Drawing animals - The fox

[Part 2]

The fox has been the elegant, intelligent creature that has been around man since the stone age. Today, as never before, the witty fox has established itself in every village and town. The hardest problem you have in drawing a fox is getting the head to look right.

This problem arises in drawing most animals. I have included in figure 1 how to draw a profile of a fox. Notice the large oval shape ears which have a small bend in the outer rim - similar to that of a cat. The fox has a long pointed project nose, and flared cheeks of white hair.

This animal is a member of the dog family, but it is like a cat. Many people do not realise that this popular creature has strong pack instincts.

Follow the sketches I have done on figure 1 and figure 2. At first, I did a few quick pencil roughs next with pencil the entire head and working on the best of them with pen and ink. Study the basic shape of each animal when you are satisfied do a pencil sketch before doing the entire head with pen and ink. Figure 2 shows a fox looking at you.

You will see I have used a controlled scribble to show the dark places around the ears and below the eyes. Dotted spots are used to show shading. The fur is best depicted with quick loose strokes from a pointed nib.