How to Draw a Wolf

Learn how to draw a wolf by following the steps in this tutorial.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Standing Wolf

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    1
    Draw the body by drawing an oval.
    • Draw a bean-shaped elongated oval for the body.
    • Make sure that you are using a pencil for the draft sketch, so you can erase it afterwards to make it neat.
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    2
    Add joints and head.
    • Draw a circle at the one end of the bean, this will be the head.
    • For the hind joints, draw two overlapping circles. One should be smaller because it’s for the hind leg that is not in full view from the angle.
    • At around the chest part of the wolf, add a slightly elongated circle for the fore legs.
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    3
    Finish the neck and add the ears.
    • Draw two-pointed curves on top of the head for the ears. Unlike foxes, wolf ears are smaller.
    • To work out the neck (or the scruff) just draw two slightly curved lines and connect both sides of the head to the bean-shaped body.
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    4
    Add muzzle and legs.
    • For the hind legs, start by drawing curved lines from the leg joint. The lines should bend outwards towards the tail part of the wolf.
    • For the fore legs, you can just add 2 thick lowercase “l”. Since one of the wolf’s legs is hidden, only a small part of the other leg could be seen.
    • For the muzzle, add a small letter “U” at the head.
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    5
    Add eyes and tail and finish the hind legs.
    • For the eyes, just add two small tear-shaped figures above the muzzle.
    • Finish the hind leg by adding a similar shape to the one you did earlier but this time, add some small paws at the end of the legs.
    • The tail is hardly seen because it’s hidden behind the hind legs. Because of that, you can just add a long curvy line at the end of the bean-shaped body.
    • You should have the basic drawing skeleton now.
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    6
    Using a pen, draw on top of your sketch.
    • Put in mind the overlapping lines and parts that should be hidden.
    • Remember to use fuzzy-looking crooked lines to get the wolf’s furry look.
    • The line art might not look perfect and crisp, but it should look neat when the pencil is erased.
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    7
    Erase the pencil sketch and add details.
    • You can add details like the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, paws, claws and fur.
    • You can also add extra lines to emphasize the paw and the fur.
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    8
    Color your wolf.
    • Depending on the breed, wolves can go in different shades from gray to brown or even white.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Howling Wolf

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    1
    Draw the body by drawing a really sloppy oval.
    • Draw a bean-shaped elongated oval for the body.
    • Make sure that you are using a pencil for the draft sketch, so you can erase it afterwards to make it neat.
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    2
    Add the 2 ovals.
    • One oval should be bigger and longer and should point slanted upward. This is the wolf’s neck and head.
    • The other oval should be drawn on the other end of the body. A long, thinner, vertical oval will be added for the tail.
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    3
    Draw the muzzle and joints.
    • Just beside the tail and at the base of the slanted oval, add two circles for the leg joint.
    • For the muzzle, add a smaller oval pointing in the same direction as the neck/head oval.
    • Add a tear-shaped figure below the muzzle this would be the jaw.
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    4
    Add ear and legs.
    • Because of the angle, only one ear is visible. And to draw this, just draw a small rounded triangle pointing the opposite direction as the muzzle.
    • Add the legs by drawing lines below the leg joints. The hind leg should bend towards the tail.
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    5
    Complete the legs.
    • Add similar lines to define the width of the wolf legs. The bottom part of the legs should look flat into the ground.
    • Add another pair of legs behind the ones you drew before. Because they are only slightly visible from the view, just draw a small part of them, peeking behind the legs
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    6
    Add paws.
    • Add 2 pairs of circles at the end of the flat base of the legs.
    • You should have the basic outline now.
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    7
    Using a pen, draw on top of your sketch.
    • Put in mind the overlapping lines and parts that should be hidden.
    • Remember to use fuzzy-looking crooked lines to get the wolf’s furry look.
    • The line art might not look perfect and crisp, but it should look neat when the pencil is erased.
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    8
    Erase the pencil sketch and add details.
    • You can add details like the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, paws, claws and fur.
    • You can also add extra lines to emphasize the paw and the fur.
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    9
    Color your wolf.
    • Depending on the breed, wolves can go in different shades from gray to brown or even white.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

A Cartoon Wolf

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    1
    Draw a circle. Add two protruding pointed shapes on each side at the top of the circle for the ears. Using curved lines, draw the nose.
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    2
    Draw a circle below the head and connect this to the head using curved lines for the body.
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    3
    Draw three straight lines for the forelegs and a semi-circle for the feet. Add another semi-circle for the hind leg’s foot.
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    4
    Draw a half crescent shape for the tail pointing upwards.
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    5
    Add details to the face. Draw an egg shape for the eyes, add a smaller circle within for the pupils. Draw a curved line for the eyebrows and a circle at the tip of the nose. Sketch three tiny circles at the side of the nose and draw a sharp fang using curved lines.
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    6
    Draw the head and make it look furry using small curved strokes.
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    7
    Draw the rest of the body. Add a few curved strokes on the chest area for a furry look and sketch small slanted lines on the feet to separate the toes.
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    8
    Erase unnecessary lines.
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    Color your drawing.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

A Simple Wolf

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    1
    Draw a circle for the head. Add triangle like shapes on each side of the circle for the ears. Draw a curved line in front of the circle for the protruded nose and sketch a crossed line from the circle extending to the nose.
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    2
    Draw a circular shape for the neck area and another one for the body.
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    3
    Draw the limbs using curved and straight lines.
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    4
    Add the tail on the rear part of the wolf using a curved line.
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    5
    Add details to the face. Draw two almond shapes with a circle inside for the eyes. Draw the nose using a circular shape. Sketch the mouth and draw sharp teeth.
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    6
    Draw the head using short slanted strokes for a furry look.
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    7
    Draw the rest of the body adding a few slanted strokes for the fur. Sketch small slanted lines on each foot to separate the toes.
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    8
    Sketch soft slanted strokes on some parts of the wolf’s body, especially on areas usually covered with shadow.
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    Erase unnecessary lines.
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    10
    Color your drawing.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How do I make sure it looks like a wolf and not a fox?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Foxes have long, triangular ears and wolves have short, rounded ears. Remember that wolves don't actually have ears that are straight up on their head. Their ears are slightly crooked and not too noticeable, unlike the prominent ears of foxes.
  • Question
    How do you make the eyes perfect?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    If you're doing the standing wolf, draw 2 triangles, then 'soften' the edges. Or you could draw an oval, and give a pointed edge. It is your choice.
  • Question
    What kind of pencil do I use?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Just a normal pencil should work. However, for the shading, you should use a softer pencil.
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Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Pencil sharpener
  • Eraser
  • Pen
  • Colored pencils, crayons, marker, oil pastels, or watercolors

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About This Article

Tested by:
wikiHow Video Team
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 106 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 767,002 times.
34 votes - 66%
Co-authors: 106
Updated: March 16, 2023
Views: 767,002
Categories: Drawing Animals
Article SummaryX

To draw a wolf, start by drawing an oval for the body and circles for each of the leg joints. Then, draw another circle overlapping the oval for the wolf's head. Next, sketch the legs, tail, ears, and neck. Once you have the wolf's basic frame, go back in and draw the wolf's fur using crooked, zig-zagging lines. Finally, erase the original lines you drew for the frame and add the finishing details, like the ears, nose, mouth, and paws. To learn how to draw a howling wolf, scroll down!

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