Sketch the torso with a rounded rectangular shape. Pay attention to the hump created by the shoulder blades.
How to Draw a Reindeer in 7 Easy Steps!
Drawing a reindeer is easy with the right tips. With our step by step instructions you can easily draw a lifelike reindeer. This template is perfect for Christmas cards, birthday invitations, wall tattoos or picture stories.
For the drawing you need a pencil, an eraser, an eraser-proof drawing pencil and good colored pencils.
Step 1: Head and muzzle
First, create two circles with the pencil to mark the reindeer’s head.
Sketch the torso with a rounded rectangular shape. Pay attention to the hump created by the shoulder blades.
Step 3: Legs
Now draw the legs of the reindeer. Make sure that the posture is natural. Use small circles to represent the joints where the hind legs are slightly bent and already indicate the hooves.
Sketch the antlers and connect the guides to form the neck and nose.
Why draw a Reindeer this Christmas?
Reindeer are the perfect festive animal to draw during the Christmas season with their cute faces and wintery fur coats. This ‘how to draw a reindeer’ tutorial is especially useful if you’re looking to learn new drawing skills and advance your colouring pencil techniques.
For this easy reindeer drawing, you will be taken through a step-by-step process starting with sketching the proportions. Then you will develop your sketch by adding colour, tone and texture with colouring pencils to bring your reindeer drawing to life.
Materials you’ll need for the Reindeer drawing
Paper
Use an A3 200 gsm cartridge paper, which you can get from any local art shop. Choose a cartridge paper with a smooth surface if possible. Take a look at our guide to the best sketchbooks for drawing for even more choice.
Colouring Pencils
I love Caran d’ache watercolour crayons, which are soft and blendable. The colours are also very vibrant and bright whilst still being natural. I also love the Derwent ‘drawing’ range because they are so creamy and blendable, but these colours are much more muted. I use a combination of both sets to create my drawings. For more options check out our list of the best watercolour pencils.
Rubber
I like to use a putty rubber that will lift colour off the page without smudging. I also use an electric rubber by Derwent to erase marks in small and intricate areas. An electric rubber will be needed to draw the snowy background of this reindeer drawing.
What species is the reindeer drawing?
Reindeer are found throughout the northern hemisphere in the tundra of Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, northern Europe, and northern Asia. There are many subspecies of reindeer which vary in size, colourings and antler appearance.
Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem entitled “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” describes Santa’s sleigh being pulled by eight tiny reindeer. This reindeer drawing is of a Svalbard reindeer, which are the smallest subspecies of reindeer. Compared to other reindeer, their fur is lighter in colour and thicker during winter. Along with shorter legs, this gives them a rather endearing stocky appearance. Interestingly, reindeer are a unique species of deer, in that both male and females can both grow antlers. Male reindeer, however, shed their antlers each winter – suggesting that Santa’s reindeer would have been female!
