How to Draw a Poodle
This tutorial on how to draw a poodle will help you improve your dog drawing skills and clearly show how to depict individual breeds.
How to Draw a Poodle: Introduction
One of the most important skills for any artist is the ability to draw different animals, and to train your animal drawing skills earlier I showed you how to draw a dog. If you already know how to draw dogs, it’s time to move to the next level and begin learning how to draw specific dog breeds, as this helps further develop and refine your drawing abilities.
For that reason, I created this tutorial on how to draw a poodle. This poodle drawing tutorial is essentially a continuation of the main dog drawing lesson, expanding on the skills and techniques introduced there while also teaching more specific and focused elements.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to draw a poodle by highlighting the features that make this breed recognizable – such as the distinctive head shape and the form and texture of its coat.
Poodle Drawing Tutorial
Materials
- Pencil
- Paper
- Eraser
- Coloring supplies
Time needed: 35 minutes
How to Draw a Poodle
- Build the overall poodle body structure.
Begin by drawing the basic form of the poodle using two overlapping shapes. Draw a rounded oval at the top for the head and a larger, elongated oval below it for the body. If you want your poodle to appear more upright or relaxed, you can shift the body oval slightly forward or backward.
- Draw the poodle facial features.
Inside the head shape, add two circles for the eyes, a rounded nose, and a small curved line for the mouth. To make your poodle look different, you can adjust the shape and placemat of the facial frailties. For a more cartoon-like variation, try placing the eyes closer together or slightly wider apart.
- Draw the poodle ears and hair.
Sketch two long front legs coming down from the chest. They should be very simple and end in soft, rounded paws. You can draw one leg slightly forward or bent to create a different sitting pose. If you want your poodle to appear fluffier, you can add loose zigzag fur around the legs right away.
- Sketch the front legs of the dog.
Next, draw the poodle’s signature hairstyle. Use a row of small rounded bumps for the curly top of the head, and draw large floppy ears using soft, wavy lines on each side. You can also draw the ears slightly lifted or tilted depending on the mood you want to show.
- Sketch the visible back leg.
Add the visible part of the rear leg by drawing a rounded shape that wraps from the side of the body and curves down to form the paw. You can adjust the size and angle of the leg. Additionally, you can start shaping it with fur bumps if you plan to make the coat extra curly.
- Add the curved tail with puff.
Now draw the curved tail at the back of the body, ending it with a rounded fluffy tip. This is one of the recognizable features of a groomed poodle. You can change the tail shape depending on the version you’re drawing. You can also adjust the length or remove the pom-pom tip entirely.
- Sketch the leg cuffs and chest fur.
Draw small curved lines along the chest, back, and tail to represent the curly coat. Also add circular shapes around the lower parts of the legs to form the characteristic leg cuffs. If you want a different grooming style, try removing the cuffs or making the entire body uniformly fluffy.
- Clean up and finalize the outline.
Erase extra lines and sharpen all the major shapes of your poodle drawing. Additionally, you can adjust the thickness of the outlines, to make the sketch look more cartoon. You can also add accessories such as a bow, collar, or even clothing for a fun variation.
- Add color to the poodle.
To finish the poodle drawing, color the dog using soft beige or cream tones. You can color the ears, top of the head, leg cuffs, and tail tip with a slightly darker or lighter shade to highlight the poodle’s grooming. The nose and eyes should be filled in black, with small white dots left in the eyes for highlights.
Alternative Poodle Drawing Tutorial
This poodle drawing technique follows a different construction method compared to the previous tutorial and begins with the head and hair, shaping the fluffy fur first, and then gradually moves downward to the body. It also uses simplified proportions and cartoon-like details.
So, let’s start drawing a poodle using this method, and sketch the top part of the head with a rounded, scalloped line. Add the sides of the head using the same type of curly outline. Draw the front of the poodle face next using short curves. Extend two wavy lines downward to form the sides of the body. Draw the front legs and the fluffy back leg of the poodle using curved shapes.
Add the paws and complete the body. Draw two circular eyes, a small round nose, and a curved mouth. Add texture by drawing spiral curls across the ears, head, and body. Use dark brown or any natural color to finish the poodle. This method helps show how to draw a poodle with dense curly fur and very simple lines.
Conclusion
The drawing of the poodle is now complete. If you want to continue practicing how to draw animals with distinct features, try the cat drawing tutorial. It follows the same simple structure and helps you work on smooth body shapes and facial proportions.
Like many other animal drawing lessons, this tutorial on how to draw a poodle followed basic techniques that can also be applied to drawing other dog breeds. You can adjust the shape of the head, the outline of the torso, the length and thickness of the legs, as well as the texture of the fur to change the breed.
As an additional exercise, I recommend trying to draw a poodle in other poses. For example, standing on its hind legs. You can also refer to my tutorial on how to draw a standing dog and simply modify the features to make it look like a poodle.
Another option is to draw a poodle playing with a ball or in any other pose. This will serve as extra practice and help you further develop your dog drawing skills.
Wonderful drawing lesson. It is so clear and easy to follow. Many thanks. Averil
I love your coulerings is so good
i love your poodle