How to Draw a Bat

This realistic animal drawing lesson will show you how to draw a bat, an unusual flying creature of the night.

As has long been our tradition, we will draw this animal using highly volumetric, realistic forms, adding light and shadow close to real-life values to achieve a more three-dimensional result.

In our example, the bat is shown in flight with its wings raised, though the lesson also works for drawing a bat in a more static position.

Before you begin drawing a bat, remember the symmetry of the animal and that you should outline the left and right sides in turn to avoid distorting the proportions.

We will draw the animal starting with general forms and gradually building volume and adding details.

How to draw a bat step by step

Step 1: Sketch the initial contour and position

As already mentioned, the bat in our example is depicted in flight, and we also noted that we will create this animal starting with general volumes and gradually moving into details. Therefore, outline the placement of the bat on the paper using very light, general contour lines, trying to convey only the size of the animal and position it correctly within the composition on the page.

Step 2: Outline the head and upper wing edges

Continue using very light lines and begin adding the main volumes and parts of the animal. First, outline the placement of the bat’s head, again using a general contour. Next, mark the upper edges of the wings extending from the sides of the head and rising toward the upper left and right corners of the form you sketched earlier.

Step 3: Draw the lower bat wing edge

Now, using several smooth curves, outline the lower membranous edge of the bat’s wings. Both sides should be symmetrical and meet at the lower part of the tail. The number and size of the membranes on the left and right sides should be the same, and the lines should remain as light as possible at this stage.

Step 4: Start shaping the head volumes

Now begin creating the volumes as if you were carving the bat’s features from marble or clay. Start with the head by outlining the ears symmetrically and marking the placement of the muzzle. Then indicate the position of the eyes. Keep the figure’s volume in mind, remembering that the head, like all other parts of the bat, is a three-dimensional form.

Step 5: Shape the torso and limb volumes

Now begin adding volume and form to the body, using the same method and working from the general shape you outlined earlier to create separate volumes that later will be divided into smaller ones. Start with the torso, marking it beneath the head. Then outline the shapes of the arms in the appropriate parts of the wings. In the lower area, sketch the bat’s legs using the same approach.

Step 6: Draw the bat eyes and mouth

Starting from this step, begin depicting more finished details by dividing the general shapes of the parts into smaller final elements. Begin with the head, drawing the bat’s eyes in the upper area where you marked the horizontal guideline. Then carefully draw the contours of the head and mouth of the bat.

Step 7: Finalize the ear shape and texture

Now move up to the top of the head and draw the ears in detail, using dark, precise lines and aiming to give them a symmetrical, smooth appearance. Depict the inner surface of the ears so this part of the bat’s body looks more realistic. To add fur texture, use short strokes that go from the roots toward the tips.

Step 8: Indicate the body’s fur texture

Using the same short strokes going from the roots to the tips, indicate the fur on the bat’s body, giving this part a more finished look. Regularly check the symmetry of the left and right, upper and lower parts of each detail, and carefully erase the construction lines as you complete the final rendering.

Step 9: Draw the bat arms in detail

Now, using smooth lines, draw the upper parts of the bat’s wings. Render the arms with cleaner, more finished lines, regularly checking that the left and right sides look symmetrical. Don’t forget to add the protruding thumbs at the top of each wing.

Step 10: Refine the wing edges and tail

Now continue the wing lines from the previous step, carefully drawing the upper and lower edges. Give the lower part a cleaner and more accurate appearance. Try to convey the characteristic look of the bat’s membranous lower edge and tail.

Step 11: Draw the long bat wing fingers

Now, using long, smooth lines, draw the bat’s fingers, which serve as the foundation for the membranes. Each finger begins at the bat’s palm, where the thumb is located, and extends toward the lower edges, creating the characteristic membranous appearance.

Step 12: Shape the legs and sharp claws

Now add some fur to the bat’s legs using the same short strokes that were used for the torso. Then, with small, precise lines, draw the animal’s small feet with sharp claws. The toes should have a slightly uneven appearance for a more authentic look.

Step 13

Now take an eraser and carefully remove all remaining unnecessary construction lines from your sketch, steadily checking the symmetry of each part of your bat drawing and the overall composition as a whole.

Step 14: Add the shadows to the bat

Now it’s time to make the bat drawing more dimensional and realistic. Keeping in mind the principles of light and shadow that we have discussed many times, begin adding hatching in the indicated areas. For a more dimensional and realistic look, you can add more midtones and highlights, but we used a more or less minimalist, yet still realistic, approach to placing the shadows.

Step 15: Compete and check the bat drawing

Give your drawing one final check for symmetry and correct proportions of all details. Review all the shadows and hatching, making sure everything looks naturalistic and realistic. Add any necessary details or remove anything unnecessary if it remains.

This bat drawing lesson followed the classic pattern we use on our site, in which we aim to use an academic method while simplifying it for better understanding.

If you completed everything correctly, you will end up with a realistic, volumetric drawing of a bat that can also be further refined by deepening the details, adding more substantial shadows, or even creating a background.

This bat drawing also works well for more complex, detailed compositions with other subjects placed in the foreground or background.

This lesson was part of our collection of animal drawing tutorials, where we show how to depict various creatures of our planet Earth in the same realistic style.

There, for example, we show how to draw a dog, perhaps one of the most common domestic animals on the planet, as well as share methods for depicting more unusual and less widespread living creatures.