How to Draw an Owl

Halloween draws nigh, and if there's any bird that symbolizes the Halloween spirit, it's the watchful owl, who sits at his perch high overhead as the undead, headless horsemen, witches, and hobgoblins make their nighttime rounds from house to house in search of sugary treasures. Besides its spooky ties to Halloween, the owl is traditionally known as a wise creature, and was one of the symbols of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Best of all, drawing an owl is easy and fun!

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Drawing an Owl on Paper

1
Sketch the owl. Lightly draw a small oval for the head. Continue with a mango-shaped oval for the body. Next, draw vertical and horizontal lines inside the head oval, into 4 sections. Continue with the feet, drawing two small round shapes. Draw the shape for the wing, and add a tree branch where the owl is standing. For the tail, make a slightly curved line behind the branch.
2
Sketch the details of the owl’s head. Draw the chin, beak, eyes, and ears. Continue with curved lines to shape the owl’s body.

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3
Add more details to the owl’s head. Sketch short jagged lines for texture along the outline of the owl’s body as “guiding lines”, and draw two talons for each foot.
4
Draw feather texture. Draw additional short lines all over the owl’s body, following the guiding lines. Add the texture by quickly stroking the pencil downwards, repeatedly.
5
Continue with short strokes that follow the guiding lines and shape of the body. Add light strokes over the areas of the owl that would likely be shaded.
6
Finish the drawing with important last touches.
- Shade the pupils solid dark, while lightly shading the iris.
- Draw additional tiny strokes around the eyes to enhance the feathers around it. Continue this motion for the entire body.
- Erase the guiding lines.
- Add some details to the tree branch.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Drawing an Owl Digitally

1
Draw a large oval. It doesn't have to be perfect, but try to make it about twice as tall as it is wide. Draw a circle on top for the head, followed by vertical and horizontal lines inside the circle. making 4 sections.
2
Sketch the details of the owl’s head. Draw the chin, beak, eyes, and ears.
- Have fun with the eyes, if you want—you can make a serious owl, with in the middle straight ahead; an owl looking at something, by drawing the pupils pointed left or right; or a goofy, cross-eyed owl.
3
Add “guiding lines” for the body, feet, and wings. Guiding lines create the basic shape of the drawing.
4
Trace over the owl sketch with a darker brush to make the outline more neat and visible.
- Omit or add more details to the drawing as you go, for example a tree branch the owl is standing on.
- Experiment with backgrounds using a different layer.
5
Make few short lines using a smaller brush to create a feather texture.
- Add optional lines for details to the tree branch or other background.
6
Select the colors you want for the owl. Color in the owl on another layer of the drawing.
7
Add shades and highlights to add depth to the drawing.
8
Finish the drawing by adding colors or other figures to the background.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I draw a chicken?

Community Answer

There is an article for that. Just type: How to Draw a Chicken.
Question

How can I improve my owl drawing?

Community Answer

Just keep practicing, and you will get better.
Question

How can I make it more like a snowy owl?

Craftsmart

Top Answerer

Make the owl as it is illustrated in part 2, but leave the face without any detail, except for the eyes and small beak. Also, do not add the ears to the owl, as snowy owl ears are less pronounced.