Drawing a dog face is quite easy once you break it down. In this article, I will go over how to draw a dog’s face in easy to follow steps.
Before we start there are some important things I like to mention. First of all, don´t beat yourself down when your drawing doesn´t look perfect right away.
Just don´t give up and keep on drawing.
If you want to draw a whole dog and not just the head then you can have a look at my how to draw a dog guide.
That being said let’s get started with the step by step guide!
What Tool Will I Need For This Guide?
The Right Paper
You will need some paper, that is absorbent enough for markers but doesn´t bleed.
Bleeding basically means, that the paper is absorbing the color, that is applied to it, in a bad way.
So that it is nearly impossible to have a sharp edge. The color just spreads uncontrollably as soon as you start applying it.
A Good Pen (Or Several)
I used a Brush Pen for this illustration and some watercolor and markers.
I also used a graphite pen for guidelines and roughing in the basic forms.
The Brush pen is perfect to get a good line of quality that varies in size. And very easy as well.
Now Let’s Draw a Dog Face: First Step
Let´s start with a simple Circle. Don´t try and make it too perfect!
As long as it is round it will do just fine!
Step 2 – Draw Guide Lines
Draw the guidelines very light, so that you can erase them later!
Draw one Guideline in the middle and two parallel horizontal guidelines slightly above the middle of the circle.
The two horizontal lines will help you draw the eyes later on.
Step 3 – Draw the Eyes and the Nose
Use the guidelines from the previous step and draw in the eyes and the nose.
The nose will sit slightly below the middle point of the middle of the circle.
The eyes will be quite far apart, don´t underestimate how far apart they are!
The form of the eyes is a little bit weird if you first draw them so don´t be confused if you are struggling to get them right the first time around.
I would suggest you first try to draw the top part of the eyes first until you are happy with the top part and then the bottom line.
If this part is too hard or if you are frustrated then you can also download the worksheet and just trace the lines. This always helped me and after you got the hang of it then you can try and draw it freehanded again. You will be surprised by how much you will improve.
Step 4 – Let´s Draw the Mouth!
The mouth of the dog consists of two simple curves that start slightly below the lower tip of the nose. Don´t try and make these curves symmetric!
Very few things in nature are perfectly symmetric so don´t try and make the face of a dog symmetric as this will only make it look weird or wrong.
Step 5 – Now we add the Tongue
We won´t need the guidelines anymore so we can erase them now.
But be careful, I always suggest using a kneadable eraser because a hard eraser will sometimes damage the paper.
You can make the tongue as long as you like or as far out as you want.
Step 6 – Let’s Give our Dog some Ears!
Ears can be a little tricky. so take your time drawing them. You don´t have to rush them.
You can simulate some fur by adding a Zick-zack shape on the top of the dog’s head.
The ears of our dog are hanging down so we will add a fluent line downwards that curves back towards the head.
Step 7 – Now we Will Start Adding Some Details
Every cute dog needs a cute look. So let´s give our little dog a cute look.
And don´t forget some detail on the nose and on the tongue!
and with that, we are done.
You can obviously add some more detail or even color if you want. Just don´t overdo it on the details, the less the better.
If you want to know how I color my drawings then you can have a look at my fox drawing guide where I go into detail about my coloring method.
Free Printable Sheet!
You can download a free printable sheet of this drawing that you can trace in order to learn right here!
Just print it out and trace it for free! You can use it whichever way you want. For yourselves, friends, kids or if you are a teacher for classes. It´s completely free 🙂
Hi, I am a passionate maker and professional prop maker for the entertainment industry. I use my woodworking, programming, electronics, and illustration know-how to create interactive props and puzzles for Escape Games and marketing agencies. And I share my knowledge and my experience on this blog with you so that you can become a maker yourself.