we can determine whether we want them to be warmer or cooler.

Many times, we can address these “white” areas with grays. Grays can be warmer or cooler depending on whether the black used to mix them is dominated by brown or blue. Professional colored pencil and marker brands offer a range of grays – some cooler and some warmer. Prismacolor labels their grays with percentages based on the intensity of darkness. For example, 70% Warm Grey is a darker and warmer gray compared to 20% Cool Grey.

See also: Warm vs. Cool Grays

For this drawing, I chose to work with warm grays in the “white” areas. I decided to work with warm grays due to the fact that most of the other colors are warm. We can see this warmth int the browns in the wrapper, the reds in the logo, and the blues in the text.

Now, you may say, “The blues? Aren’t they cool?” Yes, blue is a cool color. But blue can lean warmer or cooler. In this case, the blues we’re using lean warmer. Ultramarine is a warmer blue than Cerulean, for example. This means that working with warmer grays will help to unify the image.

In the “white” areas on the wrapper and for the shadowed areas, 20% Warm Grey is applied, creating subtle shifts in value and color. This may not seem as though this color makes a big difference, but when the final highlights are added, we’ll notice the contrast.

We’ll continue on developing the marker underpainting by addressing the details of the wrapper and increasing the contrast in areas. You can take the underpainting as far as you wish. The more refined and detailed your marker underpainting is, the better your final drawing is likely to be.

Layering Colored Pencils

With the marker underpainting complete, we’re ready to layer colored pencil applications over the top. The colored pencils will allow us to develop the details while intensifying colors and broadening the range of value. The addition of colored pencil applications will also add depth to the color which leads to more convincing realism.

We can begin with colored pencil applications anywhere we wish. In this case, I chose to start in the same place I began with the markers – on the brown parts of the label. As we did with the markers, we’ll focus on using several colors for each section. Again, we’ll choose a midtone and a lighter and darker version. In some areas, a broader range of value and color are used. Remember, more layers = more depth = more realism.

It’s important to note that “black” is not used in this drawing. Instead, a more natural black is created by mixing colors. Dark browns are first used to address the darkest areas on the wrapper. In order to make the shadows as dark as they need to be, Indigo Blue is layered over the top. The dark blue and brown mix to create a more natural looking black, which appears as a more natural looking shadow.

We’ll continue on by addressing the photos on the wrapper. For these types of details, it’s best not think about what you are drawing, but instead focus on the colors and shapes that you observe. If you stay true to what you see, then the result will be quite convincing.

One of the factors that affects the realism of a drawing is the subtle nuances of value. In reality, we often don’t notice these subtle shifts of value and tone. But in a drawing, we can exaggerate them to a degree, making the drawing more interesting and realistic.

In this case, you’ll notice that I am exaggerating the changes in value on the candy bar wrapper by increasing the contrast between colors that are mostly very similar. This can be achieved by “beefing up” the highlights and darkening the colors around them.

We’ll next address the blue text and red portions of the logo, again using a range of color with slightly different values. As we intensify the color in these areas, we’ll also refine the details and sharpen the edges.

Just as we did with the marker applications, we’ll address the “white” areas with a warm gray. Most of these “white” areas are addressed with 20% Warm Grey and then burnished with a colorless blender to smooth the texture.

One such “white” area can be found where the wrapper is torn. Here we see some of the text showing through. The blues and reds here should be slightly different than what is observed on the main portion of the label. Instead of layering a combination of colors, as we did with red and blue areas, we’ll only use one light layer of the color. Gray and white is layered over the top, along with a bit of the colorless blender to smooth the application.

Working our way from the left to right, we’ll next address the chocolate and the filling. Again, we’ll use a collection of colors that compliment and add complexity to the colors found in the marker underpainting. Lighter values are used for the raised portions. Reddish browns are used for the midtones and darker browns are used for the recessed areas and shadows.

This same process is used for the filling. We’ll begin with the lighter values since it’s easier to make an area darker. Again our colors are slightly more intense than the colors we observe. The observed colors are rather muted. By exaggerating the colors slightly, our drawing is more interesting.

Darker areas within the filling are carefully added with touches of dark brown.

Finishing with Strong Highlights

Strong highlights are difficult to achieve with colored pencils alone. When working on white paper, we could preserve the strongest highlights by leaving these areas open. But this is also very difficult to do – especially when using more than one medium. These highlights are essential in creating a realistic drawing, so they must be included. These highlights are the result of light reflecting off the reflective wrapper and moist areas in the filling.

Thankfully, we can use gouache directly over the colored pencil applications to develop very strong highlights. Gouache is opaque watercolor. But unlike traditional watercolor, gouache can be applied over wax-based colored pencils.

Using minimal amounts of water, white gouache is applied with a small round brush to accentuate the strongest highlights. The result is the illusion of a reflective candy bar wrapper and moist, candy filling.

Realistic Drawing with Colored Pencils and Markers – Conclusion

Now our drawing is complete. Here’s another look at the completed drawing…

As you can see, this process does require patience. You are essentially drawing the subject several times with different media. But with each layer, you become more familiar with the subject. The time you invest in the drawing does pay off in the end so work slowly and take your time. Breaks are essential.