Twelve Days of Drawing: Drawing the Caribou

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: two caribou.

That would have been interesting around the house!

Caribou are very pretty.  They are the cousins of Santa’s Reindeer but live in Canada’s north.  Maybe once in a while they drop in at the North Pole and help with the sled.  I’ve seen them in the arctic and when they run, they truly look like they could fly.

I’ll post the video of how to draw them at the end of this post after some of the drawings from the video.

Enjoy your drawing!

Step 1: Keep it simple

The most important lesson is to start simple and keep it simple.

Step 2: Use simple shapes

Look for simple shapes in everything you draw.

Step 3: Shapes become forms

If you want to draw something as it turns, look for simple forms made from simple shapes

Use Reference

I will use anything ranging to a photo to a specimen at a museum, and even in this case a carved wooden caribou I brought back from the North.

Photos from magazines or from the web are an excellent resource. I prefer magazines and books since they are clearer.
I did these drawings from a caribou head I found in an antique store where I live.

12 Days of Drawing Day 2: How to draw Caribou Video

And so finally: How to draw a caribou