How to Draw a Hawk, Red-Tailed Hawk

Artist: finalprodigy / January 2, 2012

2 votes

Step 1.

Start out by picking your pencils. You can use any pencil to sketch. I decided to use a 6B pencil for sketching and dark shading, a B pencil for shading/lines, and a 4H for lighter lines and details.

Step 2.

Start out with a basic sketch of the hawk's head. Use the guidelines if you need them.

Step 3.

Your sketch should end up looking something like this. Clean up any unneeded lines.

Step 4.

Now start adding rough shading using a 6B or 5B pencil to the eye and the area around it. Shade lightly; try not to press down too hard into the paper.

Step 5.

Now roughly shade the top of the hawk's head. Pay attention to the way your lines flow. They should flow naturally and hint at the formation of feathers.

Step 6.

Continue on by roughly shading the beak.

Step 7.

Now roughly shade in the feathers. Again, pay attention to line direction. Don't just scribble your shading in.

Step 8.

Now use a cloth or paper towel to blend and soften your shading.

Step 9.

Roughly shade the eye again, this time using B and 6B pencils.

Step 10.

Use a blending stump to smooth out your shading. Use a 4H pencil to add details to the eye. A kneadable eraser works best when adding the highlights to the eye and eyelid.

Step 11.

Roughly shade over the top of the hawk's head again and then use a blending stump to blend it in.

Step 12.

Use a B pencil and a blending stump to add another layer of shading to the feathers. Use an eraser to add in the highlights to the feathers.

Step 13.

Roughly shade in the beak using a B pencil and a blending stump.

Step 14.

Now use a 4H pencil along with a B pencil and blending stump to define the beak some more. Make it as smooth as possible.

Step 15.

Use a 6B pencil to sketch in the feathers of the head.

Step 16.

Blend in the shading using a blending stump. Use an eraser to pick out the highlights of feathers here and there.

Step 17.

Use a 6B pencil to shade shade in the fest of the bird and some of the background.

Step 18.

Blend in your shading using a blending stump.

Step 19.

Use 6B and B pencils to add some more definition to the neck feathers.

Step 20.

Use a 4H pencil to add final details to the feathers and a blending stump to smooth out any rough shading. Finish up the drawing by cleaning up your shading and going over your details. I hope you enjoyed this one. As always, comments and questions a

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Details

Artist: finalprodigy
Date Added: January 2, 2012
Steps: 20
Favorited: 22 (view)
Views: 0 in last hour, 14 in last day, 112 in last week, 99650 total
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Tags: how to draw a bird, how to draw a hawk
Description: I hope you're all having a great 2012 so far! This is my first tutorial of the year and it's a fun one. I'll be showing you how to draw a portrait of a majestic Northern Red-Tailed Hawk. Get your drawing materials ready!