How to Draw a Dog Face

This step-by-step lesson will show you how to draw a dog face, focusing specifically on its features and characteristics.

Earlier, we showed you how to draw a dog head with all the forms and details. Now focus more specifically on the face – its features – and approach it as a more detailed, in-depth study.

Here, we will draw everything in as much detail as is reasonable for a classical drawing, while still avoiding excessive refinement. We will carefully render all the necessary parts of the form and add volume using classical academic hatching.

This lesson will be built on a classic scheme in which you will need to move from simple shapes to more complex ones.

Dogs come in many different kinds and can have very different facial features. In this guide we will show all the most important points, using which you can depict a dog face of any kind.

And of course, this tutorial will be helpful when drawing a full dog.

How to draw a dog face step by step

Step 1: Mark the position of the dog’s face

Start drawing the face of the dog with a simple sphere. This basic geometric shape will serve as a guide for placing all the details later. Next, sketch a pair of intersecting lines to help maintain correct proportions.

Step 2: Sketch the ears with flowing lines

Begin adding details to the dog face. Start with the ears, drawing them with long, flowing lines. Keep in mind that different dog breeds have different ear shapes. For example, if you want to depict a German Shepherd, adjust the ears accordingly.

Step 3: Sketch the dog’s eyes

Using the guidelines from the first step, draw the eyes. Add thickness to the eyelids and include the creases above and below them to give the face a more natural and lively appearance. Dogs have very large pupils, which is why the whites of the eyes are barely visible.

Step 4: Draw the nose on the dog’s face

Now, using the same guidelines that helped you place the eyes, draw the dog’s nose slightly below them. First outline the general shape, then carefully draw the nostrils and add details as needed. Pay attention to symmetry so that the left and right sides of the nose mirror each other.

Step 5: Add the upper jaw and tongue

Start by creating the upper jaw. Then, just below, sketch out the outlines of the tongue and two lower canines. To make your sketch more dimensional, try to make the closer parts more contrasting than the distant ones. We talked about it in our article on aerial perspective.

Step 6: Draw the lower jaw of the dog

Use smooth lines to create the lower lip and the edges of the lower jaw. Draw the neck using long hatching strokes. Using hatching instead of simple lines will give the neck a softer, fur-like appearance and make it look more realistic. Keep in mind that closer details should appear more contrasting than distant ones, so draw the lower jaw with darker lines than the neck.

Step 7: Clean up the dog’s face drawing

Now give the dog face drawing a more finished and clean appearance. Carefully erase all the construction lines created at the beginning of the guide. Compare your drawing with the example, add any necessary details, and correct any mistakes if needed.

Step 8: Build shadows with hatching

To make the face drawing more convincing and closer to a real dog, add shadows. Use hatching to carefully build the shading, starting with the darkest areas and gradually moving toward the lighter ones. Leave small highlights in the eyes to make the gaze more expressive.

Step 9

Make the shadows more contrasty and the highlights brighter. Add more midtones and tonal transitions to make your dog face drawing more expressive and visually engaging. Sketch additional details if necessary, such as subtle fur texture.

It was a dog face drawing tutorial. To improve your skills, try a few additional sketching exercises.

Draw a dog face with different expressions

First, try drawing the head of a different dog breed using this instruction. Add more shadows and work on creating a fur texture.

This will help you develop your skill in drawing a dog’s head and learn how to create details that differ from those shown in this guide.

Work on emotions in your drawings by trying to depict different facial expressions. Draw a happy dog, a sad one, an angry one, a dog with closed eyes, and so on.

Practicing animal facial expressions, including those of dogs, is an excellent exercise for developing artistic skills and gaining a deeper understanding of drawing living subjects.

Next, try drawing a full dog, rendering the face in detail along with the rest of the body. This will help you understand the drawing process more holistically and learn how to apply your knowledge of individual body parts when creating a full-figure depiction of an animal.

If you liked this dog face tutorial, be sure to visit our Animals category, where you will find a large number of other animal drawing lessons.